Nora Strejilevich

“At the period of amnesty I participated at a pieta act together with other survivors at a certain place of a former illegal capture location of the Club Atlético. Organisers asked us to present at the event and I read the first page of my book capturing my kidnapping. The book was already awarded, but not published yet and the meeting left me with a huge impression so I changed the rest of the book. I felt that the story actually only ended with that moment. I realised that I am no longer a victim, but due to formulation and presentation at this place I became a witness and a survivor and won over the fate, which they tried to enforce on me and so many others.”

“When I was young I used to join demonstrations, which is now an activist expression, but if in my youth a man didn’t actually participate in any political organisation, he or she was not considered any activist at all. A terroristic state saw an enemy in anyone with a critical thinking, and selection of victims didn’t quite go according to an exact key. My brother and his girlfriend and even my disappeared cousins were engaged much more than I was. They also could not emigrate so easily as it was perceive as a betrayal or escape amongst activists.”