Thursday 10 December 2015
Catalan Observatory
Screening of the documentary 'Institutions of Fear (Els internats de la por)'. Dir. Montse Armengou, Ricard Belis. Spain, 2015, 75 min.
In Catalan and Spanish with English subtitles, presented by Montse Armengou (documentary film maker, Co-Director of the film)
Chair: Prof. Paul Preston
Time: 18 h.
Place: LSE, Portugal Street, Cowdray House, 1st floor, Seminar Room 1.11
During the Francoist period and extending well into the democratic era hundreds of thousands of children were incarcerated in charitable institutions, religious schools, orphanages, tuberculosis sanatoria or Social Assistance centres across Spain. They were subjected to all manner of physical, psychological and sexual abuse. Child labour was a common experience for many and numerous children were also exposed to dubious medical practices. This film delves into this hidden and silent part of contemporary Spanish history. Unlike other countries such as Ireland, in which the mistreatment of children under state care has been recognised, in Spain, such abuses have not been prosecuted and no redress provided.
To be the child of a single parent, poor, have parents in prison for political motives or to be part of a family where a member had tuberculosis, was often reason enough to lead to internment in a religious or state institution. The length of stay varied, but for many these centres became veritable prisons where they were locked away from birth until coming of age.
The Francoist regime invested limited resources in providing assistance, but fully exploited for propaganda purposes carefully composed images of well cared for children as the beneficiaries of state and catholic charity. The children, however, were also the victims of a regime of widespread indoctrination and were treated with a discipline which was harsh, even by the standard of the day. Fortunately this ill-treatment was not universal, nevertheless, it was common in many of the institutions.
The consequences of the widespread abuses have had a long term traumatic impact on the lives of thousands of those interned. This documentary gives voice to just a few of those who suffered, individuals with little or no faith that justice will ever be achieved, but who through contributing to this documentary, have achieved a form of release denied to them by the institutions.
The screening of ‘Els internats de la por’, a powerful, moving and hard hitting documentary led to some heartfelt questions from members of the audience. The questioning was opened by Paul Preston who asked Montse Armengou whether the types of institutional abuse portrayed in the film still continued in Spain. This question engendered a wider and at times impassioned debate surrounding the issues raised by the film.
Montse Armengou highlighted the lack of redress for the many thousands of children who suffered in institutions during the Francoist regime. The point was made by both Montse Armengou and members of the audience that the predominantly young women and girls who suffered the harsh treatments in the Magdalene laundries in Ireland received an apology from the Irish State, whereas in Spain no such apology has been forthcoming.
There was widespread engagement from the audience with questions ranging across the many sensitive issues raised in the film. Montse Armengou praised highly those who had contributed their difficult and traumatic stories in an attempt to tell this challenging tale, and acknowledged that for at least some of those who had suffered horrible abuses during the long dark years of Francoism, participating in this documentary not only made it possible for this story to reach the screen, but also helped provide a limited form of restitution to these participants through having their voices heard.