Author Archives: ewiner1

Argentina – Rose, Bud, and Thorn

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Emily’s rose/bud/thorn suggestion at dinner last night inspired me to write a sweeping reflection on the past 18 days. To say this was a profound experience would be an understatement, and I’m truly so grateful to have been a part of it. 

Rose: Friends and Fun 

 

Argentina was a culture shock for most of us. Between the dreadfully long food service in Córdoba and the “hard water”, adjusting took some time. Initially, communication was completely humiliating. In retrospect, I appreciate that and am grateful that I was not alone. We bonded over our novelty in this country, and I think it helped bring the group together.

Javon featured trying Mate for the first time. I only captured the initial reaction, but he came around to it and actually enjoyed it (after some sugar)…

Laura was an angel, and one of the best days was her cookout for us. The hospitality of her and her family to mostly strangers was incredible. 

 

Thorn: Not really a thorn, but certainly upsetting 

On Saturday we visited Parque de la Memoria and tossed flowers into the ocean to honor those who were disposed of in the ocean. There is a special type of pain in knowing these people lost their lives in the middle of nowhere, and are out there somewhere.

Every single visit to detention/killing centers was tough. Each time we learned more and more, I had a harder time digesting the information. Unfortunately, these visits were critical to our understanding of the dictatorship, and I wouldn’t have the same understanding of Argentina’s history if I had just taken a class in the U.S. The trauma the survivors endured and still deal with today is unimaginable. As Sources of Expression of Resilience in Trauma Survivors notes, a cross-cultural approach to trauma research is paramount to understanding and treating victims like those who were imprisoned in Argentina. 

Bud: Lessons 

Despite how emotionally exhausting it was to study the dictatorship, it was critical to our understanding of specific social issues and phenomena. As Americans, our knowledge is limited when it comes to social issues outside of our country. I feel like this is probably tactical. But when people like us- college students with the capacity to make real change- can take information back to the U.S, we can educate others and move towards a better world. 

Reflecting on ESMA

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In the basement of the building, MarySue stands in front of a memorial to those who we know were “transferred” to the air force base to be dropped in the ocean. Only one photo depicts a survivor, who was the photographer and was able to sneak the film out.

Our second-to-last stop of this trip was ESMA (Navy School of Mechanics), a detention center off of another bustling road in Buenos Aires. At first look, the grounds are beautiful. The site looks like a small college campus, and it’s hard to imagine the horrors that occurred here. When you get to the actual building in the corner of the grounds, the air shifts as you recognize the familiar rows upon rows of photos of disappeared people. The building is extremely hollow and cold.

We made our way to the basement. Prisoners were taken here, tortured, and interrogated. One of the more disturbing things we learned there was the language officers used as codes. To be “transferred” meant you were being sent off to your death. They dubbed the hallway of the basement “Happiness Avenue” as a cruel psychological tactic. 

This is a depiction of what prisoners could see from their position in Capuche.

While the basement was grim, the Capuche (“hood”) was worse. This is where prisoners were held daily. They were kept in small quarters with hoods on their heads and their limbs bound. There were video testimonies from survivors who noted the sheer inhumanity of such a condition, one that was not human. It was complete isolation and psychological torture. 

At the beginning of the trip, we learned about the prisoners being dropped from planes to drown. ESMA was where they were sent from. Being there and then traveling to the coast, where we saw memorials and tributes to those lost in the sea, it was hard to imagine how one human could do this to another. That was perhaps the hardest concept for me to grasp on this trip. What does it take for you to believe that forcing physical and mental torment on another person was appropriate? Why were so many people complicit? I think the answer lies in instability. Mass Killings in Argentina (Staub) claims “When life conditions are complex and difficult, submitting to an authority that offers a vision can satisfy important needs and goals. The military, although unable to stabilize the country economically or politically, had become the big brother in Argentina. Much of the population and political leadership relied on it, and the rest accepted its dominance.” 

You can draw troubling connections to the political state of Argentina’s pre-dictatorship to the United States. Our country is more polarized than ever, and it’s possible that a power similar can offer a sense of stability to those who long for it – and who knows what their agenda will be.  

Taking Lessons Back to the U.S.

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From Virrey Cevalles earlier today. These people were disappeared from nearby neighborhoods but weren’t taken to this specific site. I found it heartening that these people were honored even in places they didn’t necessarily step into. 

A lot of connections can be made between Argentine and American histories. Though the events themselves weren’t the same, there were repercussions impacting generations of families and the structure of society in general. One difference, though, is the effort going into pursuing justice on a more national level. When Néstor Kirchner was elected in 2003, he made strides to prosecute those responsible for human rights violations during the dictatorship. He annulled legislation that prevented the prosecution of military personnel. That step alone is huge in bringing justice to families of the disappeared and victims who were imprisoned/tortured. The United States never saw trials convicting slave owners of their crimes against humanity – and now it’s too late for that specific issue. But we see similar behavior when it comes to issues like police brutality against black and brown people. It seems much more difficult to convict such a police officer. Another big discussion in the United States is around reparations, which Argentina has been able to provide for children or grandchildren of the disappeared. We know that trauma is generational, and impacts every aspect of life. 

One thing we’ve learned is there is still a culture of silence in parts of Argentine society. “What’s worse than not wanting to know is wanting not to know.” This idea permeates American culture and is one of the greater barriers to social change. Younger generations seem to be pushing to break this, but it is difficult when people are advocating to not teach schoolchildren basic American history. We must know in order to not repeat the past. Nunca Mas. 

Argentine political culture is driven by the past and its horrors. It’s heartening to see and meet so many people dedicating their time and lives to change. The United States needs to face its past in totality.

A day – or two – in the life

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The first two days in Buenos Aires have been packed full of experiences. Taking in the size of the city, we arrived early at our hotel. Luckily Rachita and I were able to check into our room early and get some rest before our activities. We toured various sites in Buenos Aires via bus and saw different parts of Palermo. Our guide was explaining to us that there are class levels similar to those in the U.S., but when we asked how much the middle-middle-class makes, it was around $200. Comparatively, we drove through extremely nice neighborhoods that held nice houses and many embassies for various other countries. It was overwhelming to take in Buenos Aires – I fear I won’t get to experience all it has to offer. 

We stopped at Cemetery de la Recoleta, where Eva Peron is buried. It was the most unreal cemetery I’ve ever seen – hauntingly gorgeous. Unlike any cemetery I’ve seen, which admittedly isn’t many, Cemetery de la Recoleta was rows and rows of tombs. It looked like a neighborhood of mini-houses. It takes immense wealth to upkeep such sites, and there were some tombs that clearly hadn’t been maintained in years. 

Eva Peron’s tomb.

Our third activity on the first day was a house dedicated to Evita “Eva” Peron. The house was a place Eva had founded for women to seek resources and jobs. I knew that Eva was revered in Argentina, but I had no idea of the incredible work she did for underrepresented communities in Argentina. 

The infirmary as compared to the map, is marked as #5. The map compared to the site itself shows just how much has yet to be uncovered.

Today was much heavier. We went to Club Atletico, or what remains of it. The building was originally a police uniform factory, with a detention and torture center in the basement. After the dictatorship, it was torn down and a highway was built on top. Archeologists have taken years to uncover only a sliver of the basement. We were able to see parts of the cells, the bathroom, and the infirmary. It was insane to imagine that right off one of the bigger roads in Buenos Aires were hundreds of people being tortured and starved. It was surreal to stand under a busy highway and in front of a barely recognizable memorial site. We visited a museum of sorts a few blocks from Club Atletica, where I read testimonials from prisoners that were very moving. 

A plaque outside Virrey Cevalles.

After a quick lunch, we walked to Virrey Cevallos, a memory site tucked between houses on a quiet street. There we met Osvaldo. He talked to us a little bit with preliminary information about the site and then left us alone until the end. We were taken through the house and read testimonials. We were told a story about a prisoner who escaped from Virrey Cevallos by climbing out after his cell wasn’t properly locked. He climbed out and went from roof to roof. We learned he eventually was forced to return to the center after his family was threatened. The second we left the building, Fernando revealed to us that Osvaldo was the escapee. He wasn’t sure why it wasn’t mentioned but didn’t want to bring it up. My jaw dropped. I knew Osvaldo had been there, but to be someone with such a well-known story and keep it in had to take a certain level of humility. We speculate that he didn’t bring his story up not because he suppresses his trauma, but because he doesn’t want to be the center of attention.

It was a long and heavy day, but each time I come to these places I leave with a new appreciation for the privileged life I have, as well as a frustration at my overwhelming American-ness. 

Human Rights: Do we focus on the past or present?

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One idea that stuck out to me during one of our discussions was the debate over which human rights violations should be memorialized/fought for more heavily. Gabe mentioned a professor of psychology, Albert Colaski, who spent five years in various prisons around Argentina, including La Perla. He became the Chair of Human Rights at the Faculty of Psychology at UNC and became controversial due to his ideas about human rights. He made the point that human rights violations occur every day – in the form of homelessness, unequal rights between men and women, etc. Fernando told me that Colaski trained police officers on human rights issues. People criticized him because they felt he was enabling the state  – who to many, is the enemy. However, as Fernando said, it is worth it to train police officers basic respect to the people they “serve.” It is better than nothing. While it is still incredibly important to memorialize past human rights violations like the military dictatorship and sites such as La Perla, I think it’s just as important to fight for ongoing and everyday human rights violations. In our conversation it was brought up that there was a debate between victims of the dictatorship and those who simply lived through it; there was disagreement on whether victims should dominate the conversations surrounding memorializing human rights. As I understand it, victims and those who strongly believed in justice for victims were upset at Colaski for his encouragement on focusing on more issues. I think this particular issue is important because many people don’t necessarily view issues like inequity or homelessness or women’s issues to be human rights violations. In reality, they definitely are. If we overlook these issues and focus entirely on the past, nothing will be done about people suffering in the present. I think there is a way to fight for both – memorializing the past and educating people in the present so that particular event never happens again, and also recognizing that there are current problems that need immediate attention. If we are willing to be compliant and overlook “smaller” things, where is the bar for what we won’t tolerate?

 

The Exhaustion of Reconciling With Trauma and Justice

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One of the more moving days was our visits to D2 and La Perla, where we got an insight into the experiences of those who were kidnapped or disappeared.

The featured photo for this post depicts a young woman and her presumed daughter analyzing a map of where Argentine people fled during the dictatorship. The woman was naming different places that had lights on them. D2 isn’t particularly large, and I found myself running into these two multiple times. When we made it to the more open area in front of the only two cells D2 has, I saw that there was another woman with the two. They went into one of the cells, and when they came out, I saw tears. Both the women were crying, and they embraced each other before moving on to another room. I have never seen anyone cry like that at a memorial in the United States. I wondered if they had a relative or friend that was disappeared, or if the general devastation of D2 brought them to tears.

 Either way, I got a first-hand look at the impact of the “Dirty War” on the Argentine people. There are families still searching for answers about what happened to their loved ones and seeking justice. The trials that began in 2010, while necessary for bringing a sliver of justice to the disappeared, have forced victims to relive their experiences and potentially testify in front of their abuser. Adopted children of the disappeared either have no idea or have to grapple with the trauma of not only being adopted but having parents that were murdered with no chance of raising them. While it is heartening to know that people are actively seeking justice in larger movements, it is hard to imagine the exhaustion of such an endeavor. The author of Nunca Mas notes that some families never even reported their disappeared loved ones for fear of “a resurgence of these evil forces.” 

 

Day in the life – 5/14/23

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Today was a fun-packed day! We woke up early to start a walking tour of Córdoba, thanks to Laura. We walked through the pedestrian shopping district and ended up in Plaza San Martin, where we boarded a city tour bus! Mary-Sue, Emily, Gabe, and I got the pleasure of sitting at the top of the bus – the weather was perfect. We toured all around Córdoba, and I really enjoyed exploring areas close to the university and the adjacent park. I learned that the three public universities in Córdoba are free, which is amazing. The architecture here is fascinating  – between the European-style buildings and near brutalism, there’s quite a mixed bag. 

After the tour, we explored a little more and got to see two gorgeous churches. The Gothic church was especially beautiful, and we got to witness the last couple minutes of afternoon mass. By then everyone was starving. We headed outside the city to Laura’s house, where she and her husband graciously fed us an amazing meal and gave us incredible hospitality. It was such an amazing meal and overall experience. I loved hanging out with Valentín, even if we had a major language barrier. We all rested in the backyard after ribs, steak, chorizo, salad, and ice cream for dessert. Needless to say, I was no longer hangry. 

Our last stop of the day was Los Caruchines, a non-profit organization that provides after-school tutoring, a place to play, and community support. It was interesting and sad to hear that many children and families in that area were lacking just basic needs – clothes, mattresses, food, etc. The selflessness of Micela and David was admirable, given that they have had to dig into their own pockets to keep the place up and running. I was happy to buy a shirt from them knowing the funds are going directly to those in need. While we were there, we learned how to make traditional mate! The process was super interesting, and while I didn’t necessarily love the taste, I appreciate the significance it has in Argentine culture. It really grew on Javon, though. He kept going back for more. 

 

Exploring Memorials in Córdoba

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Walking around this morning, we passed a memorial on the town hall’s exterior. Fernando told us that while you wouldn’t know from looking at it, the words were from a letter smuggled out of prison (via women hiding them in their vaginas). Just from looking at the art piece, it’s hard to discern what’s going on. There is important context missing from it – some sign or plaque could really help people understand what it references. This reminded me of one of the texts I was reading (Text and the City: Design(at)ing Post-Dictatorship Memorial Sites in Buenos Aires). The author describes a memorial in Buenos Aires and the conversations that have taken place surrounding the purpose and efficiency of the memorial. To many, the most important part of constructing a memorial was making sure it wasn’t forgettable or creating “collective amnesia.” I thought this quote was powerful as an intention to memorializing Argentina’s past: ““este parque escultórico y este lugar de memoria no pretende cerrar heridas que no pueden cerrarse ni suplantar la verdad y la justicia” (This sculptural park does not pretend to close wounds that cannot be closed nor to supplant truth and justice)This is a main issue in the larger conversation of how we can preserve human rights abuses and history. I feel that memorials are paramount in helping preserve Argentina’s (and other countries’) historical tragedies. However, they must be aesthetically interesting enough to provoke some sort of experience or emotion, paired with actual information on the memorial that people can read. Outside of memorials, diving into human rights issues in the classroom, even from a young age, can help prevent future violations. 

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