When Britain declares war on Germany in 1939, the colony is relocated inland to avoid bombing. The irony is not lost on the children—they fled bombs only to face new ones. Some boys enlist in the British merchant navy. Sabino works in a munitions factory. The “other tree” is uprooted and transported in a potato sack, surviving once more.
The ship departs at night. As the coast of Spain fades, the children sing Basque folk songs. The captain announces they are going to “a green country called England.” Sabino feels two emotions simultaneously: relief and a profound sense of rupture. The “other tree” is first mentioned—the branch Carmencita carries will need new soil. Part II: The Voyage (Chapters 5–7) Chapter 5: Life on the Habana The crossing takes ten days. Castresana uses this confined space to build micro-communities. The children organize games, lessons, and arguments about Spain. José Luis claims the war will be over in a month; Martín says nothing. Sabino begins a diary on scrap paper. A storm nearly capsizes the ship, symbolizing the instability of exile.
The children are allowed to send letters through the Red Cross. Most receive no reply. Carmencita’s branch begins to sprout roots in a jam jar. She declares: “This is the other tree of Guernica. The original is burned, but this one will grow.” The symbolic meaning of the title is made explicit: survival through transplantation. el otro arbol de guernica chapter summaries
The children become teenagers. Sabino falls in love with an Irish girl in his village. He feels guilty for finding happiness. Martín announces he will become a doctor and return to Spain. Carmencita’s tree is now three feet tall. The chapter addresses the developmental cost of exile: identity is split between two countries.
Some children are placed with British foster families. Sabino goes to a Methodist household in the Lake District. The landscape reminds him of the Basque mountains, but the language and customs are alien. He has nightmares of bombers shaped like clouds. His foster mother, Mrs. Patterson, teaches him to plant a garden—a healing ritual. When Britain declares war on Germany in 1939,
Survivors flee toward Bilbao. Sabino joins a column of children, elderly, and wounded. The chapter establishes the collective voice: “we” instead of “I.” The children are assigned numbers; Sabino becomes Number 47. This depersonalization foreshadows their later struggle to reclaim identity.
Castresana, L. (1967). El otro árbol de Guernica . Madrid: Editorial Escelicer. Legarreta, D. (1984). The Guernica Generation: Basque Refugee Children After the Spanish Civil War . Reno: University of Nevada Press. Watson, C. (2008). “The Tree as Allegory in Post-Civil War Spanish Children’s Literature.” Journal of Iberian Studies , 34(2), 112-129. Sabino works in a munitions factory
Newsreels show the liberation of concentration camps. The children, now young adults, understand the scale of fascist evil differently. They receive confirmation that most of their families in Guernica perished. The chapter is devastating but restrained. Carmencita breaks down, then waters the tree. Sabino decides: “We are the other tree now. We must keep growing.” Part V: Return? (Chapters 17–19) Chapter 17: The End of War in Europe, 1945 VE Day. The colony celebrates, but the mood is ambiguous. Spain remains a dictatorship. The children are now legal adults; some take British citizenship. Others, like Martín, plan to return clandestinely. Sabino receives a letter from a Basque priest in exile: the original Tree of Guernica has survived after all—new shoots emerged from the burned trunk.
Absolute Linux will continue development under eXybit Technologies, built with the same approach and
structure we've used to develop RefreshOS. We're not here to reinvent what made Absolute great, we're here
to carry it forward.
Since 2007, Absolute has stood for being simple, pre-configured, and lightweight. Slackware made easy.
That core philosophy isn't changing. Absolute will always be free, open-source, built for ease of use,
and based on the Slackware foundation.
As of now, there is no set release date for the first eXybit-developed stable version of Absolute Linux. We're bringing Absolute into modern computing while keeping it minimal. The first step is to preserve what already exists, rebuild the underlying infrastructure, and create a canary version of the next major stable release.
You can still download the original versions of Absolute Linux by Paul Sherman on SourceForge.
