The former psychiatric hospital of Barbacena, where about 60,000 patients lost their lives, is closed

Brazil has finally closed the Hospital-Colônia de Barbacena, one of the most infamous psychiatric institutions in the country’s history, where it is believed that around 60,000 people lost their lives during the 20th century.

Its closure symbolizes the end of a dark era of inhumane treatment of people considered “undesirable” by society. The last patients, 14 elderly people with severe physical and psychological problems, have been transferred to community homes in the rural area of ​​Barbacena. Most of them had spent decades in the institution and no longer had families or the ability to live independently. Brazilian authorities called this a “historic correction” and an attempt to restore dignity to the victims.

One of the survivors, identified as Marcos, was sent to an asylum when he was only 10 years old. After decades of isolation and neglect, he does not speak, does not tolerate touch and refuses to wear clothes or shoes. His condition reflects the consequences of the deep trauma experienced in the institution.

Hospital-Colônia was founded in 1903. It was originally intended to treat patients with mental problems, but over the years it turned into a place where people who were not accepted by society were sent. Many of them did not have mental illness.

Among them there were alcoholics, epileptics, homosexuals, prostitutes, single women, “rebel” girls or people who were simply considered problematic by the families or the authorities. For decades, patients lived in inhumane conditions.

They slept on the floor or in yards, often naked, without drinking water and without enough food. In winter, they gathered together to keep warm. The institution had a shortage of doctors and nurses; most of the time the care was controlled by guards.

Electroshock, lobotomy and physical punishments were used as methods of “treatment”. The food was so bad that many patients lost their teeth from malnutrition.

The number of deaths was so great that the hospital had its own cemetery. However, not all the dead were buried. About 2,000 bodies were sold to universities for anatomical studies. Recently, Brazilian universities publicly apologized for this practice.

In 1979, Italian psychiatrist Franco Basaglia visited Barbacena and compared it to a Nazi concentration camp. His statement caused shockwaves and helped launch psychiatric reforms in Brazil.

However, the full story of the atrocities remained little known until journalist Daniela Arbex published the book “Holocausto Brasileiro”, which documented the testimonies of survivors and revealed the dimension of the tragedy.

According to Arbex, most of the patients were not mentally ill and a large proportion were people of color, indicating that social discrimination and race played a large role in their institutionalization.

After the reforms, many survivors were gradually transferred to therapeutic residences and small communities where they receive more humane care. In the territory of the former hospital, the Museum of Madness has been created, which preserves the memory of what happened there and serves as a warning that such stories do not repeat themselves.

The closing of the Hospital-Colônia is not only the end of an institution, but also a symbol of accepting the mistakes of the past and of Brazil’s effort to treat people with mental problems and marginalized groups with more dignity. square

Source: prizrenpost