Argentina- week 3

Week 3

Wednesday 24, 2013

Today, I visited “The Association of Former-Detainees and Disappeared” where I met with a group of 4 former detainees- three men and one woman. First, they explained to me the reasons they had to form a group and the goals of the organization. It is very interesting and moving to know that all of them share a common experience. They all were taken illegally from their families, detained for a long time, tortured and finally released without a legal reason. It was also sad to hear the stories they told me about their captivity and life in prison. Their stories gave a vivid idea of what their life was like and the things they had to do to survive. It was equally sad and inspiring to see how such a terrible experience, being a former-prisoner, gave them the reason to form a deep friendship that goes back more than 20 years.  

Another piece that they shared with me are ideas about how things have changed since the last dictatorship. It was very embarrassing to hear their perspective on what my adopted country “the U.S” did, not only during the dictatorship but also after, to control politically and economically Argentina and the region in general.  One person in particular I met was Osvaldo Ramos who agreed to be interviewed by me the next day.

Thursday 25

Today, was one of the saddest moments of my journey. I spent several hours with Oswaldo Ramos (a former prisoner and an active member of the association). He is the person who I met yesterday. Today,  we spent several hours alone and he told me his story: In 1978, he and his young wife were kidnapped by the police in the middle of the night. He described in detail to me the mechanisms of psychological and physical torture that they experienced during their captivity. It was shocking to me to hear part of his experiences as prisoner. I had read many similar testimonies; this was the most powerful, because the person was in front of me! It was so painful to hear his story and his wife’s. I saw for the first time how this could really happen to anyone and it scared and horrified me.  (I am not including this interview out of respect for him and his wife, but I will edit it and include excerpts of his account in my class next year).  

One of the most amazing facts about Osvaldo, however, is that after he was released in 1979, he was one of the first victims that spoke out against the dictatorship. It was an honour to met him, because he was one of the victims who testified against the former “Jefe de la junta- Videla” (Dictator of Argentina 1976-1981) who was later condemned for war crimes.

One last thing that impressed me about him was to hear that he is no longer angry for what his government did to him; instead he is driven to help others in the same situation around the world.

Argentina- week 2

Week 2

Monday, July 15

Today, I spend time  at  “The Center for Legal and Social Studies” in Buenos Aires. During this time, I read many “secret” documents that show the systematic measures that government agencies/groups adopted to “eliminate” the “subversives” in Argentina before and during the last dictatorship. I was shocked to read that agents/police had infiltrated even in schools and universities and that they were authorized to kidnap and torture whoever they wanted. This gave me a glimpse at what it could mean if you were a teacher who spoke out against the government.

Mothers 1977-78

 

Newspaper denouncing the killing of innocents civilians

Tuesday, July 16

Plaza de Mayo-BA-- Marchando con las madres

I went to the  Association of the Madres of Plaza de Mayo to meet with the mothers. This investigation is being partially funded thanks to a grant from the Brookline Education Foundation. One of the original objectives was to spend time with some of the madres and to have an opportunity to bring some questions that my students  from Brookline wanted to ask. Fortunately for me and my students two mothers were eager to talk and gave me an opportunity to record a 40 minutes interview. Here is only a part of the interview. Sorry for the background noise (I was filming and asking the questions by myself)

 http://youtu.be/iQQPSE0pT5U

Wednesday, July 17

I visited two former detention camps around Buenos Aires. Here, as in the first center I visited last week, many innocent people were tortured and eventually killed. After my visit to one of the former centers, I interviewed two people who have dedicated themselves to preserving the memory and stories of the camps. I uploaded a segment of the interview.

 http://youtu.be/pNpBEJc14Dg

This weekend was hard to bear. I spent most of my Saturday visiting one of the main former detention camps in Buenos Aires, the ESMA. In this detention camp, at least 5,000 people were incarcerated and tortured from 1976-1979. Unfortunately only 200 of them survived.  On this visit, I walked in the steps of the victims.  It was extremely sad and torturous to see the places where they were detained and tortured. I could smell and feel the horror that they felt when they arrived to this obscure site. I could imagine that once they entered this place, their lives were no longer under their control. I walked through the cells, barely big enough for a person to stretch their body, where they were forced to live and sleep, in their own waste and where denied the right to communicate even with other prisoners.  Even after 36-37 years, I could still hear their voices and feel their pain. In general, it was a truly moving experience for me.  While writing, I still feel the chills that I got when I entered the basement of the prison.

I spent Sunday visiting the Park of the Memory and conversing with people in charge of this institution. In this outdoor memorial, I read all the names of the victims that lost their lives in the hands of the last military dictatorship.  It is very sad to see name after name on the walls that are part of the memorial and it is even harder to know that many of the disappeared were 18 year-olds, young men and women.

Tomorrow, I will visit an advocacy organization. It is one of the national organizations that investigates case of human rights violations -- including those of the tortured and imprisonment people during the dictatorship.

Plaza de Mayo and Museo del Bicentenario

Wednesday, July 11

I arrived in Buenos Aires yesterday afternoon. During the short ride from the airport, after 24 hours of traveling, I was thinking about my first activity the next day. After a  tasty dinner -- which of course included steak!!!! -- I decided to rest for the night. My first stop was going to be "The Plaza de mayo" and "Las madres de plaza de mayo." 

Thursday, July 12

Today, it was raining a lot. I left the apartment with the objective of going to El museo del bicentenario which has a permanent small exhibit on the Dirty War. After spending a couple hours there, I decided to go and meet the Madres de la plaza de mayo. Unfortunately, the rain was hard and only a few of them attended the  permanent demonstration. However, I was able to talk to one woman to learn more about her goals and desire to know where her disappeared child is. Also, I made a video (coming soon) of the tiles around the city that people installed to remember all of the war prisoners and the disappeared. Tomorrow, I will visiting two of the former detention camps.

Madres de la Plaza de Mayo