Rose Lokissim
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Rose Lokissim | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | circa 1955 |
| Died | May 15, 1986 Chad |
| Cause of death | Execution |
| Resting place | Mass grave at the Plain of the Dead[1] |
| Occupation | Soldier |
Rose Lokissim (born c. 1955 – May 15, 1986) was one of the first female elite soldiers from Chad. She fought against Hissène Habré's dictatorship in the 1980s.[1]
She was arrested by the secret police force known as the Documentation and Security Directorate (DDS) while smuggling documents to give to rebel forces who opposed Habre. She was brought to La Piscine and later transferred to the notorious prison known as Les Locaux. In 1984 she was taken to cell "C". This windowless and putrid room was called the "cell of death" because each day prisoners died there. She was initially put in a men's cell with 60 other men. Then they put her with women for a short time, but then worried about her escaping, returned her to the men's cell. She remained there for eight months. When she returned to the women's cell, she reportedly was extremely dirty, smelled, was covered with lice, and had matted hair.[2] During her time at Les Locaux, she helped smuggle letters of other prisoners out to their families. She was tortured and ultimately executed.
Documents recovered from abandoned DDS offices provided information about her last interrogation held on May 15, 1986. Her captors said that Lokissim stated that "even if she dies in prison, she doesn't regret it, because Chad will thank her and history will talk about her". She was executed that day. She was 33 years old at the time.
Lokissim is the subject of the 2015 documentary film titled Talking about Rose, directed by Isabel Coixet.
Rose Lokissim grew up in a polygamous household in a small village in Chad.[3] Rose was described as a passionate and peaceful person who didn't let her age or gender get in the way of her taking charge when needed in any given situation. One of her family members recounted a time in 1967 where Rose's father would only listen to her during a terrible fight with one of his wives.[4]