Home punishments (boys 10)

 

Bolivia, 70s to 80s

(Gracias, Isidoro)

"Even when I am from Chile, I lived all my childhood in Bolivia, my father’s land, so the punishment ritual in my family was Bolivian.

When I misbehaved, be it bad grades at school or disrespect to an adult (Mom, my grandparents, teaches, neighbor or so) the routine was always the same.

I had to go to the house’s basement, a cold, dark and dirty place where we kept the old things.

My father came down, seated in front of me, and commented on the fault and the punishment to be given, encouraging me to get it as a man, without shrieking or moving. If I didn't, I would get 3 additional lashes.

 

My father never shouted, with calm and love used to tell me that those were the results of misbehaving, and that I knew I was going to be so punished, so now I had to stand it and think better the next time I wanted to act as a fool.

I was made to undress form the waist down and put my hands on my head or resting on a small table, so my buttocks were free for my father’s “fuete” (the horse riding crop). My father was a Navy man.

The flogging began from the lower legs (the sides of the calves) and went up. Then the other leg, leaving the buttocks for the end.

I usually got 4 on each leg, and 10 to 12 on the buttocks.

I don’t know if you understand what a “fuete” is, but I’ll tell you that the pain is unbearable. So, I generally got about 12 more for screaming, taking my hands to the back or moving.

Then he left me a couple of hours there, with my pants down, and then he sent me to the bed without eating.

The next day he hugged me and begged me to think before misbehaving, because even if he didn’t like to flog me he would do it for love until I became a good person.

The marks of the flogging lasted almost two weeks and got purple, sometimes all the buttocks were purple. And showing the marks of the lashes on the legs at PE classes at school shamed me deeply.

Isidoro"
 

Published: 05/02/07