Lina is of Colombian origin, born in a small town in Manizales in 1972. She left Colombia at 19 to arrive in Italy with the dream of a job and an easier life than she had in her country. So it was, at least in part. Lina lived in Italy for 20 years even though her four children weren’t always with her: they lived between Colombia, Europe and the USA.
Lina in Italy had problems with the law and was indicted for some crimes. When she thought she had everything sorted out, she chose to return to Colombia, along with her husband married in Italy, to be reunited with hers.
Returning to her country in 2012, in 2018 she discovered that she had a tumor in her head and decided to return to Italy to get cured.
Here she was incarcerated for almost three years: her legal situation had not closed positively but she was not aware of it. In prison she was treated and found support especially in Made in carcere – Officine Creative, a social cooperative, founded by the manager Luciana Delle Donne, not for profit, which teaches inmates to package artifacts, with the aim of a definitive reintegration into the working and civil society.
In prison Lina learned to sew, today she is a very good embroiderer. While in detention, she cultivated her greatest passion, cooking, and on October 1st Lina held a cooking show at the social tailor’s shop in Lequile (Lecce) on the occasion of the event “I’m not a mural”, organized by Acri on the occasion of the European Foundations Day.
Made in Carcere decided to participate in the event with the BIL (Gross Internal Wellbeing) project, supported by the Foundation with the South and dedicated to the reintegration of former prisoners into the workplace. During the cooking show the mural protagonist of the event will be unveiled and dedicated to the concept of “taking care of the other”.
Lina, how did you react to the prison as soon as you returned to Italy?
«In 2012 I returned to my country again after getting married. I had decided to live there and reunite with my children. Unfortunately in 2018 in Colombia I discovered I had a tumor (it was the second time I returned, the first time I was able to defeat it in Italy). I decided to go back to Italy to get treated because health care in Colombia is not efficient and I couldn’t even make the checks I needed, let alone the necessary therapies. Back in Italy, I renewed the documents and discovered that I had a definitive one of 2 and a half years. The same day I found out about this they took me to jail. A reality unknown to me, a different world, I had never found myself in such a context and moreover I was ill, so my situation, not only physical, but also psychological, was extremely difficult. I was very confused, I didn’t know what to do and I didn’t know if I would survive ».
What helped you?
“In prison I heard the other inmates talk about Made in carcere -Officine creative where courses were taken to learn to sew, to make artifacts and also you could also work. I started a nine-month course. I was good and I started working with the company, I had a great time, I had a wonderful experience. The founder of Made in Carcere, Lucia Delle Donne is a special person, I thank her every day of my life. It is thanks to this activity that I came out of prison alive. In Made in prison it was another world, you didn’t feel like you were in prison. There was life, there was hope, there was the desire to change things. For me if it hadn’t been for that experience I don’t think I would have moved on. I still continue to work with them today ».
How did you experience the disease in prison?
“In prison in Italy I was treated well, I was able to make all the necessary checks. I was also able to get the first dose of covid-19 vaccine. Prison made me grow. I saw so much despair, so much lack of love, but also so many hidden talents, good people even if they made a mistake, good people ».
What do you carry inside of this experience?
«I want to send a message to young people: use your head! Try to avoid mistakes so serious that they take you to prison because the experience I had, the chance to change my life, is not granted to everyone “.
Are you happy today?
«Today my daughters all live far from me, but as soon as I can I join them and go to visit them and I am happy with them. Two daughters live in Colombia, one in Germany and the other in the USA. I have a total of 8 grandchildren, now I am happy, I have a beautiful family and, even if we are not all close, I feel loved. Prison made me appreciate life more ».
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