FUNDACIÓN VÍCTIMAS DEL TERRORISMO 96 - ENGLISH

EDUCATION AND COEXISTENCE 23 of the risk that victims might gradually lose their role as a moral reference in public life. His analysis concluded with reflection on the need to preserve democratic re- membrance so that time does not dimi- nish the gravity of what happened. THE VOICES OF SURVIVORS The course’s most emotional moment came during the testimony panel mo- derated by the Deputy Director Gene- ral for Support to Victims of Terrorism, Belén Sanz . The first speaker was Alicia Gómez Condado , the daughter of one of those killed in the 1974 attack on the Rolando café. Her account recalled the decades of suffering and uncertainty endured by many families whose cases remained un- solved for years. Next came Víctor Pavón , a survivor of the 1985 attack on the El Descanso res- taurant. He drew a parallel between the spread of radical discourse on the inter- net and the spread of a virus, arguing that victims’ testimony is an effective means of combating fanaticism. The panel concluded with María Esther Sáez , seriously injured in the attacks of 11 March 2004. After thirteen ope- rations and early retirement resulting from her injuries, she shared a deeply human reflection on forgiveness and re- building one’s life. The testimonies put faces to the figures and recalled that every attack leaves a permanent mark on the lives of those affected. A SHARED CONCLUSION The closing session conveyed con- tinuity and commitment. Florencio Domínguez recalled that the idea for the course had emerged years earlier and welcomed the consolidation of an initiative bringing together institutio- nal leaders, experts and victims. The Managing Director of the Victims of Terrorism Foundation, María Zarauz , thanked everyone involved in organi- sing the course. The sessions in El Escorial produced a conclusion widely shared by partici- pants and attendees: the disappearan- ce of attacks does not mean the end of terrorism or its consequences. The threat continues to adapt to tech- nological, social and geopolitical chan- ge. New settings for radicalisation, new forms of extremism and new challenges for democracies are emerging. In response, the sessions advocated a comprehensive approach based on in- telligence, international cooperation, education, remembrance and respect for victims. As became clear throughout the cour- se, security depends on more than po- lice officers, judges or intelligence ser- vices. It also rests on a society capable of remembering, understanding and defending democratic values against those seeking to impose their aims through fear and violence. That was ultimately El Escorial’s main lesson: terrorism changes its form, but the responsibility to confront it remains a collective task. TESTIMONIES Alicia Gómez Daughter of Francisco Gómez Vaquero ` Text: Ana García THE VOICES OF VICTIMS The testimony panel was one of the central moments of the second day of “Terrorism and Society”. Moderated by Belén Sanz, Deputy Director Ge- neral for Support to Victims of Terro- rism, it brought together Alicia Gó- mez Condado, daughter of Francisco Gómez, a victim of the Rolando café bombing; Víctor Pavón, a survivor of the El Descanso attack and son of María Cruz García, one of its victims; and María Esther Sáez, seriously in- jured in the 11 March attacks. Three different experiences, separated by decades and different forms of terro- rist violence, but united by the conse- quences for their lives and the same determination: that remembrance should help people understand and prevent terrorism. ALICIA GÓMEZ: THE WEIGHT OF SILENCE Alicia was four when her father, Francisco, left home for work and never returned. He was a cook at the Rolando café in Madrid’s Calle del Correo, where a bomb killed 13 people and injured more than 70 on 13 September 1974.