5 Formentera families recognised as victims of Francoism

foto 2021 memoria democraticaFive local families had their status as victims of Francoism certified yesterday in a public act of recognition hosted by the regional Directorate General of Democratic Memory at the Palau de Congressos in Palma. Balearic legislation on democratic memory and recognition enshrines the right of victims of the Spanish Civil War and the Franco dictatorship to reparation and acknowledgment, and designates 29 October as a symbolic date of remembrance and vindication of democratic values and the struggle for freedom.

Consell de Formentera President Ana Juan and Councillor of Heritage Raquel Guasch attended as well and accompanied the families of the honorees, Francesc Verdera Castelló, Marià Torres Torres, Vicent Ribas Marí, Josep Ribas Marí and Jaume Ferrer Ferrer. The five individuals are among the victims of Franco's repression and barbarism. In total, 15 islanders are expected to receive the certificate of recognition.

President Juan said a petition from the island's government was behind the decision to offer an additional, more intimate ceremony to families who were unable to travel to Palma to collect the certificate. She underscored "the debt that our society owes these people" and insisted that to restore dignity to how they are remembered today was "only fair": "That's why these tributes are so necessary and we must carry forward this work of the local and regional administrations".

Victims of Formentera

Francesc Verdera and Marià Torres were killed at Pedrera d'en Coix, a local quarry, on 20 November 1936; Vicent Ribas died at Menorca's Castell d'Illetes on 15 October 1938 and the remains of Josep Ribas and Jaume Ferrer rest at the cemetery in Sant Francesc.

"29 October, A Day of Remembrance" consisted of a tribute to more than a hundred families of victims of Franco's regime in the Balearic Islands, who were presented with a document attesting to their experience. The Secretariat for Productive Sectors and Democratic Memory started distributing the certificates this legislative term with the aim of recognising the grave injustice endured by victims and their families.

30 October 2021
Communications Office
Consell de Formentera