“Don’t worry, the rooms are very well heated.” The radiators are turned to their highest setting even though it’s the middle of summer, because the deportees’ malnourished, stick-thin bodies are always cold. “They’d rather sleep on the floor even though the rooms have comfortable beds. It’s so strange.” The deportees lie on the floor because they can’t sleep on the softness of a mattress anymore. Often, three or four of them need to lie together, pressed against one another, in order to fall asleep. They’re all ashamed of their shaved heads and the sores and abscesses covering their bodies.
...more
