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MW Voice FEATURE Letters to the Editor War
Mama's Health News Did You Know? Corporate War on the People Resistance in the War other SPRING 2007 articles
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Another Fallen Warrior
Elita Nieri, translator and artist for Welfare Warriors between 1989 and 1997, died from cancer on March 21. She had returned to her home in Lima Peru in 1997. She wanted to care for her elder mother. And she enjoyed being back home in her country. Ironically, her mother survived her, but her sister decided not to tell her that Elita had died! I met Elita on the dance floor in 1988 at a women’s dance in Milwaukee. We hit it off immediately because we both danced the same unusual way (moving arms and feet). And we both spoke Spanish. Elita had been a life long lesbian. She flirted with girls when she was 7 years old and tried to elope with a young woman at 18. I came around to lesbianism much later. I was divorced and raising three sons before becoming a lesbian. From the beginning of our relationship Elita was a tremendous help to the Welfare Warriors. She translated the five pages of the Voice that used to be in Spanish. And she typed much of her translations--with two fingers and fast! When we needed help with bookkeeping she took that on. She joined us in protests. She did all this though she would complain to me, “All you care about are the mothers!” But her greatest contribution was her art work. She made an exquisite caligraphy plaque with the names of all of the folks who helped us buy our Mothers Organizing Center. She created beautiful hand-made signs for our building and for protests. She helped draw lovely fyers and stationary. I learned in January that Elita was ill and wouldn’t last a year. I rushed to finish up the Winter issue. Then I flew down to see her on March 19. Unfortunately she got an infection the week before. When I arrived, she was looking for me and completely lucid. But I only had one day to spend with her before she died. I guess she waited for me before giving up. Pat Gowens
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Spring
2007