A left-wing youth from Quilmas (Carnota) called O Catelo, who had become the leader of the ‘foucellas’ (1) from Mount Pindo, led a flight plan for himself and twelve other men.
In this way, in the summer of 1937 they descended to the port from Mount Pindo, where they had been hiding for more than a year. Then, with the help of two boats, they assaulted the fishing vessel ‘O As’ at gunpoint and headed for England, where they arrived at the port of Bristol. In spite of the initial joy, fate played a trick on them, since England, under the ‘Non Intervention Agreement’, repatriated them.
The military regime presided over by Franco decided to retaliate for the flight and kidnapping of the ship by investigating which of the people had helped the regugees because they were sure that they could not have pulled it off by themselves. However, the case could not condemn anyone because the defendants claimed not to know anything and because “you can not shoot an entire town.”
This is how the people of Carnota rose to the challenge and showed the solidarity of true heroes.
1. Republicans hiding in the mountains of Galicia during the Spanish Civil War and the postwar period were called the ‘foucellas’.
WHAT TO DO:
A reading. The book ‘Escapado’ (2). Author: Luis Lamela. This book recalls the life of the refugees in Mount Pindo in 1936.
2. Runaway
