Juan José Ibarretxe: “We want to have our own little space in the world”

- What is the purpose of your visit?

There are three main reasons for the visit. On one hand to fulfil the commitment I had acquired to deliver a conference in Stanford University. Secondly, the purpose was to reinforce and boost relations with the Government of California.  And, thirdly, to take part in the commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the San Francisco Euskaletxea. I could not go last year, which was when that anniversary really took place, but I did not want to miss the opportunity to do so this year.

- Are you satisfied with how your conference was received?
I must say that the people responsible in Stanford University were very courteous indeed with me. The approximately 300 people who came to listen to the conference were very interested and I was thanked them for how I had been welcomed and for the opportunity I had been given to explain how the Basque Country really is like and how we think the problems we have can be solved.  As the Lehendakari (President of the Basque Government), I explained my ideas with respect and humility and I think the people who were there understood that things are not exactly the way they are presented all too often in the media.

- How was your proposal to consult Basque society understood in the western coast of the United States?

They understood it perfectly, because the possibility of having citizens deciding political matters by means of a democratic vote is so basic and fundamental that what is really complicated is to defend the contrary.  That is to say, what they do not understand in the United States is that the Basque Country is denied the possibility to decide democratically and in peace what its political future is to be like.

- There is a very numerous Basque community in California. Basque awareness is becoming more and more diluted in the United States. What could be done in order not to lose that Basque awareness?

I think we sometimes simplify things too much. I have found a Basque community in California that has a very strong and heartfelt Basque awareness. I saw a father who was not over 45 years of age speaking to his American son in Basque. That made me feel deeply satisfied because second-generation Basques are speaking to their children, who are part of the third generation, in our tongue.  The San Francisco Klika is an example of how traditions are not being lost. To see children dancing our folkloric dances is yet another example. We have been told that apart from watching Euskal Telebista through the Internet they would like to watch it in cable TV at home. There is the will to maintain close connections with the Basque Country, with our culture, our music, with our sports… there is no doubt we have a lot to do and we are trying to do it.  And, we certainly can never stop doing things because we think we have done it all.  The Basques of the Diaspora deserve it all because they are the best ambassadors that we have in the world.

- We have a Basque Lieutenant Governor: John Garamendi. You met him in the Basque Country. Have you both managed to find a matter of common interest between California and the Basque Country?

We maintain a cordial and stable relationship with California. Garamendi is quite a character. From of the human and political points of view. It is a pity that we do not know much in the Basque Country about Basques in the world who have a very relevant role in the political arena in their respective countries. Garamendi is a paradigmatic example of that.  We met in the Capitol in Sacramento and there we were, two Basques, one the Lieutenant Governor of California and the other the Lehendakari, willing to work in common. We are separated by thousands of kilometres but we have the firm will not to let distance hinder our relationship and fortunately, nowadays, distances are not an obstacle for us to work together.

- Which other main fields in which a degree of collaboration or exchange could take place? what type of fields (economic, educational, cultural,...?

We have a common interest for the Basque Country and California to collaborate and cooperate jointly in matters related with climatic change and the technologies that could allow us to produce energy without contaminating the environment. They are very interested in the advances the Basque country has attained in wind power and we are very interested in all the work that California is carrying out in nanotechnological research. We have a very wide field in which to work in common as well as the joint will to do so.

- Is there such a thing as the eighth herrialde? Which is the reality to have seen in your official trips abroad?

It is surprising to see that in the eighth herrialde there are more Basques than in the Basque Country itself. There are more Basques there than in Iparralde and Hegoalde put together. This is very relevant and very singular at the same time. And during all the trips I have made I have had the chance to come to many conclusions, but I would point out one above all others. The Basques in the eighth herrialde live together, eat together, have fun together, dance together, do things together. They do not ask if you are from this or that place.  Whether they come from Nafarroa, Bizkaia or Sara. They all feel members of a single people, with the same roots and the same language and the same culture. With the same desires not to be swallowed up within the current universe of globalisation.

- The Basque Government has recently opened a delegation in New York. Which are the objectives established for this delegation in the short run?

This is to become the base camp of the Basque Country in the United States. The meeting point for our economy and for our culture.

- There is a certain degree of rejection in certain sectors as refers to the presence of the Basque Country in international forums. In your opinion, what is the reason for this?

I ascribe this to pure and simple ignorance. We are a small people that claims its right to be the way it is. We do not want to have problems with anybody, and woe to peoples who think that in order to survive they have to develop against other peoples! We humbly wish to have our small space in the world.  The space that corresponds to us.  No more, no less. We have the most ancient language in Europe: a universal heritage.  However, and unfortunately, there have always been and always will be ignorants who despise what they do not know or whatever is different from them. This has been, and still is, a historical constant, but I am not concerned by ignorants.  My business is that we, the Basques, are capable -as a people- to overcome the challenges of the 21st century.

- EuskoSare works to favour and boost cooperation and communication between members of the Global Basque Community. How would you qualify this initiative of Eusko Ikaskuntza?
I think it is a very positive and necessary initiative because it places the Basque Country in the world context.

- Lastly, is there any message you would especially like to transmit to the Global Basque Community?

My recommendation is that the Basques of the world should not stop being the way they are and that we are capable to transmit our identity and our culture to our children. The value of commitment, of the word given and of a job well done. We should tell them we are not better or worse than other peoples.  That we are just we: the Basques. We have to open up to the world and get to know other cultures different from ours, learn other languages, the more the better. But we should not forget where we come from. Because he who forgets where he comes from, does not know where he is going.

More info

Presidency of the Basque Goverment.

Lehendakari Juan José Ibarretxe´s home page.

Basque Cultural Center of San Francisco

Government of California