Spanish Civil War refugee remembers Elne Maternity

<p>At the grand old age of 102,&nbsp;Remei Oliva&nbsp;has&nbsp;returned to Elne Maternity hospital for the launch of the Catalan translation of her memoirs as a Civil War exile. When Spain fell to Franco's fascist troops, a 20-year-old Remei was forced&nbsp;flee to France&nbsp;in the winter of 1939. She spent fifteen months in internment camps in Argel&egrave;s-sur-Mer and Saint-Cyprien, and gave birth to her first child, Rub&eacute;n, in&nbsp;Elne Maternity hospital, a converted ch&acirc;teau set up by Swiss schoolteacher Elisabeth Eidenbenz to provide a safe place for pregnant refugees to give birth.</p> / ACN

ACN

September 20, 2021 04:55 PM