As a former slave, Mahtebe was a hard case to crack. On the one hand, the fight was all about her, and people like her: the mistreated, the disrespected, the enslaved poor. On the other hand, Mahtebe was a willing, nay, zealous servant. A growling, grumpy, barely coherent creature whose hands were almost as fast as her feet, which were pretty fast. Although, right after the revolution, and before the [Red Terror] killings started, a couple of cadres visited Mahtebe at the house, explained the purpose of their visit, and made her sign her name by putting ink to her thumb, and proudly referred
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