FACTS

- On 8th August, 2000, ETA killed his father, the businessman José Maria Korta from Gipuzkoa, founder of the company, KORTA S.A. and chairman of the Gipuzkoa business association, ADEGI.

CONSEQUENCES

“I am the second of three brothers. At the time when they killed my father, the three of us were working in the company. Until then, we had led a very happy life. We lived normal lives; we studied, we worked, we did sport… Many people, who met us when my father was a member of ADEGI, were surprised by how normal we were”.

“My father built-up a company and, until a few years before he was murdered, all the profits were reinvested in the company. The years just before we finished our university studies were the best years. The company was already in the hands of capable people and was making a good profit, and my father was no longer as essential there as in previous years; he had more time to work in ADEGI and to spend with the family. He began to go on holidays once a year with my mother, something he had never been able to do before. He had started to enjoy life”.

“The loss of my father changed everything. It is clearly the most difficult and determining event in my life. They killed him right outside the company, where my brothers and I were working together with some of his brothers and many workers who appreciated him… It was a shock, and during the fortnight after the murder we were unable to think or reason. It was a radical change in the workplace and in everything. I have to admit that we very soon focused on the company; many may think that too soon. The need to keep the company going, my father’s company, was a refuge, a way out for us, although it was tough having to go back each day to the place where he was murdered”.

“When I finished my engineering studies, I prepared my end-of-year project at my father’s company. Then I went to England to learn English, and when I returned I started working in the company as a way of “learning the ropes”. I had not been working there for long when this happened. He had an enormous influence over me, and my brothers, as is natural and as occurs with all parents, I suppose. My father was a great character, but he was very strict with us and had quite a temper. We were taught to work hard, and this gave us the strength to move forward and to take over the company. But that was not the only reason. We also wanted to show the murderers that they were not going to achieve their goal; that we were here and we were going to continue doing what my father had started and that we were not going to give in”.

“The first few months after the murder were complicated. Day to day life was very difficult. At the beginning we focused on the job, on the routine. I adapted to that rather quickly. But there comes a time when you have to face day to day life. You have to leave home. And you start meeting all kinds of people. You meet friends and acquaintances. And you realize, based on their reactions, who your true friends are, those we call adiskideak in Basque, those that are going to help and support you, and those who are not. That is the worst stage because, until then, we were not aware of the stature of my father in the village, the impact his death had on the people. Their desire to show their solidarity, to give us their support, was sometimes a bit overwhelming because we were not yet ready for all that. In addition, some also felt a little ashamed because they had been close to radical sectors, and had mixed feelings in relation to violence. They were truly sorry for my father’s death; they apologised and situations arose where you almost had to comfort them because they felt so bad for being close to the terrorists. Practically hundreds of people would come to see you in those days. Those were very difficult times”.

“Our fundamental pillar has always been the family, and we all sought support in the family to carry on. At a social level, I have gone through all kinds of situations. Some friends have been supportive and have behaved quite well. In addition, at that time, I had a girlfriend who also helped me a lot. On that level, I think I was lucky. But my brother, for example, had none of that support; his friends looked the other way and dropped him, and it took its toll”.

“Our parents, as I mentioned above, had educated us to work hard and be honest. My father was an enthusiast of hard work; he liked to see people fight for something. My father also passed on his bad temper to us, I must say, but we never let anger take over because we have also learnt restraint”.

“One year after the murder, the Jose Mari Kortaren Bidetik foundation was created. It was arranged by family, friends and my father’s colleagues. The Foundation supports those values that my father passed on to us and, during the meetings we realise that there is something of him in us, we perceive his influence in each one of us. At times, it is rather impressive to see that a group of people as diverse as those that come together there can have such similar feelings and ideas on a particular project, and this is due to his contribution, his influence, for sure”.

“There’s an anecdote that may give you an idea of what my father was like: there was a worker in the company who was studying to get a license to drive lorries. He was having trouble because he found certain things difficult to understand and my father offered to help him study. Every day, after work, my father would sit down with this worker and they would do the exercises and study for an hour together. One wonders how a person as busy as my father could bother to do such a thing. Well, because he was like that. He couldn’t say “no”, he didn’t know how to say “no”.

“We have inherited my father’s legacy. And we have done what we could, with the help of all the people in the company, my father’s friends and those who knew him. I want to make it clear that I am not trying to place myself at the same level as my father. I would never compare myself with him. He was a pioneer in many things, the creator or promoter of projects; he got lots of things done. We have simply tried to carry on with his work”.