The Mesa Grande Refugee Camp

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Lucía describes how people were organized at the Mesa Grande refugee camp and why she finally decided to return home.

Interviewee:

Transcription

[And what activities did people carry out there? Were people organized there? Did you support any specific activities from within the refugee camp?]

Of course, there was a lot of work to do. Some people worked on healthcare, others on farming, and others at the warehouse. We had workshops on shoemaking, tailoring, all that. Some would make clothes to distribute among the people there. They gave us about two dresses a year, made from a fabric that they gave all the women, and they all were the same color. If the fabric we got was yellow, then all of us would be wearing yellow. If it was blue, it was the same thing. They also gave us shoes. They gave us small pieces of fabric to make aprons, and brassieres too. We did well there because of all that but we were also afraid of being killed any day. That’s why we decided it was better to return.