Thursday, October 3, 2013

Chapter 9: Reaction
“Dirty War” Kids in Argentina



            As military rule occurred in Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay faced even worse problems in their own countries. During the late 1960s to 1970 occurred a war called the “dirty war” in South America. However before this event had even started, Argentina was beginning to convert itself as a “freedom country” in 1955 during Peron ousting. Thus the Argentinean military stepped aside from ruling the country and give the citizens the rule to resume. However in the elections of 1962 and 1965, the military didn’t want to give the power to the citizens and instead competed again. In the late 1960s to 70, killings escalated as the Marxist guerrilla movement fought against the Argentina military causing the beginning of the “dirty war”. In addition, many tried to forget this incident throughout the years and focused on Argentina 1978 home victory game in the World Cup Championship game boosting the cheers and excitement of the people in Argentina.
            However, as the “Dirty War” expanding through 1983 and incident had occurred in the 1978, when the Argentina military abducted, kidnapped, and use militants for their army. However the most of the militants that were abducted were young children that were disappeared from their families or taken away as a baby from pregnant prisoners. Thus after every pregnancy, most women died and their mothers had to take over. Making the society horrible as it can be. Furthermore, grandmothers of their child and mothers gather around and “carry photographs of their disappeared children protesting in Main Square in Buenos Aires called La Plaza De Mayo”. However, as a secret, the military tried to be stupid that they haven’t abducted any children and called them crazy. However the most intriguing fact that set the women aside from the military government is that they never gave up in their protest. During the protest in Argentina, Chasteen states, “They used white scarves embroidered with the names of their disappeared children as a kind of uniform.” This represent the women in the protest stand for what they believe in and symbolize their uniforms as the courage and hard work they are willing to fight for in their protest and find there children.  In addition, Chasteen states, “Middle-aged schoolteachers, social workers, and sales clerks are desperate to anything to find the living proof of the military secret, dirty war.”
            In addition, Teaching Tolerance states, “What remains in the end is a deep longing for justice. . .We want you all to remember what happened to our children so that it never happens again.”  This is represents what “Las Madres de la Plaza” represent for by finding their children and once they accomplish their goal, they state that this incident will never occur again in Argentina. Furthermore, since the incident in Argentina and the protesting against the return of their children, Women in World History states, “Madres organizations which used similar non-violent techniques to speak truth to power were formed in other authoritarian countries which also “disappeared” citizens, such as Bolivia, Brazil, Chile Paraguay and Uruguay in the mid-1970s.  Thus with the disappearance of the children of other countries, this enabled Argentina and other countries to stand forth, but “it was something.”


References
Born in Blood and Fire: A Concise History of Latin America. By John Charles Chasteen

https://www.google.com/search?q=las+madres+de+la+plaza+de+mayo&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=cRxOUpbVK8ii0QXc-oGYDQ&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1366&bih=624&dpr=1#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=4bPSdHuXwECJEM

No comments:

Post a Comment