thefutureisred

Dia de la Memoria: A First Hand Account of A Military Dictatorship

Today is Dia de la Memoria -- Day of Remembrance for Truth and Justice in English -- here in Argentina, the day commemorating the 1976 take over of the Argentine government by a vicious military dictatorship. This new government, the Proceso de Reorganión Nacional, was responsible for the Dirty War and the disappearance of thousands of Argentina People. I've read about this time in Argentina's history, but this week, I had the opportunity to hear first hand from a recent guest what it was like to be a teenager in Buenos Aires at the time.

I know Horacia Alvarez through Couchsurfing.  He's originally from Buenos Aires but now lives in Cafayate. Hector, an avid bird watcher, brought binoculars and taught us about the birds we see flying around Sapoland every day. He is soft spoken, sweet, and I feel fortunate to have met him.

This morning, I asked him about Dia de la Memoria. He told us the following:

I was a teenager at the time.  We would go out to discos and the military would come in stop the music and search us. Looking for drugs or weapons or I don't know what. Sometimes, friends of mine would leave a place and be stopped, lined up against a wall and questioned.

I remember it very well.

The dictatorship went out after the war with Britain over the Malvinas -- Falkland Islands.

At the time, the Argentine government lied to the people badly about what was happening with the war. They said the United States was on our side. They said we were winning the war. People were giving money to feed and clothe the troops, but the money never got to them. The soldiers didn't have clothing or food. So when the British army attacked, there was nothing they could do.

Britain had no right to those islands, They just went in and took it, but the only good thing about that war was that it ended the dictatorship. Not immediately, but a year later.

This is only a piece of what he had to say, and he offered to write something up for me to post here. I immediately accepted. He warned me it would be emotional.

Noah took Horacio to the bus station this morning, and already the house feels a bit empty, as it always does when a guest leaves.

What Would Martin Luther King Jr. Say Today About Haiti?

This question popped into my mind today. My answer to this question isn't entirely inspired. He'd say we should help, do what we can to provide relief. But boy, woudln't I love to actually hear MLK Jr. -- an orator of skill equaled by few -- speak and offer some advice or words of hope.

I rewatched the I Have A Dream speech to see if some of his words then would apply today.

I don't know about you, but I heard nothing to apply to our world today and the disaster occuring in Haiti. Does it have to? Of course not, but in times of trouble, people need someone who can talk with truth and honesty, one who knows how to say the things we ought to hear in order to find comfort and then be inspired to action.

Who speaks for us today?

The issues effecting the United States and the rest of the world then were different than they are now. MLK Jr. speaks of freedom. But I imagine freedom is a luxury when you have no water or food, and disease and violence lurk at every corner.

It makes me question if perhaps we've taken a big step back.

And who speaks for us in song as Martin Luther King, Jr did, a song that fills us with intention to seek change.

One day we will have to stand before the God of history, and we will talk in terms of things we've done. Yes, we will be able to say we built gargantuan birdges to span the seas. We built gigantic buildings to kiss the skies. We brought into being many other things with our scientific and technological power.

It seems I can hear the God of history saying, "That was not enough! But I was hungry, and ye fed me not. I was naked and ye clothed me not. I was devoid of sanitary house to live in, and ye proided no shelter for me, and consequently, you cannot enter the kindom of greatness. If ye do it unto the least of these, my brethren, ye do it unto me. That's the question facing America today.

I will not suggest the best way how or when each individual fulfills such a ordinance, but I will say that I believe it is up to everyone to try.