Thirty-five years have passed this month since the events. The same years that I count. Thirty-five years of a terrorist crime that shook the entire island society. That froze the blood of a people who in those times were still awakening to democracy and saw how their main way of life became even more dangerous. I am talking about the sad events that occurred in the Canarian-Saharan fishing bank, in a now distant 1978. The murder of the fishermen of the Cruz del Mar.
At that time our society was very different from today. Although it was already beginning to change and tourism was pushing hard, the "coast" was still the main means of livelihood for many of our families. In those convulsive years, Spain had just abandoned Western Sahara and after the signing of the tripartite agreements with Morocco and Mauritania, our fishing fleet was forced to look for an alternative fishing ground. From 1977 the attacks against our ships became more and more frequent. Even so, the society of Lanzarote continued to look to the countryside and the sea as the main sources of sustenance, although the danger that already implied working at sea was now joined by an even greater threat: terrorist attacks.
Even today, the authorship of the events remains to be clarified; Morocco blames the Polisario Front and the Polisario Front blames Morocco. But the truth is that these deaths were treated in the worst possible way by the Government of the time, which considered them as a work accident. I cannot imagine the ordeal suffered by those families, shocked by such a brutal event and without the support of the State due to their status as victims of terrorism.
Little by little it seems that history has begun to change. In 2011, finally, the crew of the Cruz del Mar were recognized as victims of terrorism and were included in the Law of Recognition and Comprehensive Protection of Victims of Terrorism.
Today, at the end of 2013, Lanzarote has erected a monument in their memory, which is named "The light that guides us". Designed by the master craftsman Juan Brito, it is a fair recognition of our murdered sailors, although it should constitute the penultimate institutional tribute. The last of the necessary recognitions is now pending in the Parliament of the Canary Islands, with the approval of a law of reparation and restitution complementary to the state law. The Canary Association of Victims of Terrorism, ACAVITE, has already submitted a draft to the Parliament.
Let's hope we don't have to wait another thirty-five years for that.
*Pedro J. Suárez García, member of the Voces Transversales collective.