“The women were all crying and wanted to stay but as soon as the sun was high they made us walk again. We walked and walked and walked – I thought it would never end. As far as I could see behind us there were people and in front of us too. One night the soldiers told us bandits were coming and they could make them go away if they had some things to give them. All the women gave stuff; money, jewels, bracelets. It was all thrown down onto a big blanket that the gendarmes tied up and carried away. That night the bandits came anyway – chettes they called them. It was very dark. There were clouds over the moon. I was asleep when they came, screaming like devils, and my heart went bang in my chest. I saw girls like me pulled from their mothers and carried away. My mother threw dirt on my face
