The day 151 high school kids were arrested at Santa Maria Hospital: some hid in the morgue and others ate paper

This afternoon, the students from six secondary schools in the municipality of Grândola will hear the story of a group of 151 kids their age who were arrested for holding a meeting in Lisbon, at Santa Maria Hospital. As far-fetched as the report of this arrest may sound to secondary school students in the municipality of Grândola, the facts are all true and can be reported by (at least) one of the authors of the book “The Urgency of the Printed Word. The press of “intrepid teenagers” against the dictatorship (1970-1974)”, written by Rui Gomes and Jorge Ramos do Ó. The story that the book tells is the theme of the colloquium that precedes the opening of the exhibition “There’s Always Someone Who Says No”which tells the story of the revolt of these high school students, and is on display to the public in the exhibition room of the Grândola Municipal Library and Archive until the end of April.

The exhibition “brings together the basic body of the exhibition that was at Torre do Tombo and is part of the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the 25th of April, in Grândola. Also It is a way of showing the role of MAAESL (Movimento Associativo dos Estudantes do Ensino Secundário de Lisboa) in defending freedom and combating dictatorship”explains to Expresso, Alcides Bizarro, who works in the cultural sector of the Alentejo municipality.