Sisyphus’s Precariousness 2003.02.20 jon benito
The definition of words
So many dictionaries and rules, I just don't know what for. It's pointless defining words. Instead of defining them their meaning should be constantly put in doubt.
Joseba Sarrionaindia, "Hitzen Ondoeza". Not enough time has passed for us to be able to speak about the closure of Egunkaria in a calm way. Time hasn't cooled us down. A lot of things have been said about the 20th of February since then, about the demonstration on February the 22nd, about the future newspaper, about what 13 years of Egunkaria has really meant... as we said, a lot of talking has been going on, but I get the feeling that words have lost the meaning they had before the closure. You can't place the same value on them. Because they’ve closed one of the free spaces open to words. Opinions, criticisms, creativity... they’ve all had a small door slammed in their faces. Words are in a worsezzz way now than they were before. We don't know what value words have anymore. It's not the first time that a newspaper has been closed down, nor is it the first silencing of an expression of culture. Egin (the radio and newspaper) and Ardi Beltza are still fresh in our minds.
The texts cut, banned and modified by Spanish censorship are not of lesser importance either. Torrealdai knew that. Not only have we been prohibited from expressing ourselves for many years, but many obstacles have been put in our way to stop us from being creative.
We've been damned for the Basque language, for living within certain map coordinates, for the way we think and for, this time round, having our own way of viewing the world. We're chronically guilty. I wouldn’t like to play the victim, because we should believe in the worth of words, reason and the truth. Even if they have all been dealt a severe blow. Even if it means we become more demanding of them.
Symbol and tool: shelter and the public domain
Each country needs its symbols. One that will identify the country, one that will unite the people, a flagship if you like. Euskaldunon Egunkaria was one of those symbols. As well as an outlook on the world, it was also a way of feeling and reporting it. It was a mirror we could see ourselves reflected in, even if it was made of paper. It wasn't only a symbol, it was a tool as well. If Basque was to live, the language needed to be used to communicate. If Basque was to be useful as an everyday communicative language, it needed a tool: a newspaper. If the Basque Country was to be like every other country, that's what was needed. Euskaldunon Egunkaria was a commitment every morning: first of all to itself, and then to its readers.
In times of war, you try and smash or rob the enemy's symbols. What are battlefield banners? What are the bombing of towns and villages of no geographical or strategic importance (Gernika for instance)? Why destroy churches, libraries or monoliths? They think that if a symbol is smashed it will disappear. One that was not just a symbol. It was much more than the 80 cents because it was a symbol. A symbol and a tool.
Sisyphus’s doubts and needs
The need for it was the main reason a newspaper in Basque was set up. We weren't surprised at the appearance of the substitute EGUNERO on the 21st of February. There was a need for it. Necessity is society’s biggest driving force. The need to exist, to be informed, to maintain that commitment with the readership.
That need was more than well looked after. Egunkaria was one of the finest pieces of work done in Basque. It didn't just limit itself to covering a need. It renovated language used to speak at church, to children, to talk about everyday things. It revitalised and refreshed it.
It had hardworking and valuable journalists. "Barkatu Ama" was a weekly must for us. It went into detail on the things we knew about and it introduced a whole lot of artists, work and meeting grounds that we didn't. When it interviewed us, it made us feel important. It didn't patronise the readers. It showed us a way to listen to music, a different type of culture.
We owe that to Mikel Lizarralde and to the others. We should thank them for it.
Begia, the different culture sections, Hirusta, the Horoscope... they all gave us the chance to think, feel and live in Basque. We could see ourselves and our reality reflected in the paper.
That need is what makes it so serious to have a Basque language paper on the streets. It's like the Sisyphus myth, we're starting to climb that hill with the stone on our backs again. We don't know when it may fall. We don't know if this will be the definitive project. The next project will also be born under a sign of suspicion. A piece of our hearts will be in the "What the papers say" section. We want to recover that section of words, so it's with us every morning, every day. Softening the harsh news on Mondays.
Making us proud of our smallness and aware of our mistakes. Making sure we know of our inabilities but fulfilling our dreams as well. We need a public domain that will host our words, because we've still got an awful lot to say.
So many dictionaries and rules, I just don't know what for. It's pointless defining words. Instead of defining them their meaning should be constantly put in doubt.
Joseba Sarrionaindia, "Hitzen Ondoeza". Not enough time has passed for us to be able to speak about the closure of Egunkaria in a calm way. Time hasn't cooled us down. A lot of things have been said about the 20th of February since then, about the demonstration on February the 22nd, about the future newspaper, about what 13 years of Egunkaria has really meant... as we said, a lot of talking has been going on, but I get the feeling that words have lost the meaning they had before the closure. You can't place the same value on them. Because they’ve closed one of the free spaces open to words. Opinions, criticisms, creativity... they’ve all had a small door slammed in their faces. Words are in a worsezzz way now than they were before. We don't know what value words have anymore. It's not the first time that a newspaper has been closed down, nor is it the first silencing of an expression of culture. Egin (the radio and newspaper) and Ardi Beltza are still fresh in our minds.
The texts cut, banned and modified by Spanish censorship are not of lesser importance either. Torrealdai knew that. Not only have we been prohibited from expressing ourselves for many years, but many obstacles have been put in our way to stop us from being creative.
We've been damned for the Basque language, for living within certain map coordinates, for the way we think and for, this time round, having our own way of viewing the world. We're chronically guilty. I wouldn’t like to play the victim, because we should believe in the worth of words, reason and the truth. Even if they have all been dealt a severe blow. Even if it means we become more demanding of them.
Symbol and tool: shelter and the public domain
Each country needs its symbols. One that will identify the country, one that will unite the people, a flagship if you like. Euskaldunon Egunkaria was one of those symbols. As well as an outlook on the world, it was also a way of feeling and reporting it. It was a mirror we could see ourselves reflected in, even if it was made of paper. It wasn't only a symbol, it was a tool as well. If Basque was to live, the language needed to be used to communicate. If Basque was to be useful as an everyday communicative language, it needed a tool: a newspaper. If the Basque Country was to be like every other country, that's what was needed. Euskaldunon Egunkaria was a commitment every morning: first of all to itself, and then to its readers.
In times of war, you try and smash or rob the enemy's symbols. What are battlefield banners? What are the bombing of towns and villages of no geographical or strategic importance (Gernika for instance)? Why destroy churches, libraries or monoliths? They think that if a symbol is smashed it will disappear. One that was not just a symbol. It was much more than the 80 cents because it was a symbol. A symbol and a tool.
Sisyphus’s doubts and needs
The need for it was the main reason a newspaper in Basque was set up. We weren't surprised at the appearance of the substitute EGUNERO on the 21st of February. There was a need for it. Necessity is society’s biggest driving force. The need to exist, to be informed, to maintain that commitment with the readership.
That need was more than well looked after. Egunkaria was one of the finest pieces of work done in Basque. It didn't just limit itself to covering a need. It renovated language used to speak at church, to children, to talk about everyday things. It revitalised and refreshed it.
It had hardworking and valuable journalists. "Barkatu Ama" was a weekly must for us. It went into detail on the things we knew about and it introduced a whole lot of artists, work and meeting grounds that we didn't. When it interviewed us, it made us feel important. It didn't patronise the readers. It showed us a way to listen to music, a different type of culture.
We owe that to Mikel Lizarralde and to the others. We should thank them for it.
Begia, the different culture sections, Hirusta, the Horoscope... they all gave us the chance to think, feel and live in Basque. We could see ourselves and our reality reflected in the paper.
That need is what makes it so serious to have a Basque language paper on the streets. It's like the Sisyphus myth, we're starting to climb that hill with the stone on our backs again. We don't know when it may fall. We don't know if this will be the definitive project. The next project will also be born under a sign of suspicion. A piece of our hearts will be in the "What the papers say" section. We want to recover that section of words, so it's with us every morning, every day. Softening the harsh news on Mondays.
Making us proud of our smallness and aware of our mistakes. Making sure we know of our inabilities but fulfilling our dreams as well. We need a public domain that will host our words, because we've still got an awful lot to say.
