The Basque Family
JENNI: Sunday night as we were taking a walk along the beach in the early evening, a cute little dog caught my attention. We struck up a conversation with the owners of the dog who are a Basque family that lives in San Sebastian. They were there doing the same as we were - enjoying the fine weather and watching people. The father, Joxe Echeverria, asked us what impressions most Americans have of the Basque people. I told him that probably most Americans who have heard of the Basques have the impression that violence is common here because of the news reports of the bombings. He shook his head and said, "That's a real shame." "Please tell the people back in America that we are good people," he added. "People who take care of our families and work hard." After that, Joxe, his wife Asun and their 12-year old daughter Itsaso adopted us and told us their story - not just their individual family's story, but also some of the very complicated history of their people and their politics.

JOE: For thousands of years -- long before Christ -- Basques have lived in a region that now divides evenly over the border of France and Spain.. While most of the rest of the world now recognizes two separate areas -- the French Basque and the Spanish Basque regions -- the people here only recognize that international border as a dividing line between North and South Basque. We're told that the polls reflect the majority of Basques prefer autonomy to independence. That means they'd rather remain Spanish or French citizens but with considerable local governmental control. In the short time after the death of the Spanish dictator Franco (who suppressed the Basques and forbade them from speaking their language) the Basques have been able to wrestle some rather limited autonomous control over their region from the Spanish Government. The French have not done the same. That limited autonomy is hardly enough, however, for most Basques.

A small, vocal minority here wants the Basque region to be recognized as its own separate country and has often resorted to terrorism to try and achieve its goals. A political party of Basque Separatists called ETA has claimed responsibility for many of the bombings of cars and buildings that sometimes make world headlines. In fact, since we have been in Europe in the last few weeks the ETA has been linked to two bombings here in Spain. The first was last Saturday near Pamplona and the second was Tuesday in Madrid. According to newspaper reports, the ETA targeted lower-level politicians who are unsympathetic to the separatist cause.

Saturday evening we watched from our hotel window as a group of ETA members conducted a political demonstration through the streets of San Sebastian. About 30 men and women walked briskly through the old town, carrying large banners and yelling slogans in what appeared to be Basque. It didn't sound like Spanish anyway. Three men in black hoods and masks ran around spray-painting graffiti on the walls. (The Basque word "Gora" means "Up" as in "Up with the ETA.")

As they marched by, I saw a woman with a frightened look on her face shield her young son's eyes, pull him inside and close the door. I couldn't get to my camera in time, but it probably would have been a bad idea to shoot it anyway, considering the tension of the moment. Despite the ETA's reputation, Joxe asks that we not condemn their actions without understanding the politics behind them. He says it's much too complicated to explain in just a couple of minutes, but he and his family understand it because they live it. Although the fascist Spanish dictator Franco (who Joxe describes as "a lot like Hitler") is gone, Joxe says the resulting government is also right wing and still causes many problems for the Basques.

JENNI: . They walked us to two of their favorite restaurants (which were closed), and then we all piled into their car and drove to a small town outside San Sebastian for dinner. It was the most wonderful experience, and the best meal we've had so far in Europe! The Echeverria family does not speak English, and we speak limited Spanish. Itsaso, their precocious 12-year old daughter, is studying English in school and served as a translator where necessary, but we sometimes had to resort to sign language. The Echeverrias explained that the Basque language has always puzzled language experts because its origin cannot be traced. Every other European language can be traced back to Indo-European origins. But, at a recent conference of language experts, it was announced that Basque is closest to Japanese than any other language on Earth! During dinner, Itsaso translated some Basque words:

Hello= Kaixo (pronounced kie-show)
Thank You = Eskerik Asko
Good Bye = Agur
Eyes = Begiak
Ears = Belarriak

JOE: They had walked us around San Sebastian for a couple of hours before we arrived at their car. Honestly, that moment was kind of a shock. Maybe they told us, but we didn't understand that we were going for a ride until we were at their car. And, even then, we didn't know WHERE they were taking us!  It was quite an exercise in trust, but we didn't hesitate to go with them. We could tell they were good people. The Echeverria family told us they understood their history because it had been handed down from generation to generation. Children are encouraged to talk in Basque among themselves while they learned the other languages in school. At the restaurant - called an asador -- the family introduced us to Bacalao (codfish) which I said my father's family in Puerto Rico eats quite often, and that my father would be proud if I indulged.

For appetizers, Joxe ordered bacalao omelettes that were wonderful. We also had a salad with anchovies and then we had a traditional steak and potato dinner. We talked for hours about their daily lives. Itsaso watches a lot of TV to her mother's dismay. Asun misses school and learning but is proud to be a housewife and is doing such a wonderful job raising her daughter. And Joxe is a salesman who works hard to provide for his family and enjoys his life in San Sebastian. He is very proud to be Basque and keeps close track of the politics of the region, hoping someday his people will have more control over their lives. Joxe -- who called me "indio" for indian -- said he thought it was possible that my last name, Vazquez, could originally have derived from the Basque region. If so, I'd be very proud to be from such a warm culture.

We thank the Echeverrias dearly for their generosity and hospitality; for insisting on buying us dinner as well as their effort to teach us about their culture and their homeland. We also really appreciate their patience with our elementary Spanish. We'll get better at Spanish by the end of the trip. I promise!