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viernes, 22 de abril de 2011

A school during the Spanish war. Aguas town, Huesca

This story tells about a school during Spanish war (1936 - 1939) Teacher was killed so they had to look for a new teacher for children villagers.



Aguas town
1936 – 193. A school in Aguas town.      The teacher is dead. Venancio is the new teacher.

     Venancio is chosen as example of teacher because the good that provides a teacher for mankind is still above its limitations.
     My father, Isidro Biarge Franco, was six when war broke out in Spain. He and his brother Hermenegildo, who was nine years old, were on holidays with some far relatives without a mother or father or other parents. From here the eternal gratitude for the family who cared for them.
     Aguas village  is in Guara Mountains, Pyrennes, Huesca province. War broke out. The whole village was in arms, men went to war and anarchist committee took the government of the people. From here the gratitude for José “The Red”, the head of the committee of the CNT-FAI who helped to raise my father an my uncle.
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     The first army which arrived in town set fire to the church and town was declared atheist area. The second army of volunteers who arrived in town asked to meet with the village’s teacher, the Mayor and the priest. The Mayor was already dead, the priest was advised by good neighbors and was hidden but the village teacher decided to meet them. The teacher, I can’t remember his name, exemplary in his behavior to his country people went to meeting fearful and with as much dignity as he could. He was immediately shot without trial. Reason: to be representative of the authority. The school was burned.

     After some time good people from Aguas tried to get on with their lives. Spain was in war. Men were at war. There were only women, women, old people and soldiers in the village. The front was very close from the village. There were no farm animals and little food. Women had two jobs: the usual one and to work in the fields because their men were far. It was hard to work fields because there were no farm animals so they had to plow with their forces and helpless. There was no water or energy in the village houses. Children of the village started to create problems: they were not at school, their mothers were working all day and their fathers were absent in the war. They had no pattern routine, they did not obey, they showed bad and disrespectful behavior, and they joined in bands and used to attack to other villages following examples of the war. It was a disaster.

     One day a group of women became angry and went to the headquarters in default. They arrived at the headquarters screaming and waving. The soldier in guard was afraid and went into the headquarter for help.

Soldier: Major, women are coming.

Major: What is the problem with women.

Soldier: They are revolted my commander.

     My father told me that when soldiers watched that women were angry, upset and in default they were afraid. Headquarters commanders talked to them with authority, they threaded women, they shouted, they showed their arms….But village women were so outraged that it was impossible to calm them.

     When army leaders were not eased, they began to listen. They knew that youth were uncontrolled and creating ongoing problems. They understood children needed to go to school.

     But… school was burned, destroyed, books burned and torn leaves, desk and furniture were broken… the worst: there was no teacher.

     They tried to find a teacher hardly but …. Teachers were dead and those who were not killed were in the army. Then they tried to find out somebody who had a bit of culture, so she or he could teach the younger. Village women had been the wiser but they used to have no teaching skills. Cousin Nuria, fourteen years old was, had a good level of culture but her mother refused because of the prevailing violence. They asked for teacher or some skill people around towns and they could not find any literate woman or man. Mostly were dead.

     The only one man they could find was a poor man who did not have much knowledge but had a great advantage: he was lame. So he was the only person available to be able to be a teacher because he could not go to the army. He was Venancio. Women, anarchist committee and army commanders talked a lot with him. My father told me as they used to hid under a window listening to the advice they gave Venancio to become a teacher. Venancio took his responsibility with humility and honor.

     Venancio was a poor man from a poor family. He could not go much to school when he was a child. He could read, write, add, subtract and divide by a number. He could not divide by two characters but he did his duty and took care of children and youth of the town of Aguas during Spanish war. He was the one who transmitted culture to the youth and helped people.


     Providing a teacher is always greater than its limitations.

     Contributions to humanity of Venancio:

  • He took his duty responsibly and with honor.
  • He tried to give the best example improving hard his own vocabulary and behavior.
  • Children had a routine again despite the war and they were allowed to learn
  • Venancio accepted his limitations as a teacher.
  • He organized a system in which students helped each other so everyone could learn even more than him.
  • Venancio taught them to read, write, add, subtract, multiply and divide by a number. He did not know how divide by two figures, so he organized the school so that my uncle Hermenegildo, who was 9 years old and had attended the Coelgio San Viator in Huesca, taught to divide by two or more figures.
  • He required to attend school at the more rebellious children. He did not allow children stay in the streets.
     My father became a great reader thanks to the books they recued from the school library. He read Alexander Dumas, Jules Verne… Ehen the war finished, his parents found him waiting with his brother standing on a fig tree in the way reading Emilio Salgari.

     My father became a successful businessman and founded a school. Hermen, my uncle became a respected and well known pediatrician in the city of Huesca.

     After war, Venancio had to flee the town for collaborating with the enemy.

So I told this story as my father Isidro told me. I ask who can give me any information about this teacher, let me know.

Pili Biarge

Information:

Teachers were dead and those who were not killed were in the army.- Some statistics think that the 80% of Spanish teachers, women or men were killed during war. Republican armies when arrived in a town used to ask by the Major, the priest and the teachers and they used to kill them. National armies when arrived in a town used to ask by the teacher and the Major or even the priest on depending their ideology, and used to kill them. Reason: people used to be illiterate. They thought that people without leaders were presumably more influenced people.




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