Sunday, 8 November 2026

THE ALBERA MASSIF & THE MEDITERRANEAN TORTOISE

After exploring the landscapes of
Catalunya Nord, The Grandma and Claire Fontaine continue their journey towards the Albera mountain range, in the Alt Empordà region.

The Albera is the easternmost section of the Pyrenees, where the mountains gradually descend towards the Mediterranean Sea. It is a remarkable natural area, characterised by forests, rocky hills, Mediterranean vegetation and an extraordinary variety of wildlife. The western part of the mountain range is home to beech and oak forests, while the eastern slopes are dominated by cork oaks and Mediterranean scrubland. However, one of the greatest treasures of this landscape is a small, quiet and ancient creature: the Mediterranean tortoise (Testudo hermanni hermanni).

Tortoises belong to an evolutionary lineage that appeared more than 200 million years ago. They survived enormous environmental changes, including the extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs.

The Mediterranean tortoise is a terrestrial reptile, recognisable by its yellowish and black shell, strong legs and slow movements. It is mainly herbivorous, feeding on wild plants, leaves, flowers and other vegetation. Like other reptiles, it depends on external sources of heat to regulate its body temperature. During the coldest months, it enters a period of winter dormancy, reducing its activity until temperatures rise again. Despite its remarkable evolutionary history, this tortoise faces a serious threat to its survival.

The Albera mountain range is home to the last surviving native wild population of Hermann's tortoise on the Iberian Peninsula. In the past, this species inhabited much larger areas along the Catalan Mediterranean coast. Today, its original population survives in a small and fragmented territory.

According to estimates based on surveys carried out in 2017, approximately 6,000 to 7,000 individuals remained in the Albera area. Other populations have been established in Catalunya through conservation and reintroduction programmes. The main threats to the species include forest fires, habitat destruction, agricultural changes, road accidents, predation and the illegal collection of wild tortoises. The species is legally protected, and removing individuals from their natural habitat is strictly forbidden.

During their journey, Claire and The Grandma have learnt about the Centre de Reproducció de Tortugues de l'Albera (Albera Tortoise Breeding Centre), located near the Sanctuary of Mare de Déu del Camp, in Garriguella. The centre plays an essential role in the conservation of the Mediterranean tortoise. Its work includes captive breeding, scientific research, environmental education and the reinforcement of wild populations.

Breeding tortoises under controlled conditions helps reduce the high mortality rates experienced by young animals in the wild. Once suitable for release, captive-bred tortoises can contribute to conservation programmes designed to strengthen existing populations. However, breeding alone is not enough.

Protecting natural habitats, preventing forest fires and raising public awareness are equally important. The survival of the Mediterranean tortoise depends not only on scientists and conservationists, but also on the decisions made by society.

Claire and The Grandma and  reflect on the extraordinary contrast between the tortoise's long evolutionary history and its vulnerability in the modern world. An animal whose ancestors lived alongside dinosaurs now depends on human conservation efforts to survive in parts of its former habitat.

The Mediterranean tortoise reminds us that biodiversity is not simply a collection of species. It is a complex network of relationships between animals, plants, landscapes and ecosystems. Protecting a tortoise also means protecting the Mediterranean forests, grasslands and scrublands where it lives. And perhaps the most important lesson is that the value of a living creature does not depend on its size, speed or usefulness to human beings.

Every species has its place in the natural world. Every extinction represents an irreversible loss. And every successful conservation project demonstrates that human beings can also become guardians of the natural heritage they have endangered.

Claire and The Grandma leave the Albera with a simple thought: Some of the most important journeys in life are not about moving faster, but about learning to respect the world around us.

More information: Discovering the Cork Lands

When we try to pick out anything by itself, 
we find it hitched to everything else in the universe.

John Muir

Saturday, 7 November 2026

RING THE BELLS THAT STILL CAN RING, THERE IS NO DRUM

Dear Leonard,

It has been ten years since you left us, and the void you left behind remains impossible to bear. The society that you -and others like you- dreamed of has vanished; or rather, it never truly came to be. We are once again going through difficult times, both socially and ethically. Politics has lost its function as a tool for social transformation and has instead become a den of corruption, cynicism, hypocrisy, and the constant exploitation of the common good. Everything has become polarized, to the point where the two extremes now touch -making it impossible to trust either one.

We have failed as a society because we lack the collective consciousness needed to put an end to these individualistic, megalomaniacal, and selfish behaviours, and to refocus on what is truly important: the human being. Those minorities you held in such high regard continue to suffer under the excesses and impositions of the majority -though, of course, all in the name of "transformation" and "inclusivity," with a focus on "equity" and the perspective of [insert here the specific group you claim to protect while actively destroying them]. Misery has been turned into a business, and despair into a form of entertainment. Nihilism is taking hold among the youth. The culture of hard work and effort has been eclipsed by marketing and the pursuit of quick gains. The worker is criminalized, while the parasite is rewarded.

We have failed to conquer Manhattan -let alone Berlin- and have instead been conquered ourselves by a tidal wave of ignorance, cynicism, envy, and lies. Those societies that Aldous Huxley and George Orwell warned us about are already among us, and, honestly, I do not know how we will reverse them -or even if it is possible to do so.

We do not falter in the struggle, yet with each passing day we grow older, watching as we lose what previous generations fought for and won. We see that we are leaving a dark future for those who will come after us -a dark, economically bankrupt future.

You always sang out against this type of society -the one that was yours, and remains ours today. Now, mediocrity has spread from the political sphere to every corner of society, including the cultural realm. While the voices of dignity grow old-only to be cast aside or outright censored- there are no new, committed voices like yours to take their place. It is chilling to see so many artists in prison simply because they are a nuisance to the regime of the day -and yes, this is happening here, in the Europe you and I both love.

I shudder to think what the next ten years will be like without you -without anyone at the helm -under these leaders who are inept, mediocre, megalomaniacal, and, above all, corrupt: corrupt in their actions and in their very souls. Those who promised to transform everything have only transformed their own lifestyles; meanwhile, the old guard -the ones who have always been there- are certainly not the solution to the very problems they themselves created.

And so, in these times of social uncertainty and persistent disappointment, we pledge not to give up, but to keep working to reverse this situation. It will not be easy -but great crises often give rise to great opportunities. We cannot allow ourselves to be humiliated any further, nor can we tolerate their continued lies -or the way they prioritize individual interests over the collective good, and the idler over the hard worker. In the most difficult moments of our history -and we have many to look back on- an anthem has always emerged. With your permission, we are holding on to yours to keep moving forward. 

We miss you, Leonard, and we haven't forgotten you.

The birds they sang
At the break of day
Start again
I heard them say
Don't dwell on what has passed away
Or what is yet to be

Ah, the wars they will be fought again
The holy dove, she will be caught again
Bought and sold, and bought again
The dove is never free

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in

We asked for signs
The signs were sent
The birth betrayed
The marriage spent
Yeah, and the widowhood
Of every government
Signs for all to see

I can't run no more
With that lawless crowd
While the killers in high places
Say their prayers out loud
But they've summoned, they've summoned up
A thundercloud
They're going to hear from me

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in

You can add up the parts
But you won't have the sum
You can strike up the march
There is no drum
Every heart, every heart
To love will come
But like a refugee

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in

That's how the light gets in
That's how the light gets in

More information: The Daily Declaration

 Music is the emotional life of most people.

Leonard Cohen

Friday, 6 November 2026

CERVERA-BANYULS, PROTECTING MARINE BIODIVERSITY

Today, Claire Fontaine and 
The Grandma continue their journey south along the Costa Vermella (Red Coast), leaving Banyuls de la Marenda behind and heading towards Cervera.

The road winds between the mountains and the Mediterranean Sea, offering spectacular views of rocky cliffs, hidden coves and crystal-clear waters.

Here, the Serra de l'Albera (Albera Massif), the easternmost extension of the Pyrenees, gradually descends towards the Mediterranean. Its rocky slopes do not simply disappear at the shoreline. They continue beneath the waves, creating an extraordinary underwater landscape.

This remarkable meeting between mountains and sea is home to one of the most important protected marine environments in the region: the Cervera-Banyuls Marine Nature Reserve.

More information: Banyuls

Established in 1974, Cervera-Banyuls became first exclusively marine nature reserve in France. Covering approximately 650 hectares and seven kilometres of coastline, the reserve was created to protect the exceptional biodiversity of the Costa Vermella.

Its underwater environment includes rocky reefs, submarine caves, seagrass meadows and coralligenous formations. Together, these habitats support an extraordinary variety of marine organisms.

But protecting a marine reserve means much more than preserving a beautiful landscape. It means safeguarding the complex relationships that make life beneath the surface possible.

Among the reserve's most valuable habitats are the meadows of Posidonia oceanica, a flowering plant found only in the Mediterranean Sea. Often mistaken for seaweed, Posidonia forms extensive underwater meadows that provide food, shelter and breeding grounds for numerous marine species. These underwater forests also help stabilise sediments, protect coastlines and store carbon.

Another remarkable habitat is the coralligenous ecosystem, where calcareous algae create complex structures colonised by colourful sponges, gorgonians, corals and countless invertebrates.

Groupers, octopuses, sea bream and lobsters are among the many animals that find shelter in these Mediterranean environments. Every species plays a role in maintaining the delicate balance of marine life.

For centuries, human communities have depended on the Mediterranean for food, transportation, trade and cultural exchange. However, pollution, excessive fishing pressure, coastal development and climate change have placed increasing pressure on marine ecosystems.

Marine reserves offer an opportunity to reduce some of these pressures. By regulating human activities and establishing areas of stronger protection, they allow vulnerable habitats and marine populations to recover. Protected areas can also contribute to healthier surrounding waters by supporting the reproduction and movement of marine species. Scientific research, environmental education and responsible tourism are essential parts of this conservation effort.

At Cervera-Banyuls, visitors can even discover the underwater environment through an educational snorkelling trail at Perafita, designed to encourage observation and respect for marine life.

The beauty of Cervera-Banyuls cannot be understood without the Albera. These mountains are part of the Pyrenees, a natural system that connects forests, valleys, rivers, rocky shores and marine habitats. Although the landscapes above and below the water are different, they belong to an interconnected environment. What happens on land can eventually affect the sea. Soil erosion, pollution and human activities may influence coastal waters and the organisms that inhabit them.

Protecting the Mediterranean therefore requires looking beyond the shoreline. It means understanding that nature does not recognise the political borders drawn by human beings.

The waters of Cervera-Banyuls belong to the same Mediterranean ecosystem as those of Cap de Creus, just across the border between Catalunya Nord and Catalunya. Protecting one part of this environment contributes to preserving a shared natural heritage.

As Claire and The Grandma contemplate the Mediterranean from the rocky coastline, they reflect on the importance of preserving places whose greatest treasures are often invisible from the surface. A calm blue sea may conceal an extraordinary world of life, colour and movement. But beauty alone cannot guarantee survival. Marine ecosystems need knowledge, protection and responsible human behaviour.

The Cervera-Banyuls Marine Nature Reserve reminds us that conservation is not about separating humanity from nature. It is about learning to coexist with the natural world without destroying the conditions that sustain it.

The sea is not simply a landscape to admire. It is a living world to understand, respect and protect. And as the journey continues south towards Catalunya, the Albera remain on the horizon, reminding The Grandma and Claire that the mountains and the Mediterranean share a history far older than any human frontier.

More information: Reserves Naturelles Catalanes

La mar estava alegre, aquest migdia:
tota era brill i crit i flor d'escuma,
perquè feia molt sol i el vent corria.
Al lluny se veia un gran mantell de bruma.
Damunt les ones, amb les veles dretes,
les barques hi brincaven com cabretes.

The sea was joyful this midday:
all was sparkle, clamor, and blossoms of foam,
for the sun shone bright and the wind was blowing.
In the distance, a great veil of mist could be seen.
Upon the waves, with their sails held high,
the boats skipped about like little goats.

Joan Maragall

Thursday, 5 November 2026

'I MORIR QUAN SIGUI L'HORA, SOTA EL CEL DEL MEU PAÍS...'

Tots els anys que he hagut de viure
allunyat del meu país
han estat una nit fosca,
un camí ple de neguit.

Penso en tot allò que enrere
vaig deixar quan vaig partir
i amb els ulls de l'esperança
torno encara al meu país.

No estimo res com la dolcesa
del cel blau del meu país!
Ara en sóc lluny, però me'n recordo 
dia i nit.

Si un dia hi torno el vent que em rebi
esborrarà tots els neguits
i oblidaré els anys que he viscut
tant sol i trist.

No hi ha res que no em recordi
cada instant el meu país,
tot em fa pensar amb els dies
que hi vaig viure tant feliç.

Quan camino el vent em porta
veus que el temps no ha pas marcit,
si m'adormo el que somio
és només del meu país.

No estimo res com la dolcesa
del cel blau del meu país!

Abans que la mort m'arribi
vull tornar al meu país,
trepitjar la terra amiga,
caminar per vells camins.

Vull sentir les veus que estimo,
vull plorar pels vells amics
i morir quan sigui l'hora
sota el cel del meu país.

No estimo res com la dolcesa
del cel blau del meu país!

All the years I have had to live
far away from my homeland
have been a dark night,
a path filled with anguish.

I think of everything I left behind
when I departed,
and with eyes full of hope,
I still return to my homeland.

I love nothing like the sweetness
of the blue sky of my homeland!
I am far away now, yet I remember it
day and night.

If one day I return, the wind that greets me
will erase all my sorrows,
and I will forget the years I have lived
so alone and sad.

Everything reminds me
of my homeland at every moment;
everything makes me think of the days
when I lived there, so happy.

As I walk, the wind brings me
voices that time has not withered;
if I fall asleep, what I dream of
is only my homeland.

I love nothing like the sweetness
of the blue sky of my homeland!

Before death comes for me,
I want to return to my homeland,
to tread upon its friendly soil,
to walk along old paths.

I want to hear the voices I love,
I want to weep for old friends,
and—when the time comes—to die
beneath the sky of my homeland.

I love nothing like the sweetness
of the blue sky of my homeland!

El meu país, Miquel Martí i Pol

More information: iSabadell


I em va despertar l'interès per lluitar per les llibertats. 
Així vaig començar amb la Nova Cançó.

And it awakened in me the desire to fight for freedom. 
That is how I became involved in the Nova Cançó movement.

Teresa Rebull

Wednesday, 4 November 2026

TERESA REBULL, A NEW LIFE IN BANYULS DE LA MARENDA

After visiting Argelers and remembering the tragedy of the Republican refugees, Claire Fontaine and The Grandma continue their journey along the Mediterranean coast.

Their next destination is Banyuls de la Marenda, a beautiful seaside town in Catalunya Nord, surrounded by vineyards, mountains and the blue waters of the Mediterranean.

Banyuls is closely associated with the sculptor Aristide Maillol, whose artistic legacy remains an important part of the town's cultural identity. However, it is also the place where one of the most extraordinary women in contemporary Catalan cultural history spent the final decades of her life. Her name was Teresa Rebull.

In 1939, the poet Joan Oliver, better known as Pere Quart, wrote Corrandes d'exili, one of the most moving poems about the Republican exile. His verses express the pain of leaving one's homeland, the uncertainty of departure and the sorrow of separation.

Decades later, Teresa Rebull would sing about her country from a different perspective. Her song El meu país speaks of a profound emotional relationship with the land, language and memories that define a person's identity.

If Pere Quart represents the painful farewell, Teresa Rebull represents the enduring connection with everything that exile could not destroy. Both artists remind us that a homeland is much more than a geographical territory. It is also a language, a collection of memories, a cultural inheritance and a place that continues to exist within us even when we are far away.

Teresa Soler i Pi was born in Sabadell on 21 September 1919. She grew up in a politically active environment. Her mother, Balbina Pi, was an important figure in the anarcho-syndicalist movement.As a young woman, Teresa became involved in political activism and joined the POUM. During the Spanish Civil War, she worked as a volunteer nurse.

Following the Republican defeat in 1939, she went into exile in France, where she subsequently collaborated with the French Resistance during the Second World War. Her life was marked by political struggle, exile and a determination to defend social justice and cultural freedom. But Teresa was much more than a political activist. She was also a singer, composer, painter and a woman with an extraordinary capacity for reinventing herself.

Teresa Rebull began her recording career relatively late in life. In 1969, when she was approaching fifty, she released her first record. At a time when the Nova Cançó movement was becoming an important expression of Catalan cultural identity, Teresa brought something different to the stage. She brought the experience of an entire generation that had lived through war, defeat, exile and resistance. Her younger colleagues affectionately called her L'Àvia de la Nova Cançó, the Grandmother of the Nova Cançó. She set poems by Catalan writers to music, including works by Joan Salvat-Papasseit, Josep Sebastià Pons and other important literary voices. Her music connected poetry, memory and political commitment.

For Teresa, singing in Catalan was also a way of preserving a language and a culture that had endured decades of repression. Her voice became a bridge between generations and between the two sides of the Pyrenees.

Among Teresa Rebull's most memorable songs is El meu país, meaning My Country. The song can be understood as an expression of belonging that goes beyond physical borders. For those who have experienced exile, a country is not simply a place on a map. It is the sound of a familiar language, the memory of childhood, the landscapes left behind and the people who shaped their lives.

Teresa Rebull eventually settled in Banyuls de la Marenda. She had built a new life but her Catalan identity remained an essential part of her artistic and personal world. Her experience reminds us that exile can transform a person's relationship with their homeland without necessarily destroying it. Sometimes, a song becomes a place where memory can survive.

On 6 July 2006, Òmnium Cultural organised a tribute concert to Teresa Rebull at the Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona. The concert was called Visca l'amor, meaning Long Live Love. It brought together several generations of Catalan musicians, including Lluís Llach, Maria del Mar Bonet, and many others. Teresa was eighty-six years old.

It was the first time she had performed at the Palau de la Música Catalana.

Claire Fontaine and The Grandma were fortunate enough to attend that concert, and they still remember it with enormous emotion. What impressed them most was Teresa's extraordinary strength and vitality. She had lived through some of the darkest chapters of European history, yet there she was, standing on one of Catalunya's most emblematic stages, surrounded by musicians and an audience celebrating her life.

Every performance was memorable. Lluís Llach's interpretation of El meu país was particularly moving. Maria del Mar Bonet's version of Dona d'aigua was another unforgettable moment. And the collective performance of Visca l'amor, based on a poem by Joan Salvat-Papasseit that Teresa had set to music, brought the evening to an extraordinary conclusion.

They also remember the presence of Muriel Casals, a woman whose dedication to Catalan culture and civic life left a lasting impression on so many people. Looking back, that concert was much more than a musical tribute. It was a celebration of memory, friendship, culture and the extraordinary resilience of a woman who had never stopped believing in the power of music.

Banyuls de la Marenda is also the birthplace of Aristide Maillol, one of the most important sculptors of the twentieth century. Born in 1861, Maillol developed an artistic language characterised by harmonious forms, balance and the expressive possibilities of the human body. His work reflects a deep relationship with the Mediterranean landscape.

Although Maillol and Rebull belonged to different generations and artistic traditions, their lives offer two fascinating perspectives on the cultural richness of Catalunya Nord. Maillol transformed the human body into sculpture. Rebull transformed poetry and memory into song. Both remind us that artistic expression can preserve something that extends beyond the lifetime of its creator.

Teresa Rebull died in Banyuls de la Marenda on 15 April 2015, aged ninety-five. Her life had taken her from Sabadell to exile, from political resistance to musical creation, and from the painful memories of war to the affection of new generations of listeners.

She never stopped being connected to the country she had left in 1939. And she never stopped giving that connection a voice. Perhaps this is why her story is such a meaningful continuation of our journey through Catalunya Nord.

At Argelers, we remembered the suffering of those who crossed the border seeking refuge. Through Pere Quart, we heard the sorrow of farewell. And through Teresa Rebull, we discover that even after exile, loss and decades of separation, love and memory can continue to flourish.

Some people leave their homeland, but their homeland never leaves them. And sometimes, when words are no longer enough, they begin to sing.

More information: Banyuls

Encís de la Marenda
Que fa més dens la sal
Dels meus ulls i de l'aire
Sota el cel, sota el sol.

The enchantment of La Marenda
That deepens the salt
Of my eyes and of the air
Beneath the sky, beneath the sun.

Joan Morer / Teresa Rebull

Tuesday, 3 November 2026

'UNA ESPERANÇA DESFETA, UNA RECANÇA INFINITA...'

Una nit de lluna plena
tramuntàrem la carena
lentament, sense dir re.
Si la lluna feia el ple
també el féu la nostra pena.

L'estimada m'acompanya
de pell bruna i aire greu
(com una Marededéu
que han trobat a la muntanya).

Perquè ens perdoni la guerra,
que l'ensagna, que l'esguerra,
abans de passar la ratlla,
m'ajec i beso la terra
i l'acarono amb l’espatlla.

A Catalunya deixí
el dia de ma partida
mitja vida condormida;
l'altra meitat vingué amb mi
per no deixar-me sens vida.

Avui en terres de França
i demà més lluny potser,
no em moriré d'enyorança
ans d'enyorança viuré.

En ma terra del Vallès
tres turons fan una serra,
quatre pins un bosc espès,
cinc quarteres massa terra.
"Com el Vallès no hi ha res".

Que els pins cenyeixin la cala,
l'ermita dalt del pujol;
i a la platja un tenderol 
que bategui com una ala.

Una esperança desfeta,
una recança infinita.
I una pàtria tan petita
que la somio completa.

One night of full moon
we crossed the ridge,
slowly, without saying anything...
If the moon was full
so was our sorrow.

My beloved accompanies me
with dark skin and heavy air
(like a Mother of God
found in the mountain).

For the war to forgive us,
that stains us, that warms us.
Before crossing the line,
I kneel and kiss the land
and caress it with my shoulder.

In Catalunya I left
the day of my departure
half a life half asleep;
the other half came with me
to not leave me lifeless.

Today in the lands of France
and tomorrow maybe further,
I will not die of longing
but live of longing.

In my land of Vallès
three hills form a ridge,
four pines a dense forest,
five quarters too much land.
"There is nothing like Vallès."

May the pines surround the cove,
the hermitage on top of the hill;
and in the plain a clothesline
that flutters like a wing.

A shattered hope,
an infinite resentment,
and a homeland so small
that I dream it complete.

Corrandes d'Exili
Pere Quart / Joan Oliver
Roissy-en-Brie, April 1939


More information: Researcher Life


Els records són somnis verídics, 
somnis que han estat viscuts.

Memories are truthful dreams, 
dreams that have been lived.

Pere Quart / Joan Oliver

Monday, 2 November 2026

ARGELERS, THE EXILE OF THE CATALANS FROM THE SOUTH

After saying goodbye to Joseph de Ca'th Lon, who has returned to Gèneve, Claire Fontaine and The Grandma have driven from Montpelhièr to Argelers, where they have stopped to visit the town and walk along its beach, a symbol of the resilience, dignity, and survival of the thousands of people who were held there in 1939.

A few days ago, The Grandma finished reading Una nena catalana als camps nazis (A Catalan Girl in the Nazi Camps), a testimonial book written by Mercè Sanz. The French concentration camps were not extermination camps, far from it, yet they were still places of suffering. Often, the stories of those who survived them remain overshadowed by the atrocities recounted by survivors of the Nazi camps.

The Grandma has been reflecting on the lives of the thousands upon thousands of Catalans who, while they did not leave their country (having simply walked from the south to the north), left their homes behind, fighting first to stay alive, and later to begin life anew.

Walking across the sand of this beach in Argelers is a way to remember and pay tribute to each and every person who was held captive here, people who fought not only for their lives, but also for their dignity.

The Grandma wants to talk about the Republican exile, the concentration camps and the extraordinary human struggle for dignity, resistance and survival.

Up to 15,000 people would end up losing their lives in the French camps between 1939 and 1945.

Today, Argelers is a peaceful Mediterranean town in Catalunya Nord, known for its long sandy beaches, beautiful landscapes and warm summer days. However, beneath this peaceful landscape lies one of the most painful chapters in contemporary Catalan and European history.  They had lost their homes, their possessions and, in many cases, their relatives. But they had not lost their humanity.

On 26 January 1939, Barcelona fell to Franco's forces. The defeat of the Republican army in Catalunya triggered one of the largest refugee movements in twentieth-century European history. During the following weeks, approximately half a million people crossed the French border in what became known as La Retirada, the Retreat. Among them were Republican soldiers, political activists, intellectuals, teachers, workers, elderly people and thousands of children. Many crossed the mountains on foot, carrying whatever they could save. Some were wounded. Others were sick, hungry or exhausted. Families were separated during the journey, and many people never saw their loved ones again.

For Catalan refugees, crossing the Pyrenees meant travelling from Southern Catalunya to Northern Catalunya, territories that shared centuries of history, culture and language but were separated by an international border. They hoped to find safety. Instead, many discovered that their suffering was far from over.

In early February 1939, the French authorities established a concentration camp on the beach at Argelers. There were initially no proper barracks, adequate sanitation facilities or sufficient medical services. Thousands of refugees were confined behind barbed wire, exposed to the winter cold, the wind and the rain.

The Mediterranean Sea, traditionally associated with freedom and movement, became part of a landscape of confinement. People slept directly on the sand, sometimes digging holes to protect themselves from the wind. Food was insufficient, clean water was scarce, and disease spread rapidly. Lice, scabies, malnutrition and infections became part of everyday life.

Some refugees died from illness, exposure and the consequences of these appalling conditions. Others survived through mutual assistance, solidarity and an extraordinary determination to remain alive. The camp was established by the French Republic, not by Nazi Germany. This distinction matters historically. Argelers was not a Nazi extermination camp, and it was not designed for industrialised mass murder. Nevertheless, it was a place of forced confinement where people who had escaped persecution were subjected to degrading and sometimes deadly conditions. The suffering of human beings should never be forgotten simply because it occurred outside the most notorious places of twentieth-century history.

Among the many personal stories connected with the Republican exile is that of Mercè Sanz i Castells, born in Lleida in 1933. She was only six years old when she crossed the Pyrenees with her older brother in 1939. Her father had been a Republican schoolteacher, and the collapse of Republican Catalunya forced the children into exile. What followed was a childhood marked by separation, fear and suffering.

According to her later testimony, she was initially taken in by a family in France before being interned and subsequently transferred through concentration camps under Nazi control. She recalled hunger, violence, painful medical procedures and the constant fear of death.

Her experiences were eventually recorded in Una nena catalana als camps nazis (A Catalan Girl in the Nazi Camps), published in 2015. For decades, Mercè found it extremely difficult to speak about her childhood. Her memories were fragmented and traumatic, and she could not always identify precisely where the events had occurred. Her testimony reminds us that survival does not necessarily mean that suffering has ended. Some wounds remain invisible for an entire lifetime.

After the war, Mercè became a nurse, dedicating her professional life to caring for others. Her story represents both the vulnerability of children caught in war and the extraordinary capacity of human beings to rebuild their lives.

The history of the camps is not only a history of suffering. It is also a history of solidarity. Despite hunger, fear and uncertainty, many Republican refugees organised themselves to help others. They shared food, cared for the sick, maintained political and cultural activities and tried to preserve their dignity. Some later joined the French Resistance against Nazi occupation. Others continued their struggle against fascism in different ways.

The experience of exile transformed their lives, but it did not necessarily destroy their ideals. One of the most remarkable examples of humanitarian solidarity was the Maternity of Elna, established by the Swiss humanitarian worker Elisabeth Eidenbenz. There, hundreds of babies were born in safer conditions than those experienced by their mothers in the refugee camps.

In a world devastated by war, such initiatives demonstrated that compassion and courage could still exist. Sometimes resistance meant fighting. Sometimes it meant protecting a child, sharing a piece of bread or helping another person survive another night.

Not everyone who survived the Republican exile returned home. For many, France became their permanent home. Teresa Rebull, born Teresa Soler i Pi in Sabadell in 1919, was one of those Catalans whose life was profoundly transformed by exile. A political activist associated with the POUM, she left Catalunya after the Republican defeat and eventually settled in Catalunya Nord. During the Second World War, she collaborated with the French Resistance. Later, she became one of the most distinctive voices of Catalan song, setting poetry to music and helping preserve Catalan culture beyond the political frontier.

Her life took her through different cities before she eventually settled in Banyuls de la Marenda, in Catalunya Nord, where she died in 2015.

Teresa Rebull's story demonstrates that exile does not necessarily erase cultural identity. Sometimes, distance makes the desire to preserve a language, a memory and a homeland even stronger.

For many Republican exiles, returning was impossible or undesirable while Franco's dictatorship remained in power. They created families, worked, raised children and established new communities. Their lives continued, but their memories travelled with them.

When we discuss the atrocities of the twentieth century, the Nazi concentration and extermination camps occupy a central place in European historical memory. And rightly so.

The Holocaust was a systematic genocide, organised by Nazi Germany and its collaborators, that murdered six million Jews and millions of other victims of Nazi persecution and mass violence. However, remembering the Holocaust must not mean forgetting other systems of confinement, repression and human rights violations.

The French internment camps, the Francoist concentration camps, the Soviet Gulag and many other places of persecution also belong to the history of human suffering. These systems had different origins, purposes and degrees of violence. They should not be treated as historically identical. But their histories raise fundamental questions about power, responsibility, human dignity and the treatment of vulnerable people.

At Argelers, the refugees had already endured the violence of war. What they needed was protection. What many received was barbed wire.

Today, visitors can walk along the beach at Argelers without seeing the camp that once occupied its sands. The barracks have disappeared. The barbed wire is gone. The Mediterranean continues to wash against the shore. But history has not disappeared. It survives in photographs, testimonies, books, memorials and the memories transmitted by families.

Every refugee had a name. Every child had a childhood that deserved to be protected. Every person who died had a life that mattered. And every survivor carried a story that deserves to be heard. Remembering Argelers is not about remaining imprisoned in the past. It is about understanding how easily fear, political hatred and indifference can transform people seeking refuge into people deprived of their dignity. It is also about recognising the strength of those who resisted, survived and rebuilt their lives.

We cannot change the past. But we can learn from it, preserve its memory and work to prevent its tragedies from happening again. Because the greatest tribute we can pay to those who suffered is not simply to remember their pain. It is to defend the humanity that others tried to take away from them.

More information: Memorial Argeles


I ja som a terra francesa, terra d’exili, 
de dolor, de sofriments, 
on havíem de començar un altre calvari, 
llarg i difícil, ple d’obstacles i misèria’… 
'Hospitalitat? Camps de concentració fil ferrades, 
barraques, polls, puces, epidèmies, gana i fred…'

And now we are on French soil, a land of exile, 
pain, and suffering
where we were to begin another ordeal, 
long and difficult, full of obstacles and misery… 
'Hospitality? Concentration camps, barbed wire, 
barracks, lice, fleas, epidemics, hunger, and cold…'

Ramon Moral