As much as I constantly gush about how Argentina is the best country on earth, the fact of the matter is that this country has a very dirty and harrowing recent political history.  Back in 1976, there was a Coup d’état that gave power to Jorge Videla, head of the Argentine military.  The new government then set out to rid the country of “subversives”, which included students, activists, journalists—basically anyone who questioned their authority.  These people were kidnapped from their homes, from work, and even in the middle of a public setting and that would be the last time anyone ever heard from them.  Many were taken to La ESMA (Escuela de Mechanica de la Armada), a clandestine center of torture, which had previously served as a school for the military.  It’s awful because it’s not like La ESMA is in the middle of nowhere; it’s in Buenos Aires and people lived, worked, and walked around it all the time with no idea what was going on inside. 

 

Most of the people kidnapped had never even participated in any sort of subversive activity and were only deemed guilty because they knew someone involved in such activities.  Many of the prisoners were then told they were being transferred to another location, only to be drugged, put on a airplane, and then thrown out of said airplane while it flew over the Río de la Plata where they drowned.  They called them “Vuelos  de la Muerte,” a.k.a. Death Flights, aptly named, don’t you think?  What, what, what, what, WHAT???  These people were referred to as “Los Desaparecidos” (the disappeared) because Videla once said during an interview that, “Ni son vivos, ni muertos.  Son desaparecidos” (They’re neither dead or alive.  They’re disappeared.)  I WANT TO PUNCH SOMETHING.

A lot of the female desaparecidos were pregnant while they were kidnapped, which brings me to one of the most atrocious parts of La Guerra Sucia.  The women were allowed to give birth to their children before they were murdered, and the babies went to military families and friends of the military through illegal adoptions.  Basically, the stepfather could very well be the same person who had tortured and killed the baby’s parents.  Right now it estimated that there are 500 hijos de los desaparecidos, and only around 105 of them have been found through the efforts of Las Madres de la Plaza de Mayo. 

During this time, the mothers and grandmothers of the disappeared would march around Plaza de Mayo with pictures of their missing children and still march every Thursday afternoon hoping that one day they’ll know what happened to their sons and daughters.

Then:


Now:


This cruel government continued until 1983 and according to human rights organizations, approximately 30,000 people disappeared during those years. 

I’m really lucky because since I’ve been in Buenos Aires, I’ve had the opportunity to go to a ton of political protests, listened to President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner give a speech, and actually had the chance to meet a survivor of La ESMA.  On 24 March we didn’t have classes because it was a memorial day remembering the day the Military Junta came to power.  There was a huge protest at Plaza de Mayo, but NYU said it would be too dangerous for a foreigner to go because things could get violent.  I was like, “Don’t EVER tell me how to live my life, NYU, you hungry, capitalist machine of injustice!” so I went and it was incredible.  There were THOUSANDS of people marching and protesting, the Madres were there with signs with pictures of their missing children, people were drumming and running all over the plaza, and the excitement was tangible.  It was easily one of the best experiences in Buenos Aires and my entire life.  

24 March protests:
 

“Press conferences are doing a number on my hair,” said President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner.


Here’s Munú, a survivor of La ESMA.  She told of off all the torture she had experienced during her eight months as a captive.  Not only did she suffer physical torture such as electrocutions, simulated drowning, and being hooded for days at a time, she suffered horrifying psychological torture as well.  The military would grab people unsuspectedly and shove them in a car so that they thought they were going to be killed, only to be taken out to dinner.  Munú said this was the absolute worst because it was almost like they could see the city and see everyone living their lives and it was almost like being free, but it only lasted for a few hours before they were sent back into La ESMA.  



Whoa.  How many people studying abroad in other countries can say they’ve done anything remotely similar to stuff like this?  Oh wait, they can’t.  VIVA BUENOS AIRES.