IPS-English ARGENTINA-SPAIN: Letters from Political Prisoners Date: Thu, 11 Oct 2007 15:01:57 -0700 Tito Drago MADRID, Oct 11 (IPS) - A book of the collected writings of over 100 women who were political prisoners during Argentina's 1976-1983 military dictatorship, a symbol of what it means to fight for freedom and justice from inside a prison, was launched in Spain. Marcos Ana, a celebrated Spanish poet and former political prisoner, told IPS that thinking and writing in prison ”contributes enormously to being able to stay on one's feet and fight for one's freedom, and the freedom of all other victims of dictatorships.” ”Nosotras, presas políticas” (We, Women Political Prisoners), is the book being presented in Barcelona, Madrid and other cities in Spain from Oct. 3 to 16. It began to take shape in 1999 when Mariana Crespo, who has since passed away, brought together over 100 former political prisoners who decided to describe their experiences, based on the letters they had written to their families from the Villa Devoto prison in Buenos Aires, where they were held during the dictatorship, Silvia Echart told IPS. Echart, known to her fellow inmates as ”Katy”, is one of the six co-authors of the book which is being presented under the auspices of the Argentine Embassy in Spain and the non-governmental Observatorio Hispano Argentino. ”In just a few months we collected 2,000 letters, 500 of which are available on the CD that goes with the book. But we also found that the letters, which were censored by the prison guards, did not reflect everything that went on inside the prison, so we decided to add a chronological history. The book has one chapter for every year,” she said. In the prologue, sociologist Inés Izaguirre asks: ”After reading this book, what shall we call the prison chaplain Bellavigna, who says he ‘first dispenses penance, and only afterwards is a priest?' What shall we call the prison doctors, who when a woman presents with pneumonia or bronchitis, carry out a vaginal examination?” ”And the dentist who smokes and drinks mate (a traditional herbal infusion) while she pulls out teeth instead of filling cavities? What shall we call the prison guard who stops two little twins from seeing their mother on their first visit because they are afraid, and cry?” ”Cruel criminals,” is Katy's reply. She explains that the priest, Hugo Mario Bellavigna, was on the Interdisciplinary Board of Villa Devoto prison from 1978 to 1982, alongside military personnel, police, ”and even a psychologist.” The board was part of ”their policy of breaking us down.” ”We want our book to contribute to ongoing democratic processes, and to rebuilding memory in Argentina and the rest of Latin America. We want to share our personal accounts of our experiences, so they will never be repeated, and to build a better, more just society, in which human rights will truly be respected,” she said. ”We have to keep on fighting,” she said, because ”today we still bump into people who committed crimes against humanity, and who are walking around free. We are in solidarity with the Mothers and Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo, who have done so much and continue to do so much so that justice will be done.” Enrique Borcel, the head of the Observatorio Hispano Argentino, pointed out the deep significance of 112 women imprisoned by the dictatorship ”having the courage to testify to the torture and suffering they endured, so that coming generations will know what happened.” Although three decades have passed since the end of Argentina's dictatorship, ”it takes courage to make a book like that after what they've been through.” ”These women came from varying backgrounds and had different political ideas, but in spite of that, they were able to stand together, live together, and survive. Now they are offering their valuable testimony so that justice and truth may prevail,” he said. Marcos Ana (real name Fernando Macarro Castillo) was born in 1921 and fought in the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) on the Republican side. In 1939 he was captured and sentenced to death. He was not executed, however, and remained in prison until a vigorous international campaign secured his freedom in 1961. He went into exile and was only able to return to Spain in 1976, after the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975. On Monday, he too launched a book about historical memory and the imperative of freedom, titled ”Decidme cómo es un árbol” (Tell Me What a Tree Looks Like). In an interview with IPS, Ana said he started writing poetry ”to stay on my feet and keep fighting for freedom and social justice, with the support of the Solidarity Committees we formed in the prisons.” In prison, in fact, he was responsible for hand-written underground circulars which were passed from hand to hand, in complete secrecy. One of these was the news sheet Juventud (Youth). He began to write poems in jail under a pseudonym, which were smuggled out of the country and published abroad. His poems urged people to fight against the dictatorship of Franco (1939-1975). After his release in 1961, he headed to France, where he joined a solidarity centre headed by Pablo Picasso. He also travelled to other countries in Europe and South America, especially Argentina and Chile. He recalled a letter he received in January 1962 from legendary Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, which said ”I want to send you, Marcos Ana, a few words, and what a paltry thing they are, how weak they feel compared to your long captivity, what a dim and feeble light for Spain's dark shadowà” But the book by the women political prisoners is not all unrelieved torment and tragedy. Part of their story is the day they put on a play, out of sight and hearing of the guards. One of the women remembers being dressed up in a costume made out of a sheet and a blanket, and ”laughing so much that I wet myself.” It goes to show that ”we did everything possible to resist annihilation and destruction. There was always laughter, joy, and fun,” said one of the women. ***** + RIGHTS-ARGENTINA: Priest's Life Sentence Draws Widespread Praise (http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=39593) + DEATH PENALTY-CHINA: Letters From Death Row (http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=37080) + BOOKS-ARGENTINA: Women Prisoners Tell Their Stories (http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=36366) + Observatorio Hispano Argentino - in Spanish (http://www.observatoriohispanoargentino.org/) + Federación Estatal de Foros por la Memoria, España - in Spanish (http://www.foroporlamemoria.info) (END/IPS/LA EU HD CR AE WO/TRASP-VD-SW/TD/DM/07) = 10111749 ORP014 NNNN