ORWW: How did you live through the beginning of the trial on April 15 and what sensations do you have of it?
Claudia Paillahuala: I lived it with a lot of anxiety and nerves. As it was developing I felt intrigue, anxiety and hope. Then, when it was over, I felt a huge relief and even more willing to keep on fighting for the freedom of the comrades.

ORWW: They took a break and they will resume on April 29. How do you see the situation for that day?
Cl: I see it very favourable, as in the development of the trial the key words of the majority that testified were: “I do not remember”, “I remember we all agreed”, “I never mistrusted them” and this leads to a ruling that is in favour of the workers and the struggle we have been carrying out for years. Also, I want to have trust that the Justice will be in favour of the workers, which never should have been deprived from their freedom, let alone reaching this trial…

ORWW: April 29th becomes a key day. What message would you like to send the workers of the country and the world, and all the prosecuted and imprisoned for fighting?
Cl: Never stop fighting for what is fair!! We will all come out to fight together.
Today we have much more strength and hope than before. Do not feel alone, because we are many and together we can do it all!
Do not let your will to fight to be reduced just for being locked between four walls. On the contrary, in those moments, motivation activates 100%. There will always be someone who tries to silence the workers for fighting. MY GREATEST WISH IS: Release the prisoners and prosecuted for fighting soon.

“The only forward is joining to defeat those on top”

PMT: What are your first conclusions of this new trial against comrades Armoa Vibares and Oñate?

Claudia Pafundi: Seeing Prosecutor Candia and Judge Olivera -who sentenced my husband and his comrades- again was like going back to live what happened in 2013, but this time I was inside the courtroom. I felt the same disgust and the same hatred that we felt that year, seeing how the workers were being neglected and their only objective was to diminish them so that they would never protest again. As it happened to us, they did not seek "justice for Sayago", as they said at the time. The only thing they were interested in at that time was to teach workers a lesson. It was the same feeling I had at that moment. Because it was the same Videlist Tribunal that judged our thirteen comrades.

PMT: How do you see the situation from now on?

CP: They are attacking the workers more and more, with the austerity plans it is getting worse. For example, I am now unemployed, there are more and more layoffs, comrades who are heads of the family and do not have anything to feed their children, with comrades in prison for fighting and this happens constantly.
The other day I spoke with a comrade who said: "we had said that after the sentence they would come for everybody, that more comrades would be imprisoned, more comrades prosecuted" and that is what finally happened.
That's why I was telling this comrade that we have to join forces from below, just as those on top, join ourselves to crush us, we from below have to unite. Because the only way we have is to unite to defeat those on top.

PMT: What message do you want to leave to workers and prisoners and prosecuted for fighting?

CP: The message I want to share with them is we have to keep on fighting. The only option for workers is fighting, going out and we have to join, to set up a Coordinator Committee to continue fighting, because it is the only possibility  we have.
But my message is hopeful; I want to tell the workers that I fight every day and think about the generations to come, that we have to push forward and that we can make this world a better world, a world for workers, where we can all be better.
We will continue fighting and fighting until there is not a single prisoner left in the prisons and no prosecuted worker for fighting. Strength to all the comrades and we are with you, a strong hug.