Carme Martí speaks about Neus Català in Andorra
Wednesday, 13 October 2021 , Andorra
Carme Martí speaks about Neus Català in Andorra
It is always an honour to be invited to talk about Neus Català and I find it even more inspiring to do so to young people. These were sixty Baccalaureate students from Andorra la Vella who knew about Nazism but had never heard of Neus. Today they sat an examination; it’s the last hour of class and they are keen to leave. Of the appalling deportation, of the hunger, thirst, lack of sleep, cold and fear, all terrible and all at once, I spoke little. I focused on what they did; of Neus imitating Charlie Chaplin in the barracks after they had been shaved and issued deportees’ clothing and shoes; of organising life in the camp in families of mothers and daughters; of sabotaging production; and of the two weapons that Neus explained they used: solidarity and culture. Face masks still seem like a barrier to me, but they make the eyes shine brighter. I will take with me the silence, the stillness and the perplexity of that last hour as another gift from my Faberllull residency. The fight to remember continues.