European Resistance Archive/European Resistance Archive (ERA)
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Children often repeat things they hear at home:
Children often repeat things they hear at home:
because children could easily let something slip, even with others... and you couldn't... i mean... -
If they said something bad about the fascists, parents could be punished.
If they said something bad about the fascists, parents could be punished.
if you said something bad about the fascists, there was the risk and the danger, if you expressed it outside of your home, that your parents would be punished. -
Even when they were talking in the cattle shed, they kept telling us not to talk about what we heard.
Even when they were talking in the cattle shed, they kept telling us not to talk about what we heard.
And because of that, even when they spoke in the stables, they would say, “Ragasol, vueter guai s’adgiv quèl”, which meant "children, be careful, you shouldn't talk about anything that you hear at home". -
So since we were kids we knew we had to keep quiet in order not to get ourselves and our family in trouble.
So since we were kids we knew we had to keep quiet in order not to get ourselves and our family in trouble.
Through this, ever since we were children, we knew that we had to keep quiet, that it was dangerous for us and our family to do certain things. -
Then our family moved to Reggio, because the kids were going to school.
Then our family moved to Reggio, because the kids were going to school.
Then I came to Reggio. Our family moved to Reggio since the boys were studying... -
My brother had been going to high school at a boarding school in Parma.
My brother had been going to high school at a boarding school in Parma.
That is, my brother had gone to high school at a boarding school in Parma and they were starting... -
There was a need to move closer to the city.
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They bought a house in Dalmazia street.
They bought a house in Dalmazia street.
They bought a house on Dalmazia Street -
Life changed dramatically for me.
Life changed dramatically for me.
and my life changed completely. -
We left farm life, based on conservatism, traditionalism, on having to be careful to what you say or do.
We left farm life, based on conservatism, traditionalism, on having to be careful to what you say or do.
coming from the traditions, the farm life, which was based on conservatism, the traditionalism, having to be careful about what you said... -
Also, women would be considered being a nobody.
Also, women would be considered being a nobody.
and the women were constantly being treated like nobodies. -
I used to be told to shut up because I was a woman even at home.
I used to be told to shut up because I was a woman even at home.
In fact, I used to be told even in my own home, "Shut up. You are a woman." -
My mother thought this was right.
My mother thought this was right.
And my mother, poor woman, thought this was right. -
In the city I started meeting women who went to work.
In the city I started meeting women who went to work.
Here, I instead started meeting women that went to work -
The working class elite used to live in Dalmazia street.
The working class elite used to live in Dalmazia street.
and Dalmazia Street was a street where the working-class elites of the city lived. -
Reggiane factory technicians of the water and gas companies.
Reggiane factory technicians of the water and gas companies.
There were factory technicians, gas technicians, water technicians. -
They were a very bright, mature and well-prepared group of working class people.
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We moved there in 1938; I had just turned 17. We had a restaurant with a bar.
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Although I was quite young, I was very curious. I had always been like that.
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The older men liked me. They started to explain to me what I had known only in general terms.