Nombres:
Neila Ortega

Vive en:
San Jacinto, Bolívar
Colombia

Elabora:
Bordados, Bolsos

Versión en Español

Neila lost several relatives during the conflict; eight of them were killed in the El Salado massacre in the Montes de María; Where the paramilitary forces impaled their aunt Edith. Even today she remembers with sorrow the years of violence, when at 6 o’clock everyone locked themselves in their homes because of the constant fear of being tortured, killed or disappeared by the paramilitary groups on suspicion of collaboration with the guerrillas. A single gossip or comment from a neighbor could be enough to be raped or killed. Living in fear is not living.

Neila is 42 years old, she has a 23 years old son and a 12 years old daughter after whom the shop has been named “Miscellaneous Camila”. At the age of 16, she married her first husband, with whom she had his first child; her mother-in-law taught her how to weave so that she would make a living. She separated at the age of 20 because of domestic violence and went to Barranquilla looking for work opportunities to survive; her values of honesty and responsibility opened doors for her.

 “I don’t steal because I am from a small town and in those towns it is not customary to steal”

In Barranquilla she found work in a factory of jeans, cleaning and oiling machines, gained the confidence of her bosses and became the nanny of the chief’s children for several years. As she became a member of the family, they wanted to take her to live in the United States. But, when she was preparing the paperwork to leave, she found love again: he convinced her not to leave and to return to San Jacinto to live with him.

Upon her return to San Jacinto, she started embroidering and commissioned a small store where she still sells threads, needles, accessories, and all the supplies that any weaver in San Jacinto needs. Later, she had her daughter and, while consolidating her great commercial and artisanal capacity, she suffers from her husband’s constant infidelities and, worse, she and her husband face the constant threat of armed groups, losing several of her relatives in the midst of violence in the Montes de María during the Colombian armed conflict.

Neila divorced her second husband and a few years ago she had another failed love attempt; She got involved with a neighbor, but it didn`t work out and she decided to separate for the third time. Today she lives alone in her store, her son studies in Barranquilla and her daughter is in the care of her mother who lives a few yards down the road; she has not lost her warmth nor hope nor joy.

 

“I have always done my things, I have taken care my children” 

 Love and Compassion Clutches, Vegan Bags, Clutches hand bags, and crochet bags are woven by Neila while sitting in the sewing machine from which she greets and serves customers of the small business she has owned for 18 years in San Jacinto.

Neila is the crochet and embroidering queen. Thank you Neila for teaching us about bravery, about hard and honest work and about self-esteem.