On Christmas of 1975, a group of young people announced their refusal to do military service. As a counterpart, for eight months they had been collaborating with the neighbors of the Can Serra neighborhood of l’Hospitalet in community initiatives such as literacy tasks, care for the elderly, or in a self-managed nursery.
During the following year, Can Serra became the epicenter of a wave that spread throughout Spain until it became one of the largest civil disobedience movements in the history of Europe, involving more than a million young people for almost 30 years.
To mark the 45th anniversary of the detention of the first conscientious objectors from Can Serra on the night of February 7 to 8, 1976, next Tuesday, February 9, 2021 we will speak with two of its protagonists: Martí Olivella, a conscientious objector, and Pilar Massana, then a social worker in Can Serra.
The conversation will take place from 6 p.m. on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/LaFundicio
March in support of the first prisoners of Can Serra in which you can see Martí Olivella (the first on the right).
The conscientious objection movement was organized in the Casa de la Reconciliació, a parish and social center that was built by the residents of Can Serra themselves.
Photo: Arxiu Municipal de L’Hospitalet. The reference for this image is: AMHL 902-009 AF 0003244 /a.Andreu Trilla Llobera /d.Comissió de Cultura de Can Serra.