3 . “ Ifni . La mili de los catalanes en África ”. ( 23 / 01 / 2018 ) – ( 30 / 09 / 2019 )
Name of the initiative
Year Participants Status
“ Ifni . La mili de los catalanes en África ”
(“ Ifni . The military service of Catalans in Africa ”)
2108
Museum of Ethnology and World Cultures ( Barcelona ) Ruido Photo SOS Racisme Catalunya
Description
This exhibition directly addressed Spain ’ s colonial past and its presence in its North African possessions . It presented the experiences of young Catalan soldiers stationed in Ifni , a small Spanish enclave on the southern coast of Morocco . Taking personal accounts from former veterans who had been posted there as young men for compulsory military service during the Franco era , the exhibition succeeded in illustrating a past that still arouses suspicion because of its silence .
“ Until well into the 20th century , Spain ’ s military history had an important relationship with the African territory , since a large part of the north was , for some years , a colonial territory of the country -of which there are still two linked territories , Ceuta and Melilla- . Morocco was a territory where there were wars , military uprisings , and extremely harsh conflicts in the middle of the desert , and one of the most important enclaves was Ifni , on the southern coast of Morocco , in the heart of Western Sahara , where for three decades from 1934 onwards a military colony was established with a prison where many young men who had to do military service ended up being posted . Ifni was a harrowing place , without water , without resources , surrounded by conflict , and it returned to Moroccan hands in 1969 . During all this time , it was also the destiny of many Catalans , and this story of history can now be seen in an exhibition at the Museum of Ethnology and World Cultures .”
Links and sources :
Website of the exhibition https :// www . barcelona . cat / museu-etnologicculturesmon / es / exposiciones / exposiciones-pasadas / ifni Barcelona City Council https :// www . barcelona . cat / barcelonacultura / ca / recomanem / exposicio-ifni-exercitespanyol-museu-cultures-mon El Rincón de Sïdï Ifnï http :// www . sidi-ifni . com / index . php ? option = com _ content & task = view & id = 951 & Itemid = 100
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