Jeanne - The Mechanic

Jeanne - The Mechanic

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Last updated June 17, 2023
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She was born in 1961 but actually no, in 1957. From Parents in the Basque Country on the Spanish side. Her father was a republican but she never met him, she was sent to France at a young age to escape Franquisme. at that time her mom had to survive on her own, with no family to back her up.
 
She was sent from families to families during her youth, with one of them she crossed the Atlantic towards Venezuela. At that time children names were written on the last page of the fathers passport, as the family already had a couple of children she was added at the bottom of the list (after the youngest daughter who happen to be 4 years younger than her) this led her to be officially born in 1961 instead of 1957.
 
Jeanne grew from families to families to squat to squat, ending up in the Marina of las palmas as a mechanic and boat repairwoman. We can securely say that she has seen the world, from shipyards of Venezuela to the tobacco plantations of Nicaragua and the cigarettes factories of PMI in Berlin. She followed along friends and acquaintances she met on the way. Always engaged into a cause but never above her sphere of impact. She sympathized with the condition of women in Venezuela and the cause of trostkistes in Berlin.
 
Without claiming it, she is a force of nature, feminist by indignation, ecologist & vegan by pragmatism. She pushes her fights with the strength she has but do not impose them.
 
At more than 60 y.o. She survives by fixing boats on the marina of las palmas, a dry woman speaking countless languages picked up during her travels, accustomed to the manly environment of sailboats and regattas. White sleeveless shirt on the shoulders, cargo trousers for the tools and her tanned wrinkles to go around.
 
Jeanne surely has a big mouth but there is a lot to learn when one knows how to listen.