European Resistance Archive/European Resistance Archive (ERA)

so the strike in Montecavolo was a success.

The strike was against the war, against all the things they were doing to us, against hunger too.

They were taking everything from us, we pooled wheat.

Farmers had to bring wine, grapes, everything, they were taking everything.

That’s why afterwards there were even some casualties

when we went to these stockpiles to take back all the stuff they had taken from us.

My father told me that morning of the 1st of March:

“Lidia, you’re doing the right thing because it’s important,

but you must remember that your life is going to change after this”.

I wasn’t thinking about this at 7 in the morning,

about my life being different at noon,

but my life did change, I felt more responsible… I felt like this even before,

I had been responsible in all the things I had done.

But after this it was different, responsibilities were different, and everything changed.

I was still Lidia, but let’s say I had a very positive experience

and I also felt proud for doing this.

A bus was coming down from San Polo and we stopped it, telling them there was a strike, that they had to go back.

Some soldiers were on the bus, we got them off and disarmed them:

they gave us their weapons without resisting and didn’t get back on the bus.

They began to walk, maybe they were heading home.