The friends who had met up that afternoon for our regular discussion group were perplexed, we had little desire to speak even. The attack that had been carried out in Madrid left us feeling deflated, impotent, and we couldn’t find any political,...

Throughout our lives we meet very diverse people who have different ways of thinking and understanding existence in a way that enriches us personally. Their friendship helps us to discover aspects and situations that teach us infinite new things and...

I am the son of a generation who took the death throes of a very repressive form of moral education. Almost everything was prohibited, and not just because the political dictatorship created obstacles, repression and a deep sense of guilt had moulded...

Time, many battles and much suffering have taught us that no one person is superior to another. It doesn’t matter if you are a carpenter, gardener, minister, black or white… the only thing that really matters is that we are human beings....

I have once again had the opportunity to visit the Dominican Republic. I like this Caribbean island very much: the landscapes, colours and tropical fruits. But above all I like the people, they are so happy, spontaneous, friendly and festive. When...

I and a group of fellow Catalans climbed the path that would lead us to the most marvelous mythical place. We took it slowly, without hurrying, because the high altitude made breathing hard. We also needed to take the journey slowly and calmly because...

My friend Domingo is a very special person, he is very joyful and extroverted; he gives so much to others that people often find it a little odd. Everyone knows him and I would go as far as to say that everyone loves him. He has a great way with people...

One day, when I was a young man, I was having lunch with a group of friends and a man called Agustín told us a story that really struck me. A couple he knew had recently died in an accident. When their children met to read their will they discovered...

The Patagonia, Argentina, is a very expansive region with a very low population density. Its riches vary from oil and subsoil minerals to tourism. The most significant migratory currents that the Patagonia has received can be divided into two stages:...

I remember travelling to Sarajevo with a small team from Estel Radio in Spring 1996. As a sign of solidarity our objective was to donate a radio transmitter to the city. After our regular flight to Zagreb, an IFOR plane took us on to the Bosnian capital....

Throughout my life I have known parents who demand a lot from their children. They want them to be almost perfect: polite, clever, meticulous, considerate, etc. And they try to educate their children to be this way. They embark on an educational project...

I met Samson, Martina, Maria and Serafine on 24th December at midnight. We, a group of Christians, were celebrating midnight mass in a parish in Santa Coloma de Gramanet, and as we began our meeting a group of Pakistanis arrived. Everyone kept looking...

Peace, the little acts that help build peace in everyday life, often go unnoticed, we ignore them, don’t see them, but they are there, so much so that when we take the time to really observe, we see they are as clear as day.

We...

Irena Sendler’s life (1910-2008) was so extraordinary that a film is soon to be made about it in Hollywood. She could never have imagined that her hard work and dedication would be made into a movie. But her testimonial was uncovered only recently...

It was the afternoon of October 27th. He was in bed surrounded by his friends, his new family. No one present had the same surname as him, because they were not official family members, they had only shared the last few years of his life with him,...

In a destroyed trench earthly beings lie defenceless and strewn about. Propped up against a small wall two wounded soldiers lie on the ground, separated by a gap.

They wear different uniforms, ripped apart...

If there is one feeling I have often shared with my nearest and dearest, it is that I am happy to be alive, and especially happy to enjoy so many friends who have made my life such a delight. Whilst I resist the temptation...

One of the most important experiences I remember from the desert was a small sandstorm. When the wind blows thousands of grains of sands move to and fro and spin round creating tiny powerful whirlwinds. When the storm has passed and calm is restored,...

When you go into a house and you realise everyone is there waiting for you, you predispose yourself to have a great time and help create a peaceful and fun atmosphere. This is why it is so important to make people feel...

I taught a course about the Letter of Peace addressed to the UN at the University of Sonora (Hermosillo). On the first day of the course I went to meet the vice-rector of the university. After a few polite words he asked...

I have discovered that more and more people want to find out about their family tree. They want to know who their ancestors were: what they were called and where they were from. It is quite normal to walk into somebody’s...

I have a feeling that things in life are simpler than they seem and that life is complex enough without us having to add illness to it. I’m not talking about a physical illness, or a psychological one; I’m talking...

Some good friends of mine live in Castelldefels, they have a house on the sea front and I go and visit them from time to time. Nothing fancy, just a dip in the sea and a good chat while we share food and friendship. On one of these visits they told...

Those who know Luis say he has always been a complicated person, is quite antisocial and has a difficult personality. They all recognise that he has other virtues, but when he is sarcastic it can be quite unpleasant. I think...

When I was a little boy my parents signed me up to a local scout group. What I remember about those outings was that we always got lost. I remember hiking through the mountains, my water bottle empty and my mouth dry. The...

A few days ago I reread an article about Michael Jackson in the magazine of a Barcelona based newspaper. I hadn’t seen a picture of this man for ages: I don’t know how many operations he has been through to try and dissimulate the shape...

Its 10 o’clock on a hot Sunday morning in May. This is where I found myself every Sunday here in Ceuta, sitting still in the square with the rest of my fellow men from the no. 1 Tetuan Regular barracks. Waiting for...

Chile, 1978

I was not a born soldier. Others were perhaps, but I was just a kid then: Just like the others who were there with me. We didn’t know the islands we were sent to defend....

It’s 8 o’clock at a family supper. Juan and Maria, two close friends planning to get married, have invited me to their home. The objective of the meal is for the families of each one to meet each other. Juan...

My father once went to visit the Dominican Man Museum in Santo Domingo. This museum tells the history of Quisqueya (Hispaniola), now known as the Dominican Republic. It is an archaeological museum and it explains the origins...

My mother’s family lived in a small town in Cuenca called Mira. They lived through the Spanish Civil War and dictatorship “better”- so...

The story I’m going to tell you belongs to my family. My mother’s father was more than seventy years old when he was widowed. Soon after he met a women in her early twenties and they got married. They had two...

On Christmas Eve 1986 heavy snow fall covered the roof tops and narrow streets with a deep blanket of white in a tiny village in the Pyrenees that I prefer not to name. When the storm was over many children ran out into...