Vivos no campo de esquecimento: lepra e isolamento compulsório no Espírito Santo (1920-1962)

Abstract

The study aims to analyze the policy of compulsory isolation of people with leprosy in Espírito Santo between the 1920s and 1960s, as well as the perception about the disease and isolation for patients who must have undergone hospitalization. It is an exploratory investigation in which we used bibliographical, documentary and oral sources. The study pointed out that the segregation of patients was a political and health response to contain the disease, but it also resulted in hundreds of individuals to be forgotten and had harmful effects for them and their families. From the testimonies of the colony former patients , we identified that the experience with the disease and isolation brought impacts such as resentment, abandonment of life projects, social disconnection and reinforcement of stigma, which is an issue that is not currently overcome. The study also showed us the need to distinguish in the individual affected by the isolation policy, the ability to seek strategies to deal with adversities and restore new dynamics to his life