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March 24th, The Day of Remembrance for Truth and Justice
Argentina is full of stories, some of them peculiar, some of them dreadful… Today we commemorate a sad one. The Day of Remembrance for Truth and Justice (Día de la Memoria por la Verdad y la Justicia) is a public holiday in Argentina, commemorating the victims of the military dictatorship known as the National Reorganization Process (Proceso de Reorganización Nacional). It is held on 24 March, the anniversary of the coup d’état of 1976 that brought the military junta to power.
On this day in Buenos Aires and all around the country, thousands of people gather in peaceful marches to ask for justice for their missing loved ones. They carry pictures of the disappeared, and emotional displays of sadness and anger erupt in tears as the crowd gathers.
This is how it all began… after the military coup that took place on the 24th of March 1976 and up to 1983, Argentina was ruled by a military government, a cruel 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. During this time, people lived in a lot of fear. Countless of people (it is estimated that 30 thousands) who may have in some way even appeared to be in opposition to the government simply disappeared (los desaparecidos), many more abducted for questioning. There were tortures, and killings. Many parents of small children and even pregnant women simply vanished, these children then adopted into other families.
The story
of the Madres de Plaza de Mayo (Mothers of Plaza de Mayo) is a long and sad one, full of courage and determination, but I’ll try to keep it short. Las Madres that march around Piramide de Mayo of the Plaza de Mayo every Thursday at either 3:30 PM or 5:00 PM do so to demand information on the whereabouts of their love one as well as a sort of symbolism that the events that took place during the dirty war should never take place again. In fact, a book was published in 1986 about the atrocities called “Nunca Más” (Never Again). You’ll find this book in almost every bookstore in the city. Las Madres march with white kerchiefs on their heads, and on these kerchiefs are the names of their missing ones.
Even nowadays, another organization called Las Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo (the Grand-Mothers), by using DNA technology, has succeeded in finding people who were taken as children or babies and given away to families known as appropriators. Recently they´ve found the 101st Grandson. The current government is taking steps to bring to justice those responsible of the atrocities. To get more info go to…
