Page 39 - Marlie Burton Roche : Landscape and Bread
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photographed and taped. Fortunately, we had that activities. The guard was standing as close as he
material secured on our bodies and at this point they could get without actually coming right into the
did not search us. Fortunately also, we had made booth. But compañera Audrey, a fellow potential
sure that the military high command in San Salvador escapee, and also a young, very vivavicous Italian-
was aware that several people and international Canadian, came running over and managed to
organizations knew where we were going, and when. distract my guard so I could get rid of the film and
notes. I pulled out both rolls and exposed the film.
After several hours in detention we were put into They were 36-exposure film and rather bulky once
the back of our truck, with three Salvadoran soldiers exposed and I did not know what to do with them. I
sitting on the end-gate pointing their assault rifles thought of hiding them in the tank of the toilet but
at us. Another truck, rigged up with a weapon that there was no lid on it. So I stuffed the whole mess
looked like a bazooka and manned by eight soldiers, into the pockets of my pants. Even with a loose
became the lead vehicle, with the big gun pointed shirt I must have looked bizarre. Then I tore up the
at our truck. With this ‘convoy’ in place, we were notes I had in my money belt, put them in the toilet
escorted to San Salvador. They said they were and flushed it. The toilet plugged. I saw the water
taking us to the Treasury Police Headquarters in rising up in the bowl; looked at the boots of the
San Salvador. We knew that once we got there, we Salvadoran soldier standing no more than a metre
would be encarcerated, interrogated, and probably away from me and reached into the filthiest toilet
stripped and searched. We did not want them to bowl I have ever seen in my life, bar none, and
find the testimonal tapes or the photographs we had pushed the paper down the hole. On turning around
taken, as this would have incriminated the people of I found there was no sink where I could wash my
San José Las Flores. During the hours of detention hands. I used the water in the toilet tank.
in Chalatenago we had, by speaking in code no-less,
devised an escape plan. Because I was the oldest Audrey, by this time, had persuaded the soldiers
member of the group I was elected to ‘have’ a heart to put the two of us in the cab of the truck, rather
attack so I would be taken to a hospital, where I could than the back and for the duration of the trip to
supposedly report our capture and get help. It was not San Salvador, she talked to, yelled at, and cajoled,
exactly a well-worked out plan but as our ‘military- the driver to pull off the road and find a hospital.
escort’ drove us south we put our scheme into action. Instead, he drove faster and faster, and with the
First I had to get rid of the rolls of film (which I had speed and the truly terrible condition of the road,
in my brassiere) and the notes (which I had in my I thought for sure the lead truck would hit a pot-
money belt) because once I got to a hospital I would hole and the big gun would blow us all to oblivion.
be stripped. I pretended to be sick to my stomach, I slouched down by the door of the truck and
hoping they would let me get off the truck to puke in managed to gradually pulled the exposed film strips
the grass, were I could dump the stuff. out of my pockets and shoved them behind the seat.
But they did not stop by the road, they went to a gas We were ready for that hospital visit!
station (Shell!) and one of the soldiers escorted me When we got to the Treasury Police Headquarters
to a toilet. It was a kind of booth, outside, separate in San Salvador, our captors probably expected us
from the station, with nothing but a swinging door to be overcome by fear. We had been told that there
that hardly concealed ones body, nevermind covert were cells in the basement of the building where
LANDSCAPE & BREAD MARLIE BURTON-ROCHE 35
