The capacity for social transformation of migrations is well known, as is the case in other countries in the world and also in the Basque Country. At different times we have been emigrants and at different times immigration flows have reached our country. We could not understand what Euskal Herria is today without understanding the influence that different migrations have had on us.

Not all migrations are the same; each period and each era has its own characteristics. But these citizens who come to live in our country have at least two common characteristics: they have come to develop a life project and they have been forced to leave their place of residence, their neighbourhood, their country.

When we look at the issue of migration we should look at it from a broader perspective that goes beyond functionalism

Being a migrant means setting up a life project in another country. Far from the generalised functional approach in our society, immigrants do not come (only) to look for a job or to do work that we cannot do, immigrants come to set up a life project, to work, to live, to socialise, to have free time, to participate, to go to school, to do sport, etc. Therefore, when we look at the issue of migration we should look at it from a broader perspective that goes beyond functionalism, on the other hand, most migrants have been forced to leave their villages. We can find different causes such as economic crisis, poverty, political and social persecution, wars, climate crisis, etc. This forced migration presents migrants with a path full of obstacles, be they legal, economic or social. Consequently, when the destination country arrives, they find themselves in a vulnerable situation.

Let us return to the initial idea: how have current migratory flows transformed Basque society? And what are the challenges that this transformation poses for the Basque Country? The initial brief answer to the first question, the profound transformation of migrations would be our society, while the second question involves a commitment to social, economic, political and cultural inclusion in order to achieve a cohesive Euskal Herria. I will try to develop these two answers.

As for the first question, today anyone can see how migration has transformed our society. According to the latest data published by Eustat, 12.7% of the population of the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country (ACBC) was born outside Spain and in Navarre it is around 17%, while in the North Basque Country the situation is different. Different studies conclude that without immigration, the Basque Country would lose population and that a third of children born in recent years have a foreign mother.

If we look at socio-economic variables, we see that the unemployment rate of immigrant women is significantly higher than that of native-born women and that poverty data indicate that they are five times poorer. If we were to analyse other socio-economic variables (working conditions, wages, housing, among others) the result would be similar. Immigrant women live and survive in vulnerability in the Basque Country. Situated at the bottom of our social structure, they are functional to our economic system but also to our social system.

Here is the flip side of this functionalism, we tend to put one of the legitimising aspects on the positive demographic contribution, but far from this, they carry out precarious jobs that we do not want to do (cheap workers) and take care of our daughters/children-mothers/fathers/fathers-grandmothers/grandfathers in the informal market.

In many of the problems and social gaps we have today in Euskal Herria, the protagonists are immigrants, which is why it is essential to take into account both their situation and their specific reality. In this sense, in the debate on the new education law, the reality of immigrant students, their segregation and their ability to relate to the Basque language have been present in many of the knots of the debate, the demands of immigrant and racialised women in the Feminist Strike in November reached a central role, or the protagonism of immigrant workers in the strike being carried out by the Eroski warehouse workers in Elorrio is relevant.

We must bear in mind that Euskal Herria is a nation without a state, that we do not have political and legal capacity in many key areas in this area and that Basque is a minority language. This must be taken into account from a national perspective.

At this point, we could say that the management of this transformation brought about by migration in the Basque Country will have a direct impact on the cohesion of Basque society. However, it is necessary to be specific: migration and immigrants do not unbalance society; it is the response of our society and our system to this reality that generates imbalances or reinforces cohesion. Clarifying the order and direction of the factors is useful if we want to prevent reactionary discourse.

To achieve this cohesion, inclusion policies are absolutely necessary in the socio-economic (working and living conditions), social (attitudes, relations and discrimination), rights (roles, obstacles and institutional discrimination), political (participation, political agenda and representativeness) and cultural (management of cultural diversity, interculturality and language) spheres. These inclusion policies must necessarily incorporate the gender perspective and anti-racism, for which intersectionality is an appropriate methodology. On the other hand, we must bear in mind that Euskal Herria is a nation without a state, that we do not have political and legal capacity in many key areas in this area and that Basque is a minority language. This must be taken into account from a national perspective.

The migrants’ life project is a challenge for Euskal Herria; at the very least, it should be a challenge for Basque citizens who believe in cohesion, equality and social justice. Providing opportunities and creating a context for these projects to develop in conditions is the way to achieve a cohesive society and the most direct way for these new Basque citizens who come to live and work in Euskal Herria to feel that they belong to our people and nation.

Images: Céline Martin-Pixabay