Tribute to the slaves of Franco who built the road between Igari and Bidankoz
- Between 1939 and 1941, the 2,400 Franco slaves who were forced to build the road between Igari and Vidángoz were honoured on Saturday at the height of Igi. Representatives of the association El Camino de la Memoria organised a tribute in which they claimed that the memory of those anti-fascist repressive allies should be our way. See full photo gallery here.
The Camino de la Memoria 20 years ago paid the first tribute in this way to the high of Igari. Two decades ago, 12 former prisoners were paid tribute. They have all died, but each year hundreds of people continue to participate in their homage: relatives, members of different memory associations, neighbors of the valleys of the area.
For the 2,400 representatives, they continue to take steps in the search for truth, justice and reparation, beyond the homage. This year, for example, the relatives of those who worked as slaves on the road between Igari and Vidángoz have filed a complaint alleging that it was a crime against humanity and that they never go extinct. The judges reject it. Valentin Esteban, who followed the complaint on behalf of the vast trade union majority, Sabino Cuadra, spoke on behalf of his family members.
The event was also attended by several memorial associations: Kattin Txiki of Oiartzun, Historical Memory and Justice of Andalusia, The Barracks of Madrid and VMRE of France. Chantal Penicaut, a member of the latter association and daughter of an exiles from Garde, warned: “The tip of the right, fascism, once again, is a real risk to the French elections next weekend.”
In this regard, Josemi Gaston of the Institute of Memory of the Government of Navarra stated that the historical memory must necessarily be anti-fascist. He also recalled that since 2015 the Government of Navarra has taken steps towards the declaration of spaces of memory such as Igariko’s stop.
Precisely because the historical memory has to be anti-fascist, the central act of the tribute was carried out by two members of the platform Yala Nafarroa Plaestina: Mirian Bravo and Ola Arafat. Arafat is a Gacana who has already lost over 50 brothers in the genocide of recent months. In addition to thanking him for his solidarity, he sent out a strong message: “We face the genocidal state of Israel and Palestine will be free from the river to the sea.”
As every year, the relatives of the Bakiotarra prisoner Txomin Uriarte sang the tango invented in his day, in one of the most emotional moments of the tribute. “Your memory, our way,” was summed up by the organizers.
See more than 200 photos on the website of Euskalerria Irratia.
