Alicia Partnoy's 'The Little School'

Alicia Partnoy an Argentinian who was kidnapped and held as a prisoner in what was called “The little School” shares with us her personal testimony. In her time there her along with all the other prisoners were forced to wear blindfolds, preventing them from talking to or even seeing one another. They were tortured on a regular basis. One of the consistent themes I noticed was how the guards destroyed the prisoners’ sense of human dignity. Giving them little food, rarely letting them shower, torturing women for information along with many other horrible things. In many cases, the guards would force prisoners like Partnoy to strip for them. Through all these horrible events happening all at once Alicia managed to remain strong on page 43 she
writes “I, Alicia Partnoy, am still alive.” This was her way of expressing daily resistance. Another interesting fact about Alicia was how growing up she disliked her nose so much. Yet, when she was held hostage being able to see because of her nose made it possible. Partnoy writes “Living conditions at the Little School let this appendage of my face show its hidden virtue: my nose allows me to see”(pg.60). This is an example of how she disliked this feature which she felt was larger yet that also helped tell her story like others couldn’t.