In an article published in the BERRIA newspaper (“Deriba erreakzionarioa geldiarazi”, (17-10-2024) (https://www.berria.eus/iritzia/artikuluak/deriba-erreakzionarioa-geldiarazi_2132090_102.html) the philosopher Andoni Olariaga referred to the link between migration and colonialism. In the article he mentioned, among other things: “Being People and persons living in the global North, and knowing that we are based on a model of life based on the exploitation of the global South, we have the responsibility to respond in an emancipatory way to the migratory issue”.
We agree with Olariaga in denouncing the attitude of the extreme right towards migration. Far-right ideologues make perverse use of human rights and now despise the citizens of countries that throughout history were brutally oppressed and exploited through their imperialist policies.
However, the issue of immigration has many facets. And even if what Olariaga mentions in his article is true, it is not the whole truth. We miss a comprehensive analysis of the migratory phenomenon, as the author puts states and stateless nations like ours on the same level when it comes to distributing responsibilities. And that is not fair.
Olariaga and other Basque experts dealing with the immigration issue forget something important, fundamental for this analysis: the starting point of the debate. They forget to mention that the Basque Country is a stateless nation that is oppressed, a nation denied, divided and colonized. We do not know if Olariaga and the others will accept this starting point, but we believe that it is essential to keep it in mind in order to correctly situate the debate on migration. Our situation is not that of Spain, France or Germany, i.e., that of the territories with a state. These have full sovereignty to develop their own policies, they have instruments and resources to integrate migrants and, above all, their cultures and languages are not in a vulnerable situation and, therefore, migration does not erode their hegemonic languages. We are obviously not in the same situation.
Without taking into account our national subordination, it is difficult to make an objective analysis of the migratory phenomenon and its consequences.
We are convinced that in order to have an adequate and reasonable debate on immigration, it is essential to start from this point of departure. If we make abstraction of our national oppression, the debate is contaminated from its origins. Because conclusions drawn from the wrong starting point can never be correct.
The situation and status of Basque in the Basque Country, for example, are not the same as those of Spanish in Salamanca or Cuenca (Spain). For this reason, the effects of immigration also differ in both cases. When an unprotected national minority such as ours receives immigration, its effects are much more severe than when immigration is received by a sovereign national majority, such as France or Spain. Immigration is not harmful in itself, but it produces different results depending on the context. In many of the works written on migration, this aspect, which we believe is very important, is not mentioned at all.
Undoubtedly, today’s Euskal Herria is multicultural. We can admit that this diversity makes our society richer and more dynamic. But there is no doubt that this plurality also entails a risk, which is the weakening of the Basque idiosyncrasy itself, that is to say, that we Basques find it more difficult to live as Basques in Euskal Herria. It is legitimate to worry about our collective identity in an increasingly globalized world, especially if we take into account our national subordination and our lack of sovereignty.
It is evident that Basqueness in the Basque Country cannot be only one part of that diversity among many others, but it must be the basis of our national identity, and the meeting point -in an increasingly globalized world- of all diversities. A meeting point that we must build between the natives and the newcomers.
We are at the antipodes of the positions of the far-right, positions that in our People have always been anti-Basque and Spanish or French unionist. However, we believe that it is essential to have a calm, serene and profound debate on the migratory phenomenon in the Basque Country, in order to merge two just and ethical principles that should be complementary: on the one hand, the right of immigrants to a better and more dignified life, and on the other hand, the right of the Basque Country to be able to preserve its language, its culture and its collective personality. No one should lose out in this matter.
