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Outlook: The factory worker who became Chile's first blind senator

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Fabiola Campillai walks with her husband Marco. A crowd with banners is behind her.

10/01/2022 GMT

The factory worker who became Chile's first blind senator

BBC World Service - Outlook, The factory worker who became Chile's first blind senator

How a tear gas cannister changed the course of Fabiola Campillai’s life

Fabiola Campillai was blinded when she was hit in the face by a tear gas cannister. After months in hospital, she came out fighting and decided to take on Chile’s political class.

In 2019, Fabiola Campillai was working in a factory where her husband Marco worked as a lorry driver. They were leading a quiet life in Santiago raising their children when a tear gas cannister changed the course of Fabiola’s life. The cannister, fired by a police officer, left her permanently blinded with multiple life-changing injuries. After spending months in hospital, Fabiola came out fighting. She had no political background, but helped by Marco, she decided to stand for election as a Senator, and won.

When Elise Wortley was in her 20s, her life was put on hold by severe anxiety. So, she turned to the travelogues of Alexandra David-Néel, the pioneering explorer who was the first European woman to trek to Tibet in 1924. It inspired Elise to recreate the same trip using equipment that only would have been available in the 1920s – including a yak wool coat and a wooden backpack fashioned out of a chair. Since then, Elise has been bringing to life the lost histories of other female adventurers. 

Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com

Presenter: Emily Webb

(Photo: Fabiola Campillai with her husband Marco. Credit: Chile Today/Boris van der Spek)

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