Since November 2019, Janka Striffler, OBR Global Coordinator for Portugal, with other activists, have spent time with the women of Odemira prison every Friday, while participating in workshops and activities. This year, in joint action with inmates of the Odemira prison establishment and community members, Janka Striffler and inmates raised the vibration to demand an end to violence. 

“I can’t recall having ever been as nervous as I was before we first went. I had no idea what was going to happen. My imagination went crazy, “Who will we meet? Will these women listen to me? Will they want to listen to anyone?” After entering, it was such a relief to realize that these women aren’t at all different from me or you. They may have made a bad choice at some point or they may have been too poor to pay their bills – we know we live in a deeply unjust society – but basically, we are all the same. I had known this before, but in this moment, the realization sank deeper.”

Edited by Tamera Media and Isabel Rosa, Janka Striffler created a documentary showcasing the transformational process they went through together while preparing for and engaging in the project.