0:00:19 > 0:00:24My name is Ana Garcia, my home is the Rock of Gibraltar -
0:00:24 > 0:00:27a tiny piece of Britain on the southern tip of Spain.
0:00:27 > 0:00:32Gibraltar has spent 300 years torn between these old colonial rivals -
0:00:32 > 0:00:36Britain and Spain - but for me, Gibraltar's home.
0:00:36 > 0:00:40As I prepare to return to get married, I find myself
0:00:40 > 0:00:44more curious than ever about my deep connection to this ancient rock.
0:00:44 > 0:00:47Maybe if I can unravel the conflicted history of the Rock,
0:00:47 > 0:00:49I can answer some of the questions
0:00:49 > 0:00:52about who I am and where I come from.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56My family played a prominent role in the recent
0:00:56 > 0:01:00political wrangles over Gibraltar, so by exploring old archives -
0:01:00 > 0:01:03some family Super 8 footage and new interviews -
0:01:03 > 0:01:06I hope to fully understand the story of Gibraltar,
0:01:06 > 0:01:09and the people on the Rock.
0:01:09 > 0:01:14Gibraltar's paradise. There's nowhere, I challenge anybody
0:01:14 > 0:01:17to tell me where there's a better place then Gibraltar.
0:01:17 > 0:01:22Sometimes we get rain, but otherwise everything you want is here -
0:01:22 > 0:01:28whether you're a Hindu, Muslim, Jewish, Catholic, Protestant -
0:01:28 > 0:01:30we're all one big family.
0:01:30 > 0:01:34Britain captured Gibraltar from Spain in 1704,
0:01:34 > 0:01:38and with it took control of the strategy gateway to
0:01:38 > 0:01:41the Mediterranean between Europe and Africa.
0:01:41 > 0:01:45In the Treaty of Utrecht, the King of Spain signed Gibraltar away
0:01:45 > 0:01:46to Britain for ever.
0:01:46 > 0:01:49The Rock became a British military garrison -
0:01:49 > 0:01:53and soon trade began with Mediterranean neighbours.
0:01:53 > 0:01:57Eventually these merchants began to settle within the garrison walls.
0:01:57 > 0:02:02The garrison became a country and it's countrymen, the Gibraltarians.
0:02:03 > 0:02:06Gibraltar is a...politically, it is a country.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09It has its own parliament, it has its own airport,
0:02:09 > 0:02:12its own hospitals, its own schooling systems.
0:02:12 > 0:02:14It has everything that a country has.
0:02:14 > 0:02:16The only thing that makes me hesitate slightly is
0:02:16 > 0:02:18because we're 30,000 people.
0:02:18 > 0:02:19As you know, we say here,
0:02:19 > 0:02:23British we are, British we stay, but Spanish we speak all day.
0:02:26 > 0:02:29I'm a British Gibraltarian, I'm a Gibraltarian,
0:02:29 > 0:02:33yet I love bull fighting, with all due respects to the RSPCA.
0:02:33 > 0:02:36So we have the best of both worlds.
0:02:36 > 0:02:39When people say we're more British than the British - I say you've
0:02:39 > 0:02:43got it all wrong - it's not that we're more British than the British,
0:02:43 > 0:02:46it's that we are more Mediterranean
0:02:46 > 0:02:48about being British then the Anglo-Saxons.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53Life on the Rock hasn't always been easy.
0:02:53 > 0:02:55Spain believes Gibraltar should be Spanish,
0:02:55 > 0:02:58and has spent centuries trying to regain it.
0:02:58 > 0:03:02In 1954, Her Majesty the Queen visited the Rock
0:03:02 > 0:03:05and trouble soon followed.
0:03:05 > 0:03:08The display of sovereignty angered Spain's fascist dictator,
0:03:08 > 0:03:13General Franco, and reignited Spain's claim on the Rock.
0:03:13 > 0:03:16A broken society still suffering the aftermath of civil war
0:03:16 > 0:03:20and now turning its aggression toward us.
0:03:20 > 0:03:21We needed a plan,
0:03:21 > 0:03:26and my grandfather Peter Isola was one of those who took a stand.
0:03:28 > 0:03:31I am Rosie Isola. I'm your grandmother.
0:03:34 > 0:03:39In 1956, we got married, went on our honeymoon
0:03:39 > 0:03:43and when we came back he gave me the wonderful news
0:03:43 > 0:03:47that he was going to stand for election with his father.
0:03:47 > 0:03:49He knew I didn't like politics.
0:03:49 > 0:03:52But he said, "I'll only be there a couple of years."
0:03:52 > 0:03:55And a couple of years lasted...50.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58SHE LAUGHS
0:03:58 > 0:04:01My grandfather became the leader of the Opposition
0:04:01 > 0:04:03and his greatest rival, Sir Joshua Hassan,
0:04:03 > 0:04:06became the Chief Minister of Gibraltar.
0:04:06 > 0:04:09People loved him so much because he was friendly with everyone.
0:04:09 > 0:04:12Remember, Gibraltar is a very small place
0:04:12 > 0:04:14and he knew practically everyone by name.
0:04:18 > 0:04:20They were pretty bitter enemies.
0:04:20 > 0:04:24There was a lot of personal animosity between them
0:04:24 > 0:04:27but, having said that, it didn't stop them in the '60s
0:04:27 > 0:04:29forming a coalition government.
0:04:29 > 0:04:32Because of the pressures that Spain was putting on Gibraltar,
0:04:32 > 0:04:36and they were very great indeed - you know, border troubles -
0:04:36 > 0:04:40we felt that the state was in danger, and the two groups
0:04:40 > 0:04:43came together because we thought the main enemy was Spain.
0:04:43 > 0:04:45This was the era of anti-colonialism.
0:04:45 > 0:04:49And in 1963 the United Nations had finally called for
0:04:49 > 0:04:51the decolonisation of Gibraltar.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54Britain resisted, but Spain took advantage of this
0:04:54 > 0:04:58anti-imperial movement to re-stake her claim on the Rock.
0:04:58 > 0:05:03We were in London with your mother when he got this phone call from
0:05:03 > 0:05:10Sir Joshua's office to say, "We're off to the United Nations."
0:05:10 > 0:05:15So Joshua came to London, met Peter and they both left
0:05:15 > 0:05:18and I was left on my own with your mother.
0:05:18 > 0:05:21We went there, it was like an emergency hall, you know,
0:05:21 > 0:05:2448 hours' notice and we were on a plane, off to New York,
0:05:24 > 0:05:27and we knew nothing of the procedures there.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30We wanted to be British. Spain hadn't been particularly friendly.
0:05:30 > 0:05:35Spain was a fascist regime, it made its intentions very clear,
0:05:35 > 0:05:38it wanted to take over Gibraltar, so naturally you become defensive.
0:05:38 > 0:05:42But in those days, of course, the United Nations generally were
0:05:42 > 0:05:44totally against Britain.
0:05:44 > 0:05:46They regarded Britain as an imperial power.
0:05:46 > 0:05:48I mean, you felt it when you were talking.
0:05:48 > 0:05:52I mean, they couldn't understand why we wanted to stay with Britain,
0:05:52 > 0:05:55you know, they just couldn't understand it, most of the delegates.
0:05:55 > 0:05:59There wasn't anything bigger than that,
0:05:59 > 0:06:04than going to the United Nations to fight for our freedom.
0:06:04 > 0:06:06What more do you want?
0:06:06 > 0:06:09My grandfather and Sir Joshua called for recognition of
0:06:09 > 0:06:12the people's right to self-determination.
0:06:12 > 0:06:17Spain objected, but the United Nations agreed to defer enforcement
0:06:17 > 0:06:21of the decolonisation of Gibraltar, while discussions continued.
0:06:21 > 0:06:24It was the first time Gibraltarians had gone to the United Nations.
0:06:24 > 0:06:28You know? I mean, these were guys in a little village, you know,
0:06:28 > 0:06:32actually appearing before the world! I mean, irrespective of the result,
0:06:32 > 0:06:35everybody was going to welcome them, we all did.
0:06:39 > 0:06:45And when I met him at the airport, when they came down from the plane
0:06:45 > 0:06:50I said, "You don't know what's waiting for you, and Sir Joshua."
0:06:50 > 0:06:53And they said, "What?"
0:06:53 > 0:06:57And I said, "The whole of Gibraltar have come out to welcome you."
0:06:57 > 0:06:59CROWD CHEERS
0:07:08 > 0:07:12I think what people were celebrating was the fact that, all right, we
0:07:12 > 0:07:17might not have come back with a great trophy, but Gibraltar had spoken.
0:07:17 > 0:07:21And it was the first, if you like, whispers of a voice that would
0:07:21 > 0:07:25slowly build into something more credible as the politics changed.
0:07:25 > 0:07:31In those days, I was a bachelor and I had an MG Midget, red car,
0:07:31 > 0:07:36sports car, and I was asked whether I wouldn't mind taking them
0:07:36 > 0:07:39at the back of the car and I would drive them around the town.
0:07:39 > 0:07:41I was delighted.
0:07:43 > 0:07:45But I do remember it.
0:07:45 > 0:07:50And it was obviously great sitting in the car between Sir Joshua Hassan
0:07:50 > 0:07:53and my dad, until eventually they kicked me off.
0:07:53 > 0:07:55HE LAUGHS
0:07:56 > 0:08:01Whenever we were stopped, I drank water, they drank whiskey.
0:08:01 > 0:08:05I had to make sure I was in my full senses.
0:08:05 > 0:08:10The whole of Gibraltar came out to greet them and to thank them.
0:08:10 > 0:08:13And that was very moving.
0:08:13 > 0:08:18Their success, however, was short-lived. The United Nations
0:08:18 > 0:08:21could not accept Gibraltar's wish to remain with Britain -
0:08:21 > 0:08:23the battle had only just begun.
0:08:24 > 0:08:27To say to the decolonisation committee,
0:08:27 > 0:08:32set up by the United Nations to liberate people from imperialism,
0:08:32 > 0:08:37how wonderful imperialism is, you know, is like committing hara-kiri.
0:08:39 > 0:08:43For Gibraltarians, however, it was not about imperialism,
0:08:43 > 0:08:46it was about a 260-year-old British identity.
0:08:46 > 0:08:51Well, my father considered himself to be completely British.
0:08:51 > 0:08:54In the sense that that's what he chose to be.
0:08:54 > 0:08:58He had many friends in Spain but he loathed their system.
0:08:58 > 0:09:04To him, you know, next to God, Winston Churchill and Nelson -
0:09:04 > 0:09:07it was a tough call between either of them,
0:09:07 > 0:09:10to be the greatest man that ever lived.
0:09:10 > 0:09:12So, yeah, he was very, very British.
0:09:12 > 0:09:15And he wanted us to have an English education
0:09:15 > 0:09:21so he sacrificed his holidays and quite a lot of money to send us to
0:09:21 > 0:09:25the UK for the doubtful privileges of a public school education.
0:09:27 > 0:09:29To the guard room. Quick march.
0:09:29 > 0:09:32I mean, Gib was structured in the classic UK style,
0:09:32 > 0:09:34it was a class-driven society.
0:09:34 > 0:09:37Where I think Gibraltarians
0:09:37 > 0:09:40generally invented their own place in that class.
0:09:40 > 0:09:44Along with the British military and the Gibraltarians,
0:09:44 > 0:09:45there were the Spaniards.
0:09:45 > 0:09:48Gibraltar's workforce came mostly from Spain,
0:09:48 > 0:09:50with some crossing the border daily.
0:09:50 > 0:09:54Slowly numbers increased as cross-border relationships grew
0:09:54 > 0:09:58and the societies intertwined. The border was the lifeline.
0:09:58 > 0:10:01When Franco began to increase pressure on the Rock,
0:10:01 > 0:10:04it was the border that was first and hardest hit.
0:10:04 > 0:10:08Here on the frontier, there are still some 90 or so cars waiting to
0:10:08 > 0:10:10get from Gibraltar into Spain.
0:10:10 > 0:10:13Some of them have already been waiting for three days.
0:10:13 > 0:10:16Since October 1964, the Spaniards have only allowed
0:10:16 > 0:10:19three cars an hour to go through into Spain and the frontier
0:10:19 > 0:10:23is only open for 15 hours a day - so that's 45 cars a day.
0:10:23 > 0:10:25We're just waiting here on the border.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28Everybody here has been as kind as they possibly could -
0:10:28 > 0:10:30the English have been very helpful to everybody here.
0:10:32 > 0:10:35The real campaign against Gibraltar had begun.
0:10:35 > 0:10:38Soon things were turned back at the border -
0:10:38 > 0:10:41even medical supplies were stopped coming in.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46There were difficulties, it was always uncomfortable to go to Spain.
0:10:46 > 0:10:49There was always a queue and paperwork and you were
0:10:49 > 0:10:51always stopped, and getting in and out of the car
0:10:51 > 0:10:53and being searched and they were armed, you know.
0:10:53 > 0:10:56Our officers were your friends, you know,
0:10:56 > 0:10:58but their officers were enemies.
0:10:58 > 0:11:01It was always scary because there were no freedoms there.
0:11:02 > 0:11:07My aunt married a Republican. He and his four brothers
0:11:07 > 0:11:10saw their father shot dead in front of them.
0:11:10 > 0:11:13These are stories that we've been brought up with.
0:11:14 > 0:11:19The rebels in Spain that escaped with their life escaped here.
0:11:19 > 0:11:21And the one thing they taught their children
0:11:21 > 0:11:24and their grandchildren, never go back to that lot, because
0:11:24 > 0:11:27I'm lucky to have got here with my head on my shoulders - you see?
0:11:27 > 0:11:34We were constantly being insulted, on television, on radio, so
0:11:34 > 0:11:39our backs were up all the time, you know, it was a silent war.
0:11:40 > 0:11:43It's not even about being Spanish.
0:11:43 > 0:11:46They don't want the Gibraltarians to be Spanish,
0:11:46 > 0:11:48they want Gibraltar, period.
0:11:48 > 0:11:52They don't care about the Gibraltarians, we can all get lost.
0:11:52 > 0:11:54Look, if we're not the real owners
0:11:54 > 0:11:58then I have to say that the first Bossano in Gibraltar,
0:11:58 > 0:12:01who got married here in 1748, was the first guy to be squatting.
0:12:01 > 0:12:05And I want to know how long, how much more than 300 years we have
0:12:05 > 0:12:09to be squatting before we acquire some kind of rights to this place.
0:12:27 > 0:12:31By 1967, it was clear that both the United Nations and Spain
0:12:31 > 0:12:34were refusing to acknowledge that Gibraltar
0:12:34 > 0:12:38wished to remain British. Under increasing pressure from Spain,
0:12:38 > 0:12:41Britain called for a referendum in Gibraltar.
0:12:41 > 0:12:44It was a final bid to show the world where our allegiance lay.
0:12:46 > 0:12:50It was very exciting. We had a special meal, if I remember rightly,
0:12:50 > 0:12:54and everybody had to go to vote, and we went along and waited outside.
0:12:54 > 0:12:56It was your civic duty.
0:12:58 > 0:13:04But a referendum is always a risk, because it's a very drastic step
0:13:04 > 0:13:08to take on something as important as this was to us at that time.
0:13:10 > 0:13:14If the result had been 80% or 70%, it would have been
0:13:14 > 0:13:17very encouraging to the other side, and there was a risk in doing that
0:13:17 > 0:13:19when we were under siege.
0:13:20 > 0:13:25Ince's Hall, they counted the votes there.
0:13:25 > 0:13:27I was there, on the first row.
0:13:27 > 0:13:32Number of votes cast for alternative course A -
0:13:33 > 0:13:35..44.
0:13:35 > 0:13:37LAUGHTER
0:13:39 > 0:13:45Number of votes cast for alternative course B -
0:13:45 > 0:13:4912,138.
0:13:51 > 0:13:53SHE CHEERS
0:13:55 > 0:13:57CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:14:01 > 0:14:05The result came out and 44 voted for Spain.
0:14:05 > 0:14:09Which I thought was, you know, I thought it was pretty wonderful.
0:14:09 > 0:14:12And I remember my parents being utterly livid,
0:14:12 > 0:14:15that it should have been zero, and it was that woman who they knew
0:14:15 > 0:14:19from down the road, because she was Spanish, she would have voted.
0:14:19 > 0:14:22I remember at the time also, even with the 44, they were saying
0:14:22 > 0:14:26that there was one who had said yes to Spain because he'd ticked
0:14:26 > 0:14:29the wrong box, so the suggestion was that it wasn't even 44.
0:14:30 > 0:14:33The people had spoken, the results were overwhelming
0:14:33 > 0:14:37but the anti-colonial mood was even stronger.
0:14:37 > 0:14:40They took the result of the 1967 referendum
0:14:40 > 0:14:43to the General Assembly for a vote!
0:14:44 > 0:14:47And they lost the vote two-to-one!
0:14:47 > 0:14:49But if there was a defining moment
0:14:49 > 0:14:52when it was clear to the entire world that Gibraltar wanted
0:14:52 > 0:14:55to remain British and that was the voice of the people, that was it.
0:14:57 > 0:14:59Despite the wish of the people,
0:14:59 > 0:15:03the United Nations ordered the decolonisation of Gibraltar.
0:15:03 > 0:15:05Britain resisted,
0:15:05 > 0:15:08she would not abandon Gibraltar to a fascist regime.
0:15:08 > 0:15:13This angered Franco - and the people of Gibraltar united in defence,
0:15:13 > 0:15:17but a small group of Gibraltarians had other ideas.
0:15:17 > 0:15:21They called themselves the doves, and opened a dialogue with Spain -
0:15:21 > 0:15:24there was outrage when their intentions were revealed.
0:15:26 > 0:15:33Basically, there were these five people who phoned me up and said,
0:15:33 > 0:15:37look, we've got this letter we'd like to publish.
0:15:37 > 0:15:43And I read the letter and I said, this idea of coming to some sort of
0:15:43 > 0:15:48a deal with Spain, I said, this is not going to be accepted very well
0:15:48 > 0:15:52in Gibraltar at the moment. On the other hand, you have a right,
0:15:52 > 0:15:57as far as I'm concerned. There's no libel in it, so I will publish it.
0:15:57 > 0:16:00And in fact, I said, it's of such interest,
0:16:00 > 0:16:04if you don't mind, I'll publish it on the front page.
0:16:04 > 0:16:06That was one of my bad moments.
0:16:06 > 0:16:11They were five...five businessmen and lawyers who took the view
0:16:11 > 0:16:14that, long term, the best thing was to come to resolution with Spain.
0:16:14 > 0:16:18As I understand it, they went to discuss matters,
0:16:18 > 0:16:19with the Spanish government.
0:16:19 > 0:16:22And they thought that was best for Gibraltar.
0:16:22 > 0:16:24Clearly the Gibraltarian people,
0:16:24 > 0:16:26especially having expressed their view in the referendum,
0:16:26 > 0:16:29the year before, would have been... they were probably a bit
0:16:29 > 0:16:33foolhardy to consider that. You know, possibly politically naive.
0:16:33 > 0:16:37But do you think there's any room for negotiation with Spain?
0:16:37 > 0:16:41Yes, well, I have said so very clearly that there is room.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44We published certain articles in which
0:16:44 > 0:16:47we actually put forward proposals for the negotiated settlement.
0:16:47 > 0:16:50They didn't meet with the best possible response from Gibraltar, did they?
0:16:50 > 0:16:53No, they were very unpopular, they're still very unpopular.
0:16:53 > 0:16:56The people who went to talk to the Spaniards might have thought
0:16:56 > 0:16:59what they were doing was the right thing to do
0:16:59 > 0:17:01and in the best interest of Gibraltar.
0:17:01 > 0:17:04They're entitled to have that view. What they're not entitled to do
0:17:04 > 0:17:07is pretend that they spoke for the rest of us.
0:17:07 > 0:17:09They had no right to do that.
0:17:09 > 0:17:14It came out on the Saturday morning and we had the riots.
0:17:14 > 0:17:15It was very frightening
0:17:15 > 0:17:20because I'd never experienced any form of disorder or rioting.
0:17:20 > 0:17:22PEOPLE CLAMOUR
0:17:22 > 0:17:25Because you're used to a very peaceful,
0:17:25 > 0:17:28quiet town that had erupted in a matter of hours.
0:17:28 > 0:17:29And everybody was rushing,
0:17:29 > 0:17:33and people shouting and women crying, what the hell's going on?
0:17:33 > 0:17:35And we got a whiff. It was a tear gas bomb.
0:17:35 > 0:17:37SHOUTS AND EXPLOSION
0:17:37 > 0:17:43I do remember being on the street when a crowd, a mob,
0:17:43 > 0:17:51of very angry men went down to the house of one of the Triays,
0:17:51 > 0:17:54one of the doves.
0:17:55 > 0:17:57At my house, they broke into windows,
0:17:57 > 0:17:59they burst into the entrance,
0:17:59 > 0:18:02and they broke everything that they found on their way.
0:18:03 > 0:18:06At the office, they did exactly the same thing,
0:18:06 > 0:18:10they assaulted and beat my brother. They also burnt a yacht of mine.
0:18:12 > 0:18:16And two other doves, they overturned buses belonging
0:18:16 > 0:18:19to their businesses, they broke into their shops.
0:18:19 > 0:18:24They said, let's go and get the Chronicle.
0:18:24 > 0:18:30So I, probably foolishly, on my own, I wandered back,
0:18:30 > 0:18:34got in to the Chronicle office and sat there,
0:18:34 > 0:18:38waiting for the attack, which never came.
0:18:55 > 0:18:57INDISTINCT SHOUTS
0:19:04 > 0:19:07Well, it wasn't...it wasn't right. It wasn't right.
0:19:07 > 0:19:11At the end of the day, people are entitled to their views.
0:19:11 > 0:19:14I may not agree with them, but they're entitled to them.
0:19:21 > 0:19:25It was a pretty horrific day, episode in our history,
0:19:25 > 0:19:29and certainly not one to be proud of in any shape or form.
0:19:33 > 0:19:36And eventually it's the straw that breaks the camel's back.
0:19:36 > 0:19:40So in itself, the one issue may not have been that important
0:19:40 > 0:19:43but if you add it to everything else,
0:19:43 > 0:19:46it's like a blood-letting or a release of tension.
0:19:46 > 0:19:49Do you regret publishing that letter?
0:19:49 > 0:19:53No, from my point of view, it was freedom of expression,
0:19:53 > 0:19:57which was rapidly disappearing in Gibraltar.
0:19:58 > 0:20:03To put a good word for one of these doves, this man is a good man.
0:20:03 > 0:20:06But a lot of people in Gibraltar owe him a lot because he used to
0:20:06 > 0:20:09take them across to Algeciras when they couldn't go to La Linea,
0:20:09 > 0:20:12to see their families or whatever, but for an emergency,
0:20:12 > 0:20:15even to take people to hospitals and things like that.
0:20:15 > 0:20:16In his own private yacht.
0:20:16 > 0:20:19The new one he bought because the original was burnt.
0:20:19 > 0:20:23That man should be honoured for that because, despite what they did
0:20:23 > 0:20:29to him, you know, like they say - pay a bad debt with a good one.
0:20:29 > 0:20:31You know, there you go.
0:20:33 > 0:20:37Next Tuesday, the Spanish government has announced that it's going
0:20:37 > 0:20:43to close the border to all traffic from La Linea going to Gib.
0:20:43 > 0:20:47This will mean a very serious blow to the Gibraltar tourist industry
0:20:47 > 0:20:53but worse may follow, because the story in Gibraltar is that
0:20:53 > 0:20:58the permits of the 5,000 Spanish workmen who every day come
0:20:58 > 0:21:02from La Linea to Gib to work in the docks and in the offices
0:21:02 > 0:21:05and the hotels may be withdrawn.
0:21:07 > 0:21:11And if they are withdrawn, the border may then be closed completely.
0:21:11 > 0:21:15If this is true, it will be in fact the biggest step taken
0:21:15 > 0:21:19so far by the Franco government in its current blockade of Gibraltar.
0:21:21 > 0:21:24I think the cars was the first.
0:21:24 > 0:21:27And my husband and I had just got married, we got married in '66,
0:21:27 > 0:21:30September '66, and we were on honeymoon.
0:21:30 > 0:21:37Coming back, driving down, we were in Madrid when my family called us
0:21:37 > 0:21:41and said that the frontier was shutting and we had to drive
0:21:41 > 0:21:44to Lisbon to take a ferry from Lisbon to Gib.
0:21:44 > 0:21:47And thank God, we were lucky, it was the last ferry.
0:21:49 > 0:21:51And we were taking the car back to Gib but just to go round
0:21:51 > 0:21:55and round in circles, around Gib, because we can't go in to Spain.
0:21:55 > 0:21:57But there it is, that's what we did.
0:21:59 > 0:22:01In '66, things got very bad.
0:22:01 > 0:22:04Spain stopped the female labour force from coming through
0:22:04 > 0:22:10the frontier, arguing that they were in danger here from the men,
0:22:10 > 0:22:12would you believe it.
0:22:12 > 0:22:16I mean, there was no end as to what the Spanish government
0:22:16 > 0:22:18would invent to offend us.
0:22:18 > 0:22:24So what we did is, we formed the Women's Housewives Association
0:22:24 > 0:22:29and, do you know, every single job in hotels, hospitals, private homes,
0:22:29 > 0:22:36anywhere, in Gibraltar, was manned by a volunteer woman.
0:22:40 > 0:22:44In June 1969, the Spanish government struck its hardest blow
0:22:44 > 0:22:46against Gibraltar.
0:22:46 > 0:22:49Angered by Britain's refusal to hand over Gibraltar,
0:22:49 > 0:22:53Franco decided to take matters into his own hands.
0:22:53 > 0:22:57Overnight, the Spanish labour force was removed from the Rock and
0:22:57 > 0:22:59the land frontier was closed.
0:22:59 > 0:23:02Men who had worked in Gibraltar for a lifetime
0:23:02 > 0:23:07trooped across the frontier into Spain for the last time.
0:23:07 > 0:23:11Can you imagine, stopping them coming in to work?
0:23:11 > 0:23:14I mean, what would they live from?
0:23:14 > 0:23:17How very sad that they were all crying and so upset.
0:23:17 > 0:23:19They gradually had to take their things back,
0:23:19 > 0:23:21you know, all their tools and whatever they had.
0:23:21 > 0:23:25There were a lot of people, you see, who had houses,
0:23:25 > 0:23:29mostly mixed marriages with Spaniards and Gibraltarians,
0:23:29 > 0:23:33who had to make a big decision, either to give up their house
0:23:33 > 0:23:38in Spain and come to Gibraltar where they had the job.
0:23:38 > 0:23:40Or stay in Spain without a job.
0:24:14 > 0:24:16I remember the frontier closure.
0:24:16 > 0:24:21What I remember was the number of people weeping.
0:24:21 > 0:24:25That was my memory of it. Just lots of people weeping.
0:24:27 > 0:24:31# Santa
0:24:31 > 0:24:34# Santa Maria
0:24:35 > 0:24:39# Santa Maria
0:24:39 > 0:24:45# Madre de Dios
0:24:45 > 0:24:52# Ruega por nosotros pecadores
0:24:54 > 0:25:00# Ahora y en la hora de nuestra muerte
0:25:00 > 0:25:04# Amen
0:25:04 > 0:25:07- ALL:- # Ave
0:25:07 > 0:25:10# Ave Maria
0:25:13 > 0:25:20# Llena eres de gracia...
0:25:20 > 0:25:23And there was so much sadness because there were
0:25:23 > 0:25:27so many Spanish people who worked here for years who became part of
0:25:27 > 0:25:30local families and who were suddenly told
0:25:30 > 0:25:32that's it, it's finished now.
0:25:32 > 0:25:37# Y bendito es el fruto de tu vientre
0:25:37 > 0:25:39# Jesus
0:25:41 > 0:25:45# Santa
0:25:45 > 0:25:48# Santa Maria
0:25:49 > 0:25:54# Santa Maria
0:25:54 > 0:25:58# Madre de Dios
0:26:00 > 0:26:07# Ruega por nosotros pecadores
0:26:07 > 0:26:13# Ahora y en la hora de nuestra muerte
0:26:13 > 0:26:15# Amen. #
0:26:24 > 0:26:26Well, of course, when the border closed,
0:26:26 > 0:26:31all the Gibraltar cars came back to Gib and they had nowhere to go
0:26:31 > 0:26:35so they just went round and round in circles.
0:26:35 > 0:26:37Especially as you got older, the freedom to move around,
0:26:37 > 0:26:40that you...you just couldn't just go in the car or go for the weekend
0:26:40 > 0:26:44to Spain or whatever, you were pretty much stuck here.
0:26:44 > 0:26:49It was a surprise that somebody could do that, shut off 30,000 people,
0:26:49 > 0:26:52inter-marriages, people from both sides of the border.
0:26:52 > 0:26:55So suddenly all these things just disappeared from local life.
0:26:55 > 0:26:58Although, I mean, Spain had been a strong presence here,
0:26:58 > 0:27:02the man who sold the bread and all this kind of thing.
0:27:02 > 0:27:05It wasn't just that, it was the maliciousness, if you can call it
0:27:05 > 0:27:09that, to cut off the telephone lines, for example, there was no need.
0:27:09 > 0:27:12That wasn't any part of any political campaign
0:27:12 > 0:27:16but to shut off the telephone lines was particularly nasty, in my view.
0:27:16 > 0:27:22And the Spaniards were left on the Spanish side with no work
0:27:22 > 0:27:25and nothing, absolutely nothing. And that's how they did it.
0:27:25 > 0:27:29They didn't care about their people, so if they didn't care
0:27:29 > 0:27:34about their own people, how would you expect them to care about us?
0:27:34 > 0:27:37You've got to remember, when the frontier closed, there was
0:27:37 > 0:27:39no industry and no trade in Gibraltar.
0:27:39 > 0:27:42The only way we could survive was through development aid
0:27:42 > 0:27:45from the UK or hand-outs from the UK or a heavy reliance
0:27:45 > 0:27:47on the UK military within Gibraltar.
0:27:47 > 0:27:51So it really was a massive weapon to hit us on the head with.
0:27:51 > 0:27:54'When Franco forced on them the choice of Spanish citizenship
0:27:54 > 0:27:57'or the sack from Spain, where many Gibraltarians lived, they chose
0:27:57 > 0:28:01'the Rock, in spite of the dismal accommodation available there.
0:28:01 > 0:28:04'Many refugees are still living in very squalid
0:28:04 > 0:28:06'so-called temporary accommodation.'
0:28:06 > 0:28:08What sort of bathing accommodation have you got here?
0:28:08 > 0:28:09None, sir.
0:28:09 > 0:28:11What about lavatories?
0:28:11 > 0:28:13Well, we've got one over there.
0:28:13 > 0:28:15How many families use that?
0:28:15 > 0:28:18- Er... - SHE COUNTS SOFTLY
0:28:18 > 0:28:20Nine families. Families.
0:28:20 > 0:28:22What's it like here in the winter?
0:28:22 > 0:28:24- Terrible.- In what way?
0:28:24 > 0:28:29Well, water coming through the ceilings, sir, through the windows.
0:28:29 > 0:28:32Do you ever regret the fact that you chose to come to Gibraltar?
0:28:32 > 0:28:33Oh, no. Never.
0:28:33 > 0:28:37Don't you think it's a heavy price to pay for being British?
0:28:37 > 0:28:39Heavy price? I wouldn't say, sir.
0:28:41 > 0:28:46We were a village of 30,000 people under attack in every possible way.
0:28:46 > 0:28:48It was an effort to bring us to our knees.
0:28:48 > 0:28:52And, unfortunately for them, and fortunately for us,
0:28:52 > 0:28:55like happens in many of these cases, when you push communities,
0:28:55 > 0:28:58it has the opposite effect.
0:28:58 > 0:29:01As far as I was concerned, being so-called locked in,
0:29:01 > 0:29:03I felt no different.
0:29:03 > 0:29:07There were enough things to be done here to forget to go to Spain.
0:29:07 > 0:29:10MUSIC PLAYS
0:29:15 > 0:29:18The Rock, for a lot of people, was swinging.
0:29:20 > 0:29:24I mean, people must have drank more than they ever would now.
0:29:26 > 0:29:29Clubs and cocktail parties left, right and centre,
0:29:29 > 0:29:32there would have been, you know, the military were obsessed
0:29:32 > 0:29:33with cocktail parties.
0:29:33 > 0:29:36The sergeant's mess would be swinging, wife-swapping parties
0:29:36 > 0:29:39on the balcony and, you know, just everything was happening.
0:29:43 > 0:29:45You made friendships that you hadn't made before
0:29:45 > 0:29:48because you were going out, now you were there.
0:29:48 > 0:29:53Sport blossomed in Gibraltar because it was a way of...
0:29:53 > 0:29:56It was an entertainment.
0:29:56 > 0:30:00Dancing, dances developed. There was a lot of social life developed.
0:30:00 > 0:30:04The one habit I remember very distinctly was that the bar
0:30:04 > 0:30:10that's in the air terminal was super popular.
0:30:10 > 0:30:12And people would go down to the bar and see who was
0:30:12 > 0:30:15coming in even if...not because they were expecting anybody,
0:30:15 > 0:30:19they'd just go out of curiosity to see who was arriving on the plane.
0:30:19 > 0:30:22After Mass on Sundays, we would all troop into the car
0:30:22 > 0:30:26and do the Sunday drive and we'd go round Gib
0:30:26 > 0:30:30in a sort of crocodile line at five miles an hour.
0:30:30 > 0:30:32I think people used to call it the Scalextrics, like the toys -
0:30:32 > 0:30:34you just keep going round in a circuit.
0:30:34 > 0:30:37People went round and round the Rock.
0:30:37 > 0:30:39What you do is, you want to make the best of the situation,
0:30:39 > 0:30:42to show them that you're absolutely fine.
0:30:42 > 0:30:44I think in many ways it was, well,
0:30:44 > 0:30:47if this is the price I have to pay for being British, I'll do it.
0:30:47 > 0:30:49People started speaking English,
0:30:49 > 0:30:52people stopped watching Spanish television.
0:30:52 > 0:30:56It had a very dramatic effect on Gibraltar society
0:30:56 > 0:30:59but one which you took on with a siege mentality.
0:30:59 > 0:31:01You took on - we're not going to be defeated.
0:31:01 > 0:31:07What happened is that Gibraltarians have opened their eyes to the world.
0:31:07 > 0:31:13And we know that there's life beyond Spain and beyond the Rock
0:31:13 > 0:31:18and there's a big wide world out there which Gibraltarians
0:31:18 > 0:31:22started to explore, and that's thanks to Franco.
0:31:26 > 0:31:30Before the frontier closure, we used to go to Spain a lot, obviously,
0:31:30 > 0:31:33And my aunt lived in Algeciras, in Los Pinos,
0:31:33 > 0:31:35so we used to go there a lot.
0:31:35 > 0:31:40In the summer, we used to spend a couple of weeks with her there.
0:31:40 > 0:31:45They had three children. They had Evaristo, Maddy and Antonio.
0:31:45 > 0:31:48Maddy is exactly my age.
0:31:48 > 0:31:51We've always, all our lives, adored each other.
0:31:51 > 0:31:53From a very young age.
0:31:53 > 0:31:56My Aunt Magda wanted her sons to be educated in Gibraltar,
0:31:56 > 0:32:00to get some of the Gibraltarian identity.
0:32:42 > 0:32:45I mean, we were at school and then suddenly we heard, you know,
0:32:45 > 0:32:48they're not going to be able to come to school here any more,
0:32:48 > 0:32:50the frontier's closing, Maddy's going to have to stay in Spain.
0:32:50 > 0:32:54And I remember being devastated. Really devastated.
0:33:00 > 0:33:04And it was awful because I knew that once she went back to Spain
0:33:04 > 0:33:07I couldn't see her, I couldn't talk to her.
0:33:25 > 0:33:29We had friends in Tangier and we'd call them and say,
0:33:29 > 0:33:34call Magda and ask her, you know, and call us back.
0:33:34 > 0:33:38And that's how we could be in touch with my sister in Spain.
0:33:49 > 0:33:52My uncle, your great-uncle Lawrence,
0:33:52 > 0:33:58he wrote a song and it was accepted, and your grandma sang it.
0:33:58 > 0:34:01- Oh, my God. - SHE LAUGHS
0:34:01 > 0:34:03It was something I never thought I'd ever do.
0:34:49 > 0:34:51MUSIC PLAYS
0:34:58 > 0:35:02# Roma es la dulce tierra
0:35:02 > 0:35:06# Que me trae recuerdos... #
0:35:16 > 0:35:18No, I never went to the gates.
0:35:18 > 0:35:21I think there was that feeling of, you know, if they want to
0:35:21 > 0:35:25shut down the frontier, fair enough, you shut down the frontier.
0:35:25 > 0:35:29I'm not going to go to the frontier and shout across.
0:35:55 > 0:35:58Fijate, ahora me veras en la tele!
0:36:06 > 0:36:09Well, you know, the frontier closure did affect us. We were the ones
0:36:09 > 0:36:13who were in the cage and we suffered the scars of that cage.
0:36:13 > 0:36:15Almost everything that's happened,
0:36:15 > 0:36:20from the closure of the frontier to the campaign of the Spaniards,
0:36:20 > 0:36:24each and every one of those elements has helped to weld us
0:36:24 > 0:36:29more and more into a closer and closer knit community.
0:36:29 > 0:36:32You know. I often say the only good thing Franco did in his entire
0:36:32 > 0:36:37history was to close that border, because it made us look inside.
0:36:37 > 0:36:40And ask ourselves, who are we? And we found ourselves.
0:36:43 > 0:36:47Franco died in 1975 but the border did not fully reopen
0:36:47 > 0:36:53until 1985 - it had been closed for 16 long years.
0:36:53 > 0:36:56Spain had agreed to open the frontier several years
0:36:56 > 0:36:58before it actually did,
0:36:58 > 0:37:03but, because of the Falklands conflict in particular, it postponed
0:37:03 > 0:37:08the opening, no doubt believing that a negative outcome for the UK
0:37:08 > 0:37:12in the Falklands might strengthen their hand on the Gibraltar issue.
0:37:14 > 0:37:17'The Spanish government decided not to make a big thing
0:37:17 > 0:37:21'of the opening but even they might have wished that
0:37:21 > 0:37:25'the lock had worked rather better. The key just wouldn't turn at first.'
0:37:25 > 0:37:27It was a very odd event because, you know, I think
0:37:27 > 0:37:31people had really mixed feelings about it in Gib at the time.
0:37:31 > 0:37:34There was a good crowd there. And there was some... I think
0:37:34 > 0:37:37there was a band or something was playing.
0:37:37 > 0:37:44'The bolt is back, the lights are flashing and the gates are open.
0:37:44 > 0:37:50'An historic moment in the history of Gibraltar.
0:37:50 > 0:37:53'The land frontier open now. No longer is Gibraltar an island.
0:37:55 > 0:37:57'Everyone was in high spirits.
0:37:57 > 0:37:59THEY SING
0:37:59 > 0:38:03'And a visiting Welsh Choir was in very good voice.'
0:38:15 > 0:38:19I went to see my sister. I went to see Magda.
0:38:19 > 0:38:24So we had a car waiting on the other side, we drove to Magda's house.
0:38:24 > 0:38:29And we gave her one of the biggest surprises she ever got in her life.
0:38:29 > 0:38:33And when I got to her house, she heard me.
0:38:33 > 0:38:36She was in the garden and she heard me.
0:38:36 > 0:38:43And she couldn't believe it, and she ran out to greet me.
0:38:45 > 0:38:48I had people saying to me... come into my office
0:38:48 > 0:38:53and bang on the table and say, "I will never go across that frontier,
0:38:53 > 0:38:57"I'd cut my legs off before I cross the frontier."
0:38:57 > 0:39:00And then I'd meet them shopping in Continente and say,
0:39:00 > 0:39:02"How are your legs?"
0:39:02 > 0:39:04HE LAUGHS
0:39:04 > 0:39:10A part of us was scared of enjoying an open frontier too much,
0:39:10 > 0:39:12in case they took it away from us again.
0:39:12 > 0:39:16You know, it felt as though somebody was going to say to you,
0:39:16 > 0:39:19hang on, you're not meant to be here, go back, you know, get back.
0:39:19 > 0:39:22There was that feeling of, is it true?
0:39:22 > 0:39:24Is it real? Am I allowed?
0:39:24 > 0:39:27I was four years old when the frontier opened.
0:39:27 > 0:39:30I don't remember a closed border life
0:39:30 > 0:39:32but crossing has never been easy, even today.
0:39:32 > 0:39:35The ongoing queues at the frontier are a constant
0:39:35 > 0:39:38reminder that there is that separation between us.
0:39:43 > 0:39:47Sadly, my grandfather is no longer with us.
0:39:47 > 0:39:49One thing I do remember him saying
0:39:49 > 0:39:53is that the problem is not Spain, because we know exactly what
0:39:53 > 0:39:56Spain wants and it's easy to defend yourself against that.
0:39:56 > 0:40:00If anything, the British Foreign Office is the one you have to keep
0:40:00 > 0:40:04an eye on, because you're never quite sure what it is they're after.
0:40:04 > 0:40:08We never spoke about these things. I wish we had.
0:40:10 > 0:40:13When people say, you know, where were you when 9/11 happened,
0:40:13 > 0:40:17I remember very distinctly - about to fly out to interview
0:40:17 > 0:40:20Peter Hain to land a bombshell on Gibraltar.
0:40:20 > 0:40:22You'd had quite a lot of developments
0:40:22 > 0:40:25in Northern Ireland with the Blair government and I think
0:40:25 > 0:40:28there was a sense in the UK that they wanted to somehow resolve
0:40:28 > 0:40:34this Gibraltar issue, get on with it, have good relations with Spain.
0:40:34 > 0:40:37I recall travelling to Madrid for my first visit with
0:40:37 > 0:40:41the Spanish government and beginning to explore the thorny
0:40:41 > 0:40:44issue of Gibraltar. It just struck me that we
0:40:44 > 0:40:48needed to do something very radical to try and break this impasse.
0:40:48 > 0:40:52Hain came out and started fishing around. Had met Caruana,
0:40:52 > 0:40:55was talking to people and, of course, it's the biggest mistake,
0:40:55 > 0:41:00thinking that it's worth getting into trying to solve a little
0:41:00 > 0:41:04problem like Gibraltar, which is such a big problem for Spain.
0:41:04 > 0:41:07I want to reassure the people of Gibraltar that they have
0:41:07 > 0:41:09nothing to fear from dialogue with Spain,
0:41:09 > 0:41:12which we're conducting through the Brussels process.
0:41:12 > 0:41:16We did not agree to take part in the dialogue that they were
0:41:16 > 0:41:20already having, not telling us what they were discussing,
0:41:20 > 0:41:24and it's, with hindsight, clear that what they wanted was,
0:41:24 > 0:41:28by hook or by crook, to get me to participate in that dialogue.
0:41:28 > 0:41:31Not because they were going to pay any heed to what I said.
0:41:31 > 0:41:34They had already cooked up the deal themselves.
0:41:34 > 0:41:38What they wanted was my presence to give it democratic legitimacy.
0:41:38 > 0:41:42And Peter Hain called me from the airport actually and said,
0:41:42 > 0:41:44"Look, can you come over to London next week
0:41:44 > 0:41:48"and I'll give you an interview."
0:41:48 > 0:41:53So I flew out and the interview was so striking for me because it
0:41:53 > 0:41:57sort of teased out as I went along with it, that I realised, you know,
0:41:57 > 0:41:59in the middle of this, that they had a plan.
0:41:59 > 0:42:04And Britain started trying to pursue this particular programme
0:42:04 > 0:42:06of some kind of a joint deal.
0:42:06 > 0:42:08It was totally outrageous. I mean,
0:42:08 > 0:42:16how can this man move to negotiate on behalf of the British population
0:42:16 > 0:42:20of Gibraltar without even consulting the elected leaders of Gibraltar?
0:42:20 > 0:42:25Tony Blair, who was very close as Prime Minister to Aznar, the Spanish
0:42:25 > 0:42:30Prime Minister, agreed that we needed to try and find a solution.
0:42:30 > 0:42:35It was very much a sort of Number Ten fantasy that had come to saying,
0:42:35 > 0:42:38"Well, we can do this, because we can do anything."
0:42:38 > 0:42:42The essence of the deal was that
0:42:42 > 0:42:45they would exercise joint sovereignty.
0:42:45 > 0:42:48For Britain, this was for ever.
0:42:48 > 0:42:51Joint sovereignty for ever, as if sovereignty,
0:42:51 > 0:42:56which ultimately boils down to power and allegiance and affinity,
0:42:56 > 0:43:01as if that could be shared for five minutes, let alone for 500 years.
0:43:01 > 0:43:06I couldn't, as Britain's Europe Minister, even Tony Blair
0:43:06 > 0:43:10could not have, somehow signed a co-sovereignty agreement without
0:43:10 > 0:43:15the Gibraltarians giving their acquiescence to it, of course not.
0:43:15 > 0:43:18But what you had to do is sign the agreement
0:43:18 > 0:43:22and then discuss it with and present it to the people of Gibraltar.
0:43:22 > 0:43:26If there were aspects of it maybe that they wanted to revisit,
0:43:26 > 0:43:29we could have looked at that, of course with Spanish agreement,
0:43:29 > 0:43:31and said yes or no.
0:43:31 > 0:43:34It then becomes, you know, a very distraught
0:43:34 > 0:43:37visit for Jack Straw, who had to try and come and sell it.
0:43:38 > 0:43:40How did that go?
0:43:40 > 0:43:41Well, I mean, he was spat on,
0:43:41 > 0:43:43and there was a lot of tension in the air.
0:43:43 > 0:43:45- Traitors!- Listen to us.
0:43:45 > 0:43:47But he was a brave man to go there.
0:43:47 > 0:43:52I mean, he knew he was going in to the lion's den and he chose to go.
0:43:52 > 0:43:55He felt that he could offer some kind of explanation,
0:43:55 > 0:43:57which of course he couldn't.
0:43:57 > 0:44:01Well, I wasn't... Yes, what do you expect from the man?
0:44:01 > 0:44:05He's an absolute shyster. But we weren't having it.
0:44:05 > 0:44:07That is one of the biggest fears Gibraltar has.
0:44:07 > 0:44:09They fear a sellout.
0:44:09 > 0:44:11And the nearest we got to that was with Jack Straw when
0:44:11 > 0:44:15he actually told Spain, yes, we're going to come to an agreement,
0:44:15 > 0:44:17we are both going to rule Gibraltar. Hey, hang on a minute!
0:44:17 > 0:44:22Any change in the sovereignty of Gibraltar will be subject
0:44:22 > 0:44:27to the consent of the Gibraltarian people, which in practice means
0:44:27 > 0:44:32a submission of these proposals to a referendum in Gibraltar.
0:44:32 > 0:44:35The Government has criticised Gibraltar's decision
0:44:35 > 0:44:38to hold its own referendum on the colony's future.
0:44:38 > 0:44:41Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said it wouldn't stop negotiations
0:44:41 > 0:44:44going ahead with Spain about sharing sovereignty.
0:44:44 > 0:44:50Don't you understand, Mr Straw and Mr Hain, that by committing,
0:44:50 > 0:44:54in principle, to the principle of our future,
0:44:54 > 0:44:57you are violating our right to decide our own future.
0:44:57 > 0:44:59I don't think that could have been done in any different way.
0:44:59 > 0:45:02I don't think, given the politics on the Rock,
0:45:02 > 0:45:06given the fact that people feel besieged by Spain,
0:45:06 > 0:45:12feel constantly betrayed by London, that is a kind of a mindset.
0:45:12 > 0:45:15I do not think you'd have got anywhere if you'd
0:45:15 > 0:45:19just allowed a veto to happen, from the Rock, from the beginning.
0:45:19 > 0:45:21And this is where Peter Caruana was
0:45:21 > 0:45:25so right in what he did in calling that referendum.
0:45:25 > 0:45:27You know, this is against human rights,
0:45:27 > 0:45:29what you're trying to do here.
0:45:29 > 0:45:34When 20,000 Gibraltarians have cast their vote, to attempt to deny that
0:45:34 > 0:45:38that is not the political and free expression of the democratic
0:45:38 > 0:45:41wishes of the people of Gibraltar, will lack all credibility.
0:45:41 > 0:45:45But that is a matter for them and their own political consciences.
0:45:45 > 0:45:49For the yes vote - 187.
0:45:49 > 0:45:52APPLAUSE
0:45:52 > 0:45:53(FAINT) For the yes vote, 187.
0:45:58 > 0:46:01PEOPLE CHANT No! No! No!
0:46:03 > 0:46:07For the no vote - 17,900.
0:46:07 > 0:46:09CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:46:17 > 0:46:20One of the positive things of this whole sorry and sad exercise
0:46:20 > 0:46:24was that it flushed out Madrid. What it really did do, ultimately, is
0:46:24 > 0:46:29that when Madrid was offered a joint sovereignty package, notwithstanding
0:46:29 > 0:46:33lack of Gibraltarian consent, they could not come to accept it.
0:46:33 > 0:46:36I realise I'm not welcome on the Rock. I realise people
0:46:36 > 0:46:39think I was up to all sorts of dark plots to try
0:46:39 > 0:46:44and do Gibraltarians down. Believe me, what I was doing was
0:46:44 > 0:46:49finding a solution to this problem and I negotiated it with Madrid.
0:46:49 > 0:46:52It's a shame they walked away.
0:46:52 > 0:46:56Well, after the defeat of the joint sovereignty project,
0:46:56 > 0:47:01we actually extracted from them, solemnly and in writing, declared at
0:47:01 > 0:47:04the United Nations, that the United Kingdom government would never again
0:47:04 > 0:47:10even sit down with Spain to discuss sovereignty without our consent.
0:47:10 > 0:47:14So it was a thoroughly disreputable period of time,
0:47:14 > 0:47:17it was a thoroughly worrying period of time,
0:47:17 > 0:47:20challenging time for Gibraltar as a people and government, but,
0:47:20 > 0:47:26having survived it and won, we then actually emerged with some prizes.
0:47:34 > 0:47:37On my wedding day, I wonder what the future holds
0:47:37 > 0:47:40for generations of Gibraltarians to come.
0:47:41 > 0:47:45It's almost as if the only people who recognise
0:47:45 > 0:47:48the Gibraltarians are the Gibraltarians themselves.
0:47:48 > 0:47:51And we feel this need to constantly reassert our identity.
0:47:51 > 0:47:54And our right as a people tends to be questioned so often and by
0:47:54 > 0:47:58so many that we feel this need for reassertion almost as if to convince
0:47:58 > 0:48:03ourselves, you know, that we deserve to be here, sort of thing, you know.
0:48:03 > 0:48:07The Foreign Office has never defended us. We've had
0:48:07 > 0:48:11huge queues at the frontier, they've never once retaliated.
0:48:11 > 0:48:15We're expendable, we're not worth the fight.
0:48:15 > 0:48:16But it's worth the fight for us?
0:48:16 > 0:48:18It's worth the fight for us, yeah.
0:48:18 > 0:48:24Ever since I've been alive, all I've known is Spain trying to suppress us
0:48:24 > 0:48:30into becoming Spanish and, as a friend of mine once said, you know,
0:48:30 > 0:48:36you'd be foolish to walk up the aisle with a man who's beating you.
0:48:37 > 0:48:41The Spanish closure of the border left a deep scar on my parents'
0:48:41 > 0:48:43and grandparents' generation,
0:48:43 > 0:48:45but I hope things will be different for my generation.
0:48:45 > 0:48:48We grew up with our family on the other side -
0:48:48 > 0:48:51and this is a family we don't want to lose again.
0:48:51 > 0:48:55We spend more time in Spain now, and, unlike my parents'
0:48:55 > 0:48:58and grandparents', my wedding will take place in Spain.
0:48:58 > 0:49:04The beauty of Gibraltar is how all these different ethnic peoples
0:49:04 > 0:49:08have integrated to become one family
0:49:08 > 0:49:13and becoming one family is vital for the future.
0:49:14 > 0:49:18Gibraltarians have come from all over the world, my family
0:49:18 > 0:49:20came from Italy, we have Maltese, Spaniards,
0:49:20 > 0:49:23and Portuguese that have come together to form today's Gibraltar.
0:49:23 > 0:49:26They're all Gibraltarians, irrespective of where they come from.
0:49:26 > 0:49:29So if you ask me what a Gibraltarian is, it's somebody who's been
0:49:29 > 0:49:32there for a considerable period of time and shares the identity
0:49:32 > 0:49:34and ideals that we all do.
0:49:34 > 0:49:36I just hope that one day they change their ways
0:49:36 > 0:49:39and accept Gib for what it is.
0:49:39 > 0:49:43And the day that happens is the day like in 100 years,
0:49:43 > 0:49:47we'll integrate, I'm sure.
0:49:47 > 0:49:50I don't know, I like my Gibraltar. We have a saying in Spanish. We say,
0:49:50 > 0:49:52la cabra siempre tira para el monte -
0:49:52 > 0:49:54the goat always goes back to the rock.
0:49:54 > 0:49:57You know, perhaps I'm one of the those.
0:49:57 > 0:49:59HE LAUGHS There's no place like home.
0:49:59 > 0:50:01We as a community,
0:50:01 > 0:50:07no matter how small we are, we have elected to have this way of life.
0:50:12 > 0:50:15INDISTINCT SPEECH
0:50:15 > 0:50:17Today I am offered marriage advice -
0:50:17 > 0:50:22how to unite two different people and two different families.
0:50:22 > 0:50:27The main foundation for a happy marriage is real love.
0:50:27 > 0:50:34Respect each other, has to be equal, the moment one side fails,
0:50:34 > 0:50:37the marriage will stumble and
0:50:37 > 0:50:40that is what's happening between Spain and us.
0:50:40 > 0:50:44We're still friends, even though
0:50:44 > 0:50:46one of the partners in this marriage keeps knocking us.
0:50:46 > 0:50:48SHE LAUGHS
0:50:54 > 0:50:57I think, if my grandfather were here, his advice would be
0:50:57 > 0:51:01to never forget who you are, or where you're from -
0:51:01 > 0:51:04we are Gibraltarians and Gibraltar is our home.
0:51:06 > 0:51:09I hope this film will act as a reminder to my generation
0:51:09 > 0:51:12of the struggles our parents and grandparents went through
0:51:12 > 0:51:15to protect our rights to call Gibraltar home.
0:51:15 > 0:51:19And that it will also help the world understand us better.
0:51:19 > 0:51:23In the meantime, we can only hope for a happy future.
0:51:44 > 0:51:47Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd