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The bombings became a daily occurence; twice daily occurrence would be more accurate as from now on we received regular morning visits at eleven-thirty and again at five-thirty in the afternoons. Some days one plane, some two, three, even seven. During the day, in consequence, this city became deserted except for soldiers and Falanges. To buy supplies all marketing must be done before eight in the morning. After that the shops were closed, the street dark with people laden with food baskets going for safety to the hills; until the following morning at five when they would return for more provisions.
The terror of the people was pathetic; it was their first experience of war tactics and chaos on their Island of Calm. After the first bombing, the roads leading out of the city were crowded with people lugging mattresses, bird cages, baskets of food, followed by straggling children and dogs. Every cart and car that the city possessed was heaped with white-faced trembling human bundles. In one cave, in the hills back of Palma, seventy people remained horror without food for three days and nights. Senseless panic ruled the stricken city.
We soon found that panic was contagious; the foreigners caught it also - English, German, French and Americans - they clustered in terrified groups of indecision. Many had their homes and businesses here and were torn between their possessions and their fear of death.
Warships were now crowding the harbor as well as the usual steamers of call. The radio, newspapers and posted notices now warned all foreigners to leave. The steamers and warships would take all refugees to Gibraltar or Marseilles. The American Consul arrived to take charge of the Americans. An English officer with the usual British efficiency toured the island to notify all foreign and British subjects that after the followoing morning they would not be responsible for anyone deciding to remain. but there were few who remained.
I watched the heavily laden tenders going back and forth, back and forth from the landing to the ships When the last one left, carrying all my foreign friends and acquaintances I watched it go with uncertain feelings. For the first time it occurred to me that possibly an island was not the most comfortable spot from which to watch a revolution. Once the last boat left there was no escape. The horrible atrocities committed by the communists came oftener to mind and with them the threats of the communists in our own village of Peguera.
These threats had come as a distant shock. If we had thought of it at all it was to flatter ourselves that we were liked by our surrounding peasantry. What reason had we to think otherwise when at one time or another most of them had worked for us and our relations had been most friendly. Their men had built our house, had terraced our garden, one farm supplied us with milk, another with eggs and chickens. We had always attended their local fiestas, contributed to the various causes and collections.
These cherished illusions of mutual sympathy were destined to be exploded by the first bombs thrown from the attacking communist planes.
Our unpleasant awakening came about in the following way.
The first day of the revolt, the men of our household had rushed with enthusiasm to inscribe themselves as volunteers - we had two cousins and a friend staying with us at the time - as they were all officers retired since the revolution of '31.
With the commencement of the bombing they were often sent off on different commissions which left the women of the household without the usual comfort of male protection. My maid and the cook soon became hysterical; they wished to return immediately to the safety of their own village. I tried to calm them with the assurance that they were perfectly safe, what could possibly happen? "If the Reds should come, the men of the village will protect us until our soldiers arrive!"
"No, no Señora, you do not understand, you must not trust them. They are only waiting for the support of their comrades to come here and cut all our throats and burn the house down! They have told us so many times. Now that the red planes have arrived they say their friends will come soon, soon!"
Although this was a shock, it was hardly news that could be taken seriously. It was really too absurd! However.....it seemed as well to saunter to the village for a casual talk with the little café owner. We had been having a strike of farm-hands on the neighboring fincas; this might serve as an introductory conversation.
In spite of the fact that the price of almonds had dropped to half their value in the past three years the men were now demanding double wages, shorter hours, better housing conditions The owners, any of the peasants themselves, had replied that the crops would have to be left to rot. With no market for their product, they could no longer afford the old wages to say nothing of the new demands.
But it was not the problem of the wages which seemed most to upset the men, it was the idea that they had to sleep on the floor - what more perfect example of abuse for their propaganda! "You do not know, Señora, how we are treated. We are made to sleep on a bit of straw on the floor, crowded together like animals. Such conditions cannot go on. We will not go back to work until we are given beds and treated like men!"
"You are right, Juan! It is time you learned to sleep on beds but I hardly see that you can blame this on the proprietors. You know, as well as I, that in most of the farm-houses on the island the peasants, both owners and men, sleep on the floor under just these same conditions whether from habit or preference I can't say!"
I knew of one progressive owner who had sent his son to England to study the more modern methods of farming. When his son returned he had attempted many reforms; one of them in the housing conditions of his men. He had installed beds and mattresses; in less than in a week the beds had been stacked outside or converted for other uses. The men had insisted they were more comfortable as they were; they wanted nothing to do with his foreign innovations.
But this incident made no impression on my companion. He obviously disbelieved me. I, with all of my kind, were against them. His expression settled into stubborn animosity, "Si, si, Señora, I know what you think but we have a right to live like men, to earn a living wage, to have food for our children and soon now we will have it!"
"But that is absurd, everyone wants you to live like men and have food for your children. Here on our island your children have never gone hungry. But you must see that you cannot ask for double wages when the farmers have no market for their crops. Most of last year's almonds are still unsold. These problems can only be solved slowly, by the government changing their custom restrictions, making new commercial treaties, creating new markets and helping the farmer as well as the laborer until changes in present conditions can be made. Taxes must be raised, hoarded money put into circulation for the benefit of the country...." I realized suddenly that my listener understood not one word of what I was saying. As I paused he continued, "No, no, Señora you will see, soon we will take the fincas and we shall hae everything."
"Yes, but that will not solve your problem.Look what happened in Madrid when the men took over the tramlines. They immediately doubled all salaries and shortened the hours of work. All very well until funds came to an end, then the worker's committee had to beg the government to take them over."
"No, no. We understand. We have been told you would tell us just such things. But it is not true. Soon you will see."
"And what are we going to see? You are surely not thinking of doing the same dreadful things that the communists have done on the peninsula?"
He hesitated, then nodded slowly. "Come now, Juan, we have always been friends,You cannot tell me that you would actually come to our house to kill us! You can't think such things seriously?"
"Well, Señora, maybe I wouldn't but there are many who would."
I could only marvel at the power that could, with such devilish efficiency, transform kindly, lovable peasants into instruments of death and destruction!
The following week my husband was made Naval Commander of the Southern coast of the island and we left for the port of Campos.
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Things have not changed much in the world. The 'have-nots' will lie, cheat and steal from the 'haves' in order to get what they feel should simply be given to them. Some people are meant to be rich. We cannot ALL be rich. That is just not the way society was set up from the beginning of time, even going back to the cavemen days, the Biblical story, whatever you believe. I am sad that slavery had to even enter into the whole scenario, but it did and we cannot change it. We must now move past it and unify. The other option is to continue destroying ourselves, because no one (are you listening, Putin and boyfriend?) is going to be 'king of the world' or 'dictator.' You may get another few years, perhaps four, but then it is over, dude.
I was one who worked my butt off and managed to raise a family and own a few homes. I now own an extremely modest home, although I can't put myself into poor category. I certainly cannot put myself into the rich category and not even upper or middle-income categories. Is there even a middle-income category any longer? And I don't have to. I don't feel I'm owed that by those who are better off financially than I am. Then again, I put very little stock in money. I have always felt that way and tried to instill that value in my children. Not so sure I succeeded with my daughter but I know I did with my son. There are more important things in life than money, as long as you have a roof over your head, food to eat and medication if needed. Everything else is optional.
On Natacha's Island of Calm, and even today, the thought prevailed (and still prevails, today) that if one does not have things like a bed (let's use a laptop for today's needs) for some reason THAT FACT gives you the right to just take what you don't have and can't, for whatever reason, work enough to get on your own. What Natacha was experiencing was the beginning of what we call looting these days. What she also found out is that when things are freely given, sometimes, they are ignorantly destroyed, as in the beds for the laborers. Next paragraph, I'm going to talk a bit about reparations, and the perfect example is if we just start issuing checks to those who can 'prove' they deserve them, the money will likely be squandered. It will not be used wisely, and this is why we cannot issue money for reparations.
Forget the political aspect of things. Certain groups of people feel that they are 'owed' and so they take, rather than wait for the system to give back to them ...as in the case of reparations. That may be a bad example, because we have already given back in the form of Affirmative Action. The Asians whined about Affirmative Action for years because they felt 'left out,' but they got their reparations in a different way. Where were our reparations for Pearl Harbor, though?
Right, there were none. And there never will be. By 2050, it is predicted that the white race will officially be the minority. I wish that generation luck. I won't be alive, so it won't affect me, but I wish them all luck. Will anyone be happier? I can say with 99.9% confidence the answer is no, because nothing in 1936 was enough and nothing in 2050 will be enough.
Greed is greed, and it will never go away. All the wars being fought today are no different than the war Natacha experienced.
Darkmum
THANK YOU FOR READING DARKMUM'S MUSINGS! I ALWAYS WELCOME NEW READERS!