Following the wave of the Korrika, the second edition of the Independentist Euskaltzales Gathering will arrive in Azpeitia, aiming to strengthen the euskaltzales' Renaissance. This event will provide a space for reflection, training, learning, play, enjoyment, and networking, envisioning and embodying a Basque-speaking Euskal Herria for two days.
The gathering will bring together euskaltzales from all over Euskal Herria, offering a respite to return to the daily struggle with renewed strength. The organizers emphasize that humans are social animals with an inherent need to live and interact in groups, highlighting the importance of language not only for communication but as a way of being and perceiving the world.
The disappearance of Euskera would not only cause the disappearance of a language; furthermore, an entire worldview would be lost, causing significant damage to global diversity and deepening a process of homogenization that would greatly benefit capitalism.
The importance of working on the revitalization of Euskera alongside other liberating struggles against this oppressive system is stressed, linking it to the liberation process of Euskal Herria itself. The goal is not to build an Euskal Herria that reproduces oppression, but to create a Basque-speaking, free, and sovereign nation.
As social animals, the struggle for Euskera cannot be understood outside of the collective or the interdependence between individuals, which constitutes its strength. For this, the first step is to have the desire and then to create the necessary spaces. This desire exists, and for it to spread, an euskaltzale and independentist pedagogy is being carried out, creating meeting spaces like these gatherings.
It is acknowledged that there are great challenges and that the time has come to rethink the struggle for Euskera. It is necessary to interpret the current context and identify the needs for Euskera to advance. Although many things have changed since the founding of EHE in 1979, Euskera and the euskaldunes remain oppressed, with the French and Spanish states being identified as the main culprits of this oppression, actively promoting the disappearance of Euskera and the euskaldunes.
Despite almost half a century, EHE's main demand remains the same: a Basque-speaking Euskal Herria. For this, the euskaltzale movement has been clear from the beginning that independence is indispensable, that is, a Republic of Euskera. It is known what the future holds if they are not freed from the clutches of these two oppressive states, and the evolution of other stateless nations in the world is also known. The oppression of Euskera is a structural problem, and that structure must be overthrown, which is why it is essential to unite the struggle for Euskera with the need for a state of its own. A call is made to all euskaltzales to join this struggle, and the upcoming Friday and Saturday gathering will be a new milestone on this path.
