Boise: a Model of a Welcoming City
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Boise: A Model of a Welcoming City Imanol Galdos Irazabal Introduction: A humble tribute to essential to understand the present, and my parents to structure the story of the future. Te reason I am here today talking about Te real and anonymous heroes are the the model of Boise as a welcoming city is, people who created the conditions for quite simply, because my parents (Miguel Boise to become an authentic reference and Tere) gave a great welcome to the for those of us who believe in spaces where group from Boise that came to Oñati people from diferent social, language, back in 1974. Tis is the image that best political, ethnical and religious back- represents my life cycle. It is the plaque grounds can construct authentic models placed in Boise’s Memorial Park two years of harmonious coexistence; forward-look- ago to coincide with the Jaialdi of 2015, ing visionary individuals who take risks, in gratitude for the great work my parents and – above all – very generous people. did by welcoming people from Boise Tose who courageously opted for this in difcult times. For many years my way forward in the past and now deserve home in Oñati was like a small hotel that a lot of respect. was the scene of the story I am going to Although everything seems to be called tell you now. Obviously, this story does into question nowadays, the future will not explain the whole model I want to surely involve models along the lines of show you today. However, it is clearly Boise. Tere is no other way. Tey are a central part of a wonderful story that the cities we all aspire to, hence their is being written now, in a very difcult enormous potential and attractiveness. context. A fner point and a rectifca- Homogeneous cities that turn their backs tion: Cities, towns, villages and countries on new energies are doomed. are not welcoming in themselves. Teir people are, although not everyone. Tey Te beginning: 1974 are usually courageous people who, in Pat Bieter, the father of the current Mayor difcult circumstances, and often on their of Boise, was a man ahead of his time. own against the opinion of the majority, Born in Minnesota, he was posted to Boise decide to take very tricky paths. We tend for military service, and that is where he to jump on the bandwagon of success too discovered the large Basque community easily, while in many cases we have been in Idaho. A university professor of Irish part of the problem. Historic memory is descent who was familiar with the reality 116 AEMI JOURNAL 2017–2018 of the Irish diaspora to the United States, was hostile. Many people in Oñati (in he understood how important it was for line with the majority opinion in Basque the new generations of Basque Americans society) thought that they were a cover to learn about the contemporary reality of for the CIA – that is, allies of Franco. Euskadi, now very diferent to the country Great courage was shown by my parents that their ancestors had left behind years and others (people involved in political before. Tis led to the academic program opposition to Franco and very committed aimed at North American university stud- to the defense of Basque language and ies that set out (beyond the learning and culture), and very few decided to welcome improvement of language skills in the the Americans who arrived in Oñati with Basque and Spanish languages as well as open arms. Tanks to their courage, I other teachings on diferent aspects of life am standing here today explaining the in Euskadi) to provide better knowledge of welcoming nature of Boise. Likewise, the the reality of the Basques at a time when strong commitment and courage of Pat Franco was still in power. Bieter should be highlighted. He was a Oñati, the town where I was born and man who knew how to anticipate events grew up, was chosen by the Universities in a conservative environment. Tose of Boise and Reno to begin the program young people who stayed in Oñati are that has changed the way relations between now community leaders in Boise: the Euskadi and the Basque diaspora that Mayor, judges, doctors, university pro- are understood, basically in the United fessors. Terefore, we should highlight States. A new paradigm of relations was the great impact the project had on the born. Everything that has happened since development of the city of Boise. cannot be understood without considering Everyone emerged as a winner from the importance of this program. It was that program. Oñati, a historically out- organized in Oñati for around seven years, ward-looking town (it is home to the making it possible for hundreds of North oldest university in the Basque Country, American students to get to know the real- where Law, Medicine and Philosophy ity of the Basques and, above all, enabling were taught in the 16th century), is now hundreds of relationships between people an even more open place, and the role from both sides of the Atlantic (marriages, played by the Boise program has been a divorces, families, some living here and key factor. Boise and Oñati are, as we shall others there). In 1982, the program was see in more detail later, isolated places, transferred to Donostia under the um- although in both cases far from being a brella of the University Studies Abroad drawback this has been a key factor in Consortium (USAC). their success. Tere was no resting on Franco was in power and Euskadi was one’s laurels; isolation has been a stimulus. a volcano waiting to explode, at a time Oñati has one of the lowest unem- of great political upheaval. In this con- ployment rates in the Spanish State, with text, that frst group of students headed companies like ULMA operating world- by Pat Bieter certainly did not receive a wide, the International Institute for the warm welcome. Tey arrived protected Sociology of Law that welcomes Doctorate by the Guardia Civil and the reception and Master’s students from all over the IMANOL GALDOS IRAZABAL 117 world, and the Monastery of Arantzazu. it Right”. As they explain in their feature From that dark year 1974 to now, Oñati called Red-Hot Town, and Boise have grown and helped each other, thanks to those courageous people #1 Boise, Idaho: Once the gateway to who took great risks and decided that the remote mining camps, Idaho’s capital future of their hometown and their people has become a technic boomtown meant being open towards other cultures with a thriving cultural scene. An and other ways of thinking. Te commit- economy boosted by mega-grocer ment to diversity is the only driving force Albertsons, the multinational Micron that makes societies growing, and Boise Technology and the potato giant is a clear example. J.R. Simplot has helped jump-start a fast-growing real estate market. Boise: In the middle of nowhere My frst visit to Boise was in 1988. We From all perspectives and angles, Boise’s had to take quite a few fights to get there. ability to attract is undisputed. Te city As happens with a lot of other places in has become the incarnation of the Ameri- the world (Donostia and Husum come can Dream of the 21st century on its own to mind), being located outside the main merits. With a population of 676,929 routes with not particularly good com- (2015 Estimate), there are more than munications theoretically means greater 101,800 people employed in professional difculties. My frst impression was that is services occupations. One of the fastest a small city. Very diferent from the large growing regions in the country, the Boise city concept that seems to be imposing MSA ranked #3 (excluding Florida) for the itself nowadays. In the case of Boise, highest net domestic in-migration rate in however, what some consider a major 2014 behind Austin, TX and Charleston, drawback, with the often-repeated com- SC.1 As well as technology companies plaint about it being far away from where and North American citizens in search of things happen – “Boise is in the middle of new experiences or simply tired of living nowhere” – its unfavorable location, its dry in large cities (20% of new residents in climate, roasting sunshine in summer, and Boise have come from California), Boise’s quite a cold winter – what some consider rather isolated location has not stopped defects turn into undoubted advantages. thousands of refugees from starting a new In the middle of the desert, with vast life there. On paper, other destinations spaces around and infnite potential for might seem more attractive to those who growth, Boise has become home to state- have chosen Boise, or who arrived in a of-the-art technology companies, people little-known place as a result of established looking for new life experiences, refugees quotas. Tey all praise the city that is now and emigrants in search of freedom. Mi- their home. cron, Hewlett-Packard and White-Cloud Analytics have converted Boise into a Boise, Idaho, ofers a calmer perspec- ‘Techy Boomtown’, as TIME magazine tive. Here at the base of the Rocky described it. In March 2014, TIME Maga- Mountains, in one of the whitest zine featured Boise as #1 region “Getting of American places in one of the 118 AEMI JOURNAL 2017–2018 reddest American states, 13,000 River running through downtown. Te refugees from at least 53 countries climate is mild year-round, but still varied are rebuilding their lives.2 throughout the year.