Harsh Reality at Brazil's Colônia Hospital

In 1979, Italian psychiatrist Franco Basaglia visited the Colônia Hospital in Brazil and witnessed the appalling conditions of its patients. The hospital, founded in 1903 to treat mental health patients, became a place of suffering where patients were crammed into small rooms without adequate meals. Many were incorrectly admitted, leading to severe abuse. The case of a pregnant patient named Gerald exemplified the cruelty; not only was she stripped of her dignity with shaved hair and no clothes, but she also had her baby taken away from her after childbirth. By the 1970s, over 66,000 patients had died at Colônia, with 70% being non-mentally ill individuals. Basaglia's efforts to expose these dire circumstances led to the hospital's closure in the 1980s, although the memories of past atrocities continue to linger. Today, the site provides a museum that showcases its tragic history, ensuring that the horrors faced by patients are not forgotten.