The Outlook Podcast Archive - Sewing to protest in a Chilean prison camp

Download Sewing to protest in a Chilean prison camp

Just two months after Cristina Zamora had given birth to her baby daughter in 1974, she was taken by Augusto Pinochet's security forces and thrown in jail where she found a creative way to cope. Embroidery, knitting clothes and stitching tiny love letters helped political prisoners like Cristina to survive. Afterwards, Cristina didn't discuss her nightmarish experience but over 40 years later when her daughter, Jimena Pardo, saw the prison crafts in an exhibition, Jimena plucked up the courage to ask her mother about her early life. It also gave Jimena an idea for something she knew could help other survivors.

The exhibition is called 'Crafting Resistance' and can be seen here: https://warwick.ac.uk/services/library/mrc/archives_online/exhibitions/craftingresistance/photos/

Picture: Jimena Pardo and Cristina Zamora with their embroideries
Credit: Jimena Pardo

Presented by Grace Livingstone
Produced by Mariana Des Forges

Published on Saturday, 5th September 2020.

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