Author Archives: ahaney10

Club Atletico

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  I visited the site Club Atletico and was truly disappointed. The city has built a highway over top of the memorial as if the monument meant nothing. It was hard to focus and really feel for the people who were harmed because the sound of traffic overpowered my ears. I don’t know if this is their way of getting rid of the history but to me, that’s what it felt like. I feel that the community could do a better job of protecting the memorial. There should be some type of glass cover because the rain will only make it harder to preserve.

 

To learn that there was a secretive detention center in the basement of what used to be a three-story building was hard to picture without a visual. It was said that the extraction has stopped due to a lack of equipment and money. I feel that if this was important to the city as it is to the victims’ families then money and equipment shouldn’t be a problem. It’s hard to see that people can do horrific things such as torture, kidnap and kill people but when it’s time to make it right, the same efforts are not taken to preserve their memories. 

I feel we can preserve the memory of human rights abuses by continuing to speak up and tell the truth about what caused this all. I heard that the U.S. had a lot to do with the genocide of these people and I bet they are not at all helping with the investigations. The only way to make sure this doesn’t happen again is to continue holding all parties responsible accountable for their wrongdoings against humanity. Memorials should be taken better care of and shouldn’t be thrown under busy highways! 

Eva “Evita” Peron Museum

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I got to visit the Museum of Eva ‘Evita’ Peron. Before visiting I had no idea who she was and how important she was to the Argentinian community. I feel like we had a lot in common, especially being raised by a single mother who had to do what she could to provide for me and my siblings. I was inspired to know that no matter the struggle, she left her home to follow her dreams. She excelled as an actress and made a great name for herself before ever being First Lady. 

  

There were many ways that Mrs.Peron could have used her life, but she used it to make sure women and children received the proper care and necessities they deserved. Women who were looking for jobs were introduced to sewing which she had seen her mom do for money as a child. There were several machines handed out by Mrs. Peron personally to show her true care for those she helped. She also made sure many children knew what it meant to be spoiled and treated as if they were equal to other children who came from richer backgrounds. It was also amazing to know that women from here are able to vote now because of her fight for them and herself! She was even seen voting from her sickbed after years of fighting for womens rights to vote, I know that was a legendary photo!

I feel we define human rights in everyday life and we protect them by doing what Mrs. Peron did in her life. She knew what it was like to come from nothing and made sure people who were just like her felt that they mattered. She made sure to promote freedom of opinion and expression and didn’t let anyone treat people like they didn’t matter. Her life is an example of how we should protect the human rights of others and use our voices to make a difference. 

Day in the Life- Recoleta Cemetery

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I got to visit the Recoleta Cemetery and couldn’t believe my eyes! There was an entire community for the Dead.  Each month the families have to continue paying taxes or else the state could resale the tomb homes to another family and unroot yours. Just when I thought paying rent was over, I realized HERE it still cost you even after death.

    As I walked through the cemetery, I got to see many tombs including the cherished Eva Peron. I didn’t know here how loved she was, but after visiting her museum. I see why now it would be important for her to be at such a Historical cemetery.

My favorite tomb to see was of Amia Figlia who was killed during an avalanche, and buried alongside her dog who surprisingly was dying at the same time. I saw many people touching the nose of the dog and decided that if I did, maybe it will produce more blessings and luck in my life. Fingers crossed! 

La Perla .. The Pearl or is it ?

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I got a chance to visit La Perla detention center. How weird for a name of a place where many went missing, were tortured and/or  “transferred” to their final resting place?  As I walked through each building I could feel the energy throughout the rooms. The main offices were closed due to investigations still taking place. There is a possibility that blood stains from the walls of these rooms could provide more evidence for these crimes against humanity. It was interesting to learn that victims didn’t need much other than a full description of the place for their testimony to stand in court. We learned about a lady who counted each step she took while being blindfolded in the barrack, and that alone helped prove that she had been placed in this horrendous place.

. The countryside beside the torture room is where many people were taken to be shot in the head. Mass graves should be present but nothing not even the bones of one person was found. This has me thinking that the military must’ve known that they were being investigated and went to extremes to get rid of their evidence of genocide. As stated in ‘Argentina’s Missing Bones’, despite suspicion of a mass grave near the La Perla detention center, the EAAF has failed to locate such remains. Rumors are that military workers dug all the bones up and crushed them into a powder so that none of the remains could be traced. I was shocked to hear that people would go to these lengths to cover up their wrongdoings. The families are still dealing with the hurt of not knowing where the remains of their missing loved ones are. There is a lot of evidence still being held from the community that could better assist these families in their healing journey. NO JUSTICE, MEANS NO PEACE! 

Sitio De Memoria

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There are no words to describe the number of families who had to suffer in the D2 secret detention center. My first thoughts were how could this be so secretive with it being in the middle of the city? There are apartment buildings that sit right behind the upstairs torture room, and from that same window, you can view where the Bishop lives. It makes me wonder how many people actually knew what was taking place within this detention center, but didn’t speak out due to fear. I am thankful for people like Carlos Raymundo Moore, better known as “Charlie”, who was held captive here illegally for six years before escaping. He was able to inform the UNHCR of the atrocities committed by the Provincial Police. His testimony has been important for many prosecutions that happened after the end of the Dirty War.

As stated in ‘Prosecuting Human Rights from a Prior Regime’, we can understand that although many countries have transferred from either authoritarian or totalitarian to now modern democracies. There is still a possibility that prosecution can happen even when a new regime has replaced the old one. I feel the new regime should disclose all information concerning the old regime so that the proper prosecution could take place. There shouldn’t be any information withheld that could hinder people or their families from receiving the justice that they need. Memorial sites such as this one could be viewed as helpful so that the memories never die, but until justice is served will there ever truly be any healing? 

 

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Memoria Verdad Justicia ( Memory Truth Justice)

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This is a memorial in the city of Córdoba. The significance of this memorial is that during the 1960-70s there was no county jail for women. Here is where many militant women were placed illegally without prosecution. The women pictured with the help of other prisoners were able to escape, during a show that was performed to distract the nuns who kept watch over them. Although they managed to escape all were captured within months and murdered by military guards. We can preserve the memory of human rights to ensure they don’t happen again, by remembering the names of each and every woman that was captured, tortured, and murdered for demanding more from the system. As stated in ‘Sites of Memory”, memorials are used to reverse the demobilizing and disintegrating effects of state terror and for fostering social practices that may help to heal the damaged social fabric. In return having such sites will promote peace, memory, truth, and justice for all those impacted by the Dirty War.

The “SAY HER NAME”  movement was created in response to the police brutality against black women, but is the same movement needed for the women of this crime!

Let us NEVER forget to say their names:

Nora Melani 10/04/76

Rosa Novillo Corvalan 05/1976

Ana Vilma Moreno de Aguero 07/10/76

Helena Marie Harriague 12/1976

Alicia Raquel D’ambra 12/07/197

Liendo Ana Maria 12/23/1975

Sonia Alicia Blesa 5/15/77

Susana Cristina Avila Alfaro 1/06/1976