FUNDACIÓN VÍCTIMAS DEL TERRORISMO 95 - ENGLISH

47 LEARNING TO LIVE WITH PAIN Perhaps one of the most moving mo- ments was hearing those who lost a lo- ved one in the March 11 attacks. Their words conveyed a blend of sadness, strength, and hope that is difficult to describe. Learning to accept painful absences and to live with serious aftereffects is not easy. Time does not erase pain, al- though it can make it possible to find new ways to integrate it into one's life. It is an achievement when what seemed impossible becomes a path of daily resistance. In that sense, memory is not a burden that prevents moving forward. It is precisely what makes moving forward possible. To remember means to recog- nize what happened, honor those who are no longer here, and prevent suffe- ring from being reduced to a footnote in collective history. MEMORY AS A DEMOCRATIC RESPONSIBILITY The visit to Oviedo also served to as- sert a fundamental idea: the memory of victims does not belong only to those who directly suffered the attacks. It is a democratic responsibility that concerns society as a whole. Victims have warned for years of the risk that the passage of time may di- lute the memory of what happened. New generations have grown up dis- tant from many episodes of violence that marked Spain's recent history. For them, some attacks already belong to a distant past. That is precisely why public acts of tri- bute are so important. They are not only about remembering those who died on specific dates. They are also about trans- mitting democratic values and explaining what terrorism meant, and still means, for our society. Terrorism sought to impose political pro- jects through fear and violence. In res- ponse, the memory of victims represents the defense of human dignity, democratic coexistence, and rejection of every form of fanaticism. During the event in Oviedo, it was emphasized that memory is, in many cases, the last possible form of justice. When it is no longer possible to res- tore the lives of those who were mur- dered or fully repair the harm caused, the moral obligation to remember them remains. TRIBUTE TO ACHIEVE TRUTH, MEMORY, AND PEACE At the end of the event, the motto that has accompanied the 11-M Association since its origins was heard once again: its commitment to truth, justice, and repa- ration, its firm purpose to build memory and work for peace. These words sum up more than two deca- des of collective effort. They also explain the deep meaning of initiatives such as the one held in Oviedo. It is not only about looking back. It is about building a future in which victims' suffering receives permanent recog- nition and new generations understand the value of democratic coexistence. The day concludedwith a floral offering and a minute of silence. Present in that silence were those who lost their lives, those who survived the attacks, and those who conti- nue to face their consequences every day. Not only March 11 matters; every day ma- tters. As long as someone is willing to re- member, the victims will never be forgotten. Becausememory does not return what was lost. But it does prevent it from disappea- ring. And in that battle against forgetting, fought day by day by victims of terrorism, Oviedo once again became, for a few hours, a space of encounter, dignity, and hope. ASSOCIATIONS AND FOUNDATIONS