‘What helped me? Anger.’

Rose-France at home swissinfo.ch

“I was born in Lausanne in 1943, the last of five children who all ended up in an institution. Single mothers were not allowed to keep their children; women who had sinned, as they called them then.

“I was placed in a nursery when I was two months old, then moved to a convent when I was two years old. I was raised with an iron fist. No one was paying for my board so I had to work and to pray. When we wet the bed, we had to take off the sheets. I ran away when I was 13 after an episode when I had my period and a nun wanted to take care of my personal hygiene. I went to my mother’s, but she was remarried to a soldier who would drink and hit me. He threw me on to the street when I was 15. My older sister helped me but I didn’t manage to finish school. I had lots of odd jobs until an acquaintance offered me a job in a bank. I seized my chance and worked there until 2000.

“I’ve seen my father four times. The last time was in 1969 (he died in 1970) when I saw him in a café. I deliberately sat down next to him but he didn’t recognise me. I married a man who hit me and left me to raise two children alone. I’ve told my story to my son, but not to my daughter, she is too angry. She is disabled after an accident and I’m scared they will take away her 14-year-old son. It’s like a never-ending circle, my history always comes back. What helped me survive? Anger.”