FUNDACIÓN VÍCTIMAS DEL TERRORISMO 95 - ENGLISH

81 CULTURE Terrorism and Education Silence is complicity Lead "There are people who, when they choose their duty, also choose their destiny." After the success of The Stolen Phrases, José Luis Sastre returns with a moving account of those who assume their duty at the cost of paying for it with their lives. Aware that his own life is at stake, a po- lice officer accepts the task of escorting a councilwoman threatened with death. The terrorist siege tightens around her while he, certain that they are going to be killed, refuses to abandon the mis- sion, clinging to his sense of duty and convinced that it is meaningful to take risks so that another person can defend her freedom. How much is a life worth? How far are we willing to give up things in order to defend an ideal? After The Stolen Phra- ses, José Luis Sastre once again displays his moving and direct style in a novel that tells the courage of those who, du- ring the worst years of lead and from anonymity, faced silence and injustice at the risk of being kidnapped or murdered. This is the story of those who, as Sastre writes, by choosing their duty also chose their destiny. It is common to hear that adolescents no longer know what ETA was, that they still reproduce the stereotypes that justified violence, or that names such as Miguel Ángel Blanco do not meanmuch to them. The chapters that make up this work — based on public-opinion surveys, analy- sis of education legislation, teachers' perspectives, textbooks, victim-educator programs, and the presentation of other international cases — confirm the limi- ted level of knowledge Spanish young people have about terrorism. Alongside these warning signs, however, positive indicators also appear and invite perse- verance, such as the interest shown by students themselves. This book arises from the need to intervene in and from the education system to address that lack of knowledge. Terrorismmust occupy the place it deserves in teaching, both because of the historical relevance of the pheno- menon and because of the need to work on preventing radicalization and educa- ting critical citizens. Silence is complicity is a novel based on real events that tells the truncated love story betweenAntonioRamirez Gallardo, a Guardia Civil officer from Cádiz statio- ned in the Basque Country, andHortensia González Ruiz, a young woman from San Roque whomoved toOrdicia (Guipuzcoa) to live with her sister Aurora and brother- in-lawEugenio, also aGuardiaCivil officer. The plot unfolds during the so-called "years of lead" of ETA terrorism, a pe- riod marked by violence, fear, and the si- lent complicity of part of Basque society. Through the relationship between An- tonio and Hortensia, the novel explores the climate of terror in which the security forces and their families lived, as well as the indifference or fear of many neighbors who, out of fear or ideological affinity, did not act in the face of attacks. The turning point of the story occurs in the early mor- ning of January 6, 1979, when the couple is machine-gunned by an ETA comman- do in Beasáin. After the attack, the horn of their car sounds for 27 minutes without anyone coming to help them, a real event that symbolizes the "complicit silence" that gives the work its title. The novel not only recounts the murder, but also reconstructs the lives of the protagonists, their hopes, their family environment, and the impact of terrorist violence on their loved ones. Authors: Raul López Romo and Marta Rodri- guez Fouz Publisher: Center for Political and Constitu- tional Studies Year: 2026 Author: Juan Manuel Fernández Millán Publisher: Circulo Rojo SL Year: 2026 Author: José Luis Sastre Publisher: Plaza y Janes Year: 2026 A Pending Challenge in Spain