A firefighter refused two years ago to participate in a shipment of firearms in the port of Bilbao, where he was intercepted. The Provincial Council of Bizkaia intervened: it opened the dossier and was about to lose its job for several years, until through loud protests they managed to reverse it. The firefighter is called Ignacio Robles and he is one of the protagonists of the documentary. The director Joseba Sanz has carried out the project in collaboration with the Biscayan Ongi group Etorri Errefuxiatuak, with which we have been with. Although the technical aspect has been worked out by him himself, he has stressed that the content has been defined by everyone.

In addition to the firefighter Robles, another person who appears in parallel in the documentary is Faten, a woman who lives in Yemen. It tells us the harsh reality of the area: both the sound of the explosions and the sound of the shots have become part of everyday life. Along with two other Catalan women, she manages the Independent Non-Governmental Organization Solidarity Without Borders – only independent of Yemen – as well as teaching during the week at the university and working on an airline on weekends. “It does its best to help the families that are doing the worst, and especially women,” says Sanz.

Watch the trailer for the movie below.

Sanz recalls Robles' exercise of disobedience as a symbolic act, but it is clear that only one person cannot end the war in Yemen. However, eviction of a chain step can paralyse the process and that is what the firefighter has done, according to the director. One of the pillars of the Basque economy is the arms industry and the data are clear. There are a hundred companies that spend at least part of their production, in some cases the whole, in this sector.

These companies have no problem in carrying out their business. As if that were not enough, the public institutions grant them significant subsidies, although the law prohibits it. This is reflected in the law adopted in 2007, the Charter of Justice and Solidarity with Impoverished Countries: “In the policy of support and promotion of companies, the Basque Government will in no case cooperate with natural or legal persons engaged in the production, commercialization and financing of arms”. However, it is already known that this is not the case. These companies participate in Enterprise R & D support programmes implemented by the Basque Government and are the main beneficiaries. The arms industry appears to be part of the new technologies. Estitxu Eizagirre, journalist of ARGIA, made these and other details known in the report Etxean use kanpora kondor a year and a half ago, when the antimilitarist group of Vitoria-Gasteiz has just published the book These wars are very ours.

Missiles, motors and guns

Weapons have long been made in Euskal Herria. It is known that in 1492, when the Catholic Monarchs of Spain conquered the Kingdom of Granada, firearms manufactured in the Basque Country were used. In the First World War, weapons manufactured in our country were also used, with about 40 companies. Eibar or Soraluze have been some of the peoples that have had the most to do with the arms industry, but there have also been others in the twentieth century, a sector that has for years been the main source of income for many peoples. It is clear how important the arms industry is and has been for both the people and the state.

Gernika is probably the locality of the Basque Country that produced the most weapons in the last century: These are the companies Astra, Alkartasuna and Guernica Workshops, the largest arms producer in the Spanish State. They produced war mortars and their ammunition, navigation explosives and grenades of all kinds, among others. The number of people who sold these products is significant: Guernica and Alkartasuna workshops sold their weapons to England, France and Italy, while Astra sold his weapons to Germany, rival to the countries mentioned above. It is important to highlight the importance of the permanence of these types of companies for the State economy. Ten days after the bombing of Gernika, Francoist troops captured the people and, on Franco's command, relaunched the Alkartasuna factory to work for them.

In Getxo, Zamudio, Markina, Vitoria-Gasteiz and Andoain, among others, there are some of the more than one hundred companies that currently work in the armero sector. Sener is one of the main arms producers in Europe: Located in Getxo, it works mainly with drones for missile navigation. He has recently purchased the ITP company of Zamudio, dedicated to the manufacture of engines for the Eurofighter aircraft, one of the most used in wars.

Until 2004 the company Expal has been in Vitoria-Gasteiz, currently located in the Burgese town of Burgos. It produces small nuclear artifacts with days of high intensity that work in a system of rotation of four weekly periods, with a work day of ten hours. This is because, as explained in the documentary, they have a great source of business and money.

Close links between the authorities

One of the most notable cases is the Sapa company, located in Andoain (Gipuzkoa), to establish a connection between political positions and arms companies. The president of the Real Sociedad, Jokin Aperribay, has been leading the entity for years. The Gipuzkoan politicians of the time have also once had a certain participation in the company. They are part of Ramón Labayen and Justo Espín, who were mayors of San Sebastián and Andoain respectively. The Environment Deputy of the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa, José Ignacio Asensio, was until 2015 commercial director of Sasa.

100% of the production of the saba is military production. The director of the documentary, Joseba Sanz, asked how it is possible for the Basque Government to support and support this, which is contrary to the law. Above all, in view of the fact that the Basque Government granted Sapa more than EUR 3 million in aid for economic development projects in 2007.

The University of the Basque Country is also involved in this matter. According to the director of the documentary, neither the Rectorado nor their ethics committee wanted the War to start working here. During the documentary it was found that the School of Engineering of the UPV/EHU is related to several companies dedicated to the arms industry, including ITP of Zamudio. Students can request internships through the university.

Companies engaged in the arms industry have large investors. One of them is the bank BBVA, which invests the most in the Spanish state as a whole, which contributes around EUR 2.6 billion. It finances not only Basque and Spanish companies, but also international companies. Today, moreover, BBVA has invested in drone manufacturing companies to monitor the mass movements of refugees. “We have denounced it in the shareholders’ meeting and all of them are aware of it, but they do not care, they are benefits for them,” said the member of the BBVA campaign without weapons, in the framework of the conference “Euskal Herria to the flat capital”.

In Bilbao no, but surely somewhere else yes

“The struggle continues,” says Joseba Sanz: “When we were with the documentary they loaded him for 14 consecutive months in the port of Bilbao, but then, to our surprise, the boat appeared in the port of Santander (Cantabria) and they have been there for a year.” In recent months, however, they have no trace of the boats, which continue through an Internet platform.

It's harder to know where these boats are, the protests, because they work more carefully. On the verge of arriving, the satellite has been withdrawn so as not to appear on the maps – it is not legal – the name of the ship has been erased and repainted. Saudi Arabia, Yemen or anyone who is a buyer does not care about taking such jobs, says Sanz. Lately – in writing this report – they have not passed through the port of Bilbao or Santander. They could be in Motril (Granada, Andalusia). In any case, Sanz insists on the need to continue the struggle and socialize the issue.

'War begins here' are the following projections:

M14: Vitoria, Colegio de Economistas
M15: Leganés, Spanish State
M15: Alicante, Catalan countries.
M16: Lezo, at 19:00 hours.
M23: Sant Cugat del Vallès, Catalan Countries.
24m: Anoeta, on gaztetxe
M25: Elche, Catalan Countries.
E4: Logroño, Spanish State
E19: Barcelona, Catalan Countries.
E20: Tarragona, Catalan countries.