Astorga-Rabanal del Camino
20 km
Finally mountains, climbs, winding paths! I'm about to leave the Mesata this plain to endless horizons.
Towards the end of the day, I meet a Spaniard who speaks excellent English. This is the first time I have a real conversation with a English local. She took the train to Noia, a fishing village not far from Santiago, to get to Leon. She took a leave to return home on foot by the path of the camino.
We walk together the last few kilometers before arriving at Rabanal. She talks about the difficulty young Spaniards to buy a house. Since Spain joined the European Union, the cost of living has skyrocketed. Mostly, she said, because les économies provenant du marché noir et faites en ancienne monnaie ( pesetas ) ont dû être liquidé avant que l’euro face office de nouvelle monnaie. Ce qui a augmenté la demande pour les produits de luxe et conséquemment haussé le prix des autos et des maisons.
Nous discutons également du conflit qu’il y a entre nos deux pays sur la zone de pêche. Selon le gouvernement canadien, les pêcheurs espagnols s’aventurent un peu trop près de leur zone de pêche. Cet avis n’est évidemment pas partagé par mon amie.
Arrivés à Rabanal, nous allons prendre une bière dans un bar. À la télévision, un reportage montre des images of fisherman casting a net into the sea I said, 'Look! Spaniards engaged in fishing in Canadian fish! . She laughs and offers me a beer in order to preserve good relations between our two countries.
hostel Rabanal, a Scottish keeper proudly wearing his kilt comes to greet us. A man full of joie de vivre we shake hands and explains the house rules. His home is remarkably warm. Volunteers in this hostel experience a real pleasure to take care of their guests. I write in the guestbook: "I was received as a prince who returns home after a long journey, bless your hostel, you're the best. "
In the evening, I read the memoirs of a pilgrim. I note one sentence he wrote in his diary: "The only experience can provide a foundation for the indestructible man is to be alone to discover that when the door is no longer able to stand for itself. "
I remember my friend Claude. We'll have a glass of wine. He tells me of a period of his childhood he has been particularly marked.
At the time of the Second World War when the Germans invaded his small town in Alsace, his father was one of the few mechanics capable of repairing tanks. The German army, which was in dire need of its services, forced to work for her. His father was badly felt by citizens who have never forgiven him for having collaborated with the Germans.
It must have been difficult to refuse to cooperate with the Germans, especially if you have any skills they needed. The Germans would they have forced a French bookseller in the German war effort? It is easy to judge when we have no family to protect and that is not subject to pressure from German officers. I sympathize with Claude. Living in a world where your father, the hero of your childhood, is judged and condemned by the community, it must be difficult to bear.
We discuss the war, I asked Claude how people as intelligent and good that the Germans can they get to allow a holocaust to happen in their own country.
After the war 14-18, the German economy was not well. Most Germans were falling into debt and bankruptcy were the one after another. The German farmers, for example, after several bad harvests did seize their land by Jewish bankers. The loss of their heritage and their standard of living engendered a deep hatred of the Jewish people and insidious, because the Germans held the Jews responsible for their misfortunes. Adolf Hitler exploited this hatred with anti-Semitic speech, promising the nation a better future.
The war is being prepared well in advance. It is built day after day, just as one cultivates his garden. First the seed of hatred sown in the heart of man, then after a while, when hatred is widespread and sufficiently developed, a gardener (the case of Hitler in Germany) is the harvest. And thanks to his crop he realizes his war and genocide.
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