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During the 2011-2012 school year,
there were more than 1400 students
on the roads of Navarre,
and during this school year
they travelled more than 5 million kilometres.
This is equivalent to
13 trips to the moon.
As a consequence,
families will assume
a cost of 750,000 €,
an average of
600 € per student.
Winter is very long...
I find it really long...
We're always worried
about the weather.
Will it snow tomorrow?
Will a problem arise?
Will we be able to go to school tomorrow?...
There is always this uncertainty...
Our sons and daughters
will know two languages.
It's impossible not to take them.
The children of Mendigorria
and those of Ribera
are learning only one language.
We live in Euskal Herria
and if in Gares we have the opportunity
to learn two languages, Euskara (Basque) and Spanish,
that's the most important thing.
The Observatory on Linguistic Rights, Behatokia,
concerns itself with the protection of the linguistic rights of basque speakers.
Each time a case reaches us
we evaluate its importance,
given that it reveals
the difficulties suffered by families
of the zone classified by the "Ley del Vascuence" as non-bascophone
when it comes to schooling their children in Euskara.
It is this very law
that divides the territory into three zones
and denies a great part of the population
a right that should be granted to all citizens.
There are "big-heads"...
and a lot of people...
and...
...bouncy castles too...
and
we can make "talo"...
there are also games...
and houses...
and a circus workshop for the children.
I felt very lonely here, in Artaxoa,
very lonely.
But we had a party here in Artaxoa,
and I felt very happy.
Many people came,
and I didn't know there were so many people
who wanted to support us,
to be with us.
I remember the first party in Artaxoa.
We realized
that there were
a lot of people with us.
There were people from Artaxoa, and especially from Mendigorria.
I thought there would be fewer people,
but a lot of people came,
so I felt happy.
I'm proud of the people of Mendigorria.
He takes us wherever we want.
Yes...
...and...
...he brings us to school.
And...
...we listen to music in his car.
And it has a steering wheel.
The driver is a special person.
It's very hard
to put a 3 year-old child in a taxi or a bus
and even more if you don't know the driver.
He's very nice with the children,
he's like a relative.
He takes the children to school by the hand
and they love him.
We're lucky with the driver, Patxi.
He's very nice. He supports us,
he understands our problem
and he doesn't complain
when sometimes we can't pay him for two or three months.
He helped us a lot when we organized some parties
in Artaxoa, Larraga and Mendigorria.
In Artaxoa, for example,
he made lunch,
he brought the music,
he brought his music group to play...
he did a lot of different things.
He's very nice.
When Anta was a child
he used to go to our house to pick her up
in Artaxoa, and Larraga.
He's a very special person, we're very lucky.
I'm very happy with my parents.
They're proud of me, of the work I'm doing.
When I was a child I studied in Spanish
and I always wanted to speak in Euskara.
They appreciate my effort and help us a lot.
Someone made this decision.
Mendigorria is not in the basque region
and that's it. It's politics.
I think all the people here,
from Larraga, Artaxoa, Miranda...
all the people from here to the south
would agree with the D model,
but it's not in effect because of politics.
That's the only issue, politics.
And the solution is politics too.
In Artaxoa they have introduced the TIL model
and I would like to know
why this is possible
and it's not possible to do the same with Euskara.
"In 1999,
Adrián Marturet
died in a traffic accident
when he was going to school.
Adrián is a victim of language discrimination."
I remember that the next day
the teacher came to class and
while he was telling us a story he started to cry.
He told us that our classmate Adrián
had died in a traffic accident.
I remember it very well
because it was very moving to see the teacher crying...
We were very young.
We were 6 years old but
we were shocked.
I remember
Adrián's uncle coming to school.
Adrián died on his birthday
and two days later his uncle came
and he brought us some sweets
to celebrate it.
I remember that moment very well, it was very hard.
Adrián died on one of the daily trips
we take to Lizarra,
when he was 6 years old.
You lived through
the worst consequence of this unjust situation,
a result of the discriminatory "Ley del Vascuence",
which prevents us from studying in Euskara
in our own land.
It is because of this that we want you
to understand and receive all of our love and solidarity.
We really appreciate your coming here...
these kids, I love them
with all my heart...
and please let me say
to those parents who keep fighting
so that our children
can study in our language:
our children are first-class citizens,
they should not and do not have to be second-class.
And, if anyone, our politicians
should not lend a deaf ear to our pleas.
Our children deserve better.
We have the same rights,
all of us,
from Artaxoa, Mendigorria, Larraga,... from everywhere.
Thank you with all my heart
for having invited us and
you can count on us forever.
"1400 students on the road,
5 million kilometres per year,
spending thousands of euros
to be able to study in Euskara,
while, though no one is demanding it,
they're offering school in English"
It is the law itself
that denies these Navarrans such a basic right.
In its day,
Navarre was divided into three different zones:
lines were drawn and
rights were granted to those on one side
while depriving those from the other side.
The reality we face today
is evidence of
the injustice of the "Ley del Vascuence"
in what concerns
the teaching of Euskara.