LANGUAGE & LITERATURE
LANGUAGE & LITERATURE
La Ley Amnistía de 1977
Grief DAISY FEAST
Cómo España enterró su pasado
Grief is like a little girl. When she looks in the mirror, All that stares back at her Is the ghost, Of her old self. A seemingly transcendent being Who fails to cast a reflection, Distorted, fragmented Through piercing rays of light That penetrate the expired soul With a lifetime, Of lost identities.
CAT PATTERSON
The Amnesty Law of 1977
How Spain buried its past
In 1936, the Spanish Civil War began and the bloody battle between the Republicans and Franco’s Fascists continued for 3 years until in 1939, the fascists won the war. From then on, Franco carried out an agonizing regime, full of exiles, executions, and other crimes until his death in 1975. Some historians estimate that the number of fatalities could be as high as 150,000 between 1936 and 1943 alone. Due to this fact, when democracy was established and the new constitution was approved in 1978, many politicians, from both sides, didn’t think the population could move on without forgetting the past. This belief became ‘The Pact of Forgetting’ and its legal foundation – the 1977 Amnesty Law. This granted a pardon to “acts of political intent, whatever their result, classified as crimes and misdemeanours committed prior to December 15, 1976.” In reality, the pact created a sense of amnesia among the population. Now, more than 46 years later, the flaws in the idea of the Pact of Forgetting have become crystal clear. Both the population and the government are trying to recognise the past with the aim of moving forward correctly, whether it be with new laws or whether it be with new attitudes. The promulgation of this law meant that crimes of the Franco-era were not included in school curricula, could not be debated and to this day none of those responsible have been held accountable before the Spanish court.
So she sits in front of her bedroom mirror, Desperately searching for a flicker of hope To snatch from beneath the green tint of those eyes, Wishing that things were different, On her side of the glass. But all time ever does Is pass, And all she ever does Is grieve, For the little girl, She once was.
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