This past week’s lecture and readings touched on some of the dark ages in Argentine history. The 1970s and 80s saw Argentina become the victim of a devastating military coup and subsequent authoritarian dictatorship. These regimes lead by the likes of Jorge Rafael Videla and _______ were oppressive and violent, silencing voices and instilling utter terror in the lives of civilians. The video of an interview with “the madres plaza se mayo” reminded me of the suffering experienced by many and while the textbook reflects on the political impact these traditional mothers were able to have, I would like to further explore the suffering that persists in Argentina to this day. My grandmother, was one of the first madres de la plaza de mayo, and while her protesting and bravery made had a large role in exposing the atrocities of the time to the world, her suffering persisted long after the days of the dictatorship like it did with the rest of my family.
The disappearance of thousands of innocent civilians – sons and daughters – was both criminal and immoral but sadly years after these dark times of history families Ike mine still suffer. The uncertainty of not knowing has plagued the lives of countless families as they continue to wonder about the fates of their kidnapped relatives. As I watched the videos video where the madres passionately plead and cry “. ” I can’t help but be reminded of the relatives that to this day my family wonders where they are. There has been little closure to this devastating event. In my own experience, I have seen some of my family suffer for more than 20 years after the disappearance of mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters as they continue to look for answers. I’m one example my cousin constantly looked for signs of her mothers whereabouts for years more than 20 years after her disappearance. Finally, her mothers bones were found and verified to be hers with a DNA test and our family was able to have some closure in relation to her disappearance. While it was sad news, the finding allowed us to move on in respect with this one particular relative and have some of this aforementioned closure.