Miriam – a tenant profile by Zulema Cappielli, a comrade from her co-op/in arms
Alma Co-operative was formed in 1998 and received the houses in 2000.They were a very small group of friends who had strong beliefs about community, justice, equality and respect. Now the members could not be happier to have secure and safe houses.
Here is the story of one of the co-op members.
Miriam Marquez was born in Fray Bentos, Uruguay. She was interested in politics and workers’ rights since she was a young girl. She left her hometown for Montevideo when she was very young to pursue university studies. Times were hard in Uruguay as the armed forces began kidnapping citizens who opposed the military government, and the dictatorship cracked down on the opposition with an iron fist.
Miriam was 19 when she was arrested. For three years she endured torture and humiliations at the hands of the military. She was eventually granted conditional release. She returned to her hometown and had to attend the town’s military headquarters every Monday for five years. At times she waited for hours until she was able to return home, at other times she was subjected to torture by the guards.
When democracy returned to Uruguay in 1984, Miriam travelled to Sydney where her sister was living. She arrived without speaking a word of English but with the values she held at home intact. She started working at a factory while learning English. She completed years 11 and 12 at TAFE and started a job at a refuge for women fleeing domestic violence. Here she was able to put into practice the values instilled in her by her father.
Miriam then started a job at a NSW Health drug and alcohol facility supporting people often regarded as the refuse of society. She then joined a NSW Corrective Services facility and worked helping women who were about to be released transition to life outside the prison system.
The co-operative gives Miriam the opportunity to keep fighting for a just cause: accessible and decent housing for those in need. She continues to uphold the concept of cooperativism she brought from home. She has always been motivated by altruistic feelings towards those in need. She never sits on the fence as a passive observer; as the saying goes, “she walks the talk.”
