Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo
This is a sad story and here it goes in a few lines: From 1976-1983, Argentina was ruled by a military government, a dictatorship. This period was known as “The Dirty War’, “The Reign of Terror”, and “The Process” (El Proceso). Officially, it was known as the Process of National Reorganization. One could say that during this time, people lived in a lot of fear. Countless (hundreds, thousands) of people who may have in some way even appeared to be in opposition to the government simply disappeared. There were tortures, and killings. Many parents of small children simply vanished, these children then adopted into other families. The Mothers who march on the square every Thursday at either 3:30 PM or 5:00 PM do so as a sort of symbolism that the events that took place during the dirty war should never take place again. The Mothers march with white kerchiefs on their heads, and on these kerchiefs are names of the missing. Even nowadays, the organization of Mothers–using DNA technology–has had success in finding people who who were taken as children and given away to other familes. You’ll see their white scarves painted on the ground surrounding the Pyramid of May on the Plaza de Mayo.
Beautiful scene!
harlequinpanJan 28, 2007 @ 12:46 am
They still march every Thursday? We learned a lot in the U.S. about los desaparecidos and the DNA attempts to reconnect families. It is sad.
JudeJan 28, 2007 @ 3:17 am
I lived in Buenos Aires 1974-1976 and was just leaving Retiro station on the night of the Coup. Watching tanks rumble down Libertador that night is not something I have forgotten. I was nearly kidnapped on a Colectivo and some of my dad’s employees went missing. It was the beginning of a dark period for Argentina. I could tell you a lot more of that period. Not pleasant.
MarcJan 29, 2007 @ 5:00 pm
Jude– Yes they march every Thursday.
Marc — Thanks for stopping by and for leaving such an emotional comment.
KarineJan 30, 2007 @ 7:31 am
In late 1983 I was asked to take up the headnaster’s position in Argentina, because [as a reaction to the Las Malvinas War loss, Brit Headmasters were no longer admitted, but Australians were still deemed acceptable. A few relevant memories from 84-85 include:
1. One of my teachers, Claudia, who is one of the few people in my life who stood out as being innately quite bright, told of how, in retrospect, she was horrified by her own naive, unquestioning acceptance for many years of the Generals' propoganda.
2. A businessman I often talked to who in 1985 was still arguing that all those killed had been "communists", and they hadn't killed enough.
3. The conservative businessman [from Formosa I think] who had disappeared, and all his many assetts were now in the possession, via “third hand” bogus deals, of the Generals who had led the Terror — but nothing was being done about it.
4. Revelations about a Military Officer who, during the Terror, had raped a pregnant prisoner, murdered her husband, then imposed himself on the mother as the child’s Godfather. After the “restoration” of democracy, he then had the hide to turn up unannounced at the woman’s home with a present for his Godchild. The woman had only survived because as “Christians”, the Generals didn’t like murdering pregnant women. God save us from True Believers?
It makes you think the evolution of our species hasn’t been an unqualified success?
NormanFeb 02, 2007 @ 11:52 pm