Learning Cluster: Argentina 2012: 2012

Latin American Studies Conference: California State University, San Bernardino (March 8-9, 2012)

The Latin American Studies Conference, "Study of the Americas," in intended to foster interest, knowledge and understanding of the very diverse cultures of Latin America. Areas of interest will include the impact of Latin American cultures in the United States. We welcome papers and panel proposals on any subject relating to the "Study of the Americas"

State Terrorism and the Rights of Children in Argentina:
A Student Centered Participant Research Abroad

As part of a Learning Cluster, this January, a group of eleven undergraduate students from Soka University of America, CA, traveled to Buenos Aires, Argentina, in order to research state terrorism during the last dictatorship and the economic crisis of 2001. Learning Clusters are among the most unique and popular academic programs at Soka University. A Learning Cluster (LC) is a research seminar where students work in teams with faculty facilitators to investigate a specific question. It is designed to bridge theory and practice, and elicit an educated outcome or response. The course is designed to help students apply a range of investigative and analytical tools in the discovery and presentation of trends and ideas, including policy recommendations that bear upon the quality of the human condition.

The purpose of this LC was to provide students with an intensive working knowledge of the changes in the conception and protection of the rights of children in Argentina through the last civic and military dictatorship and the economic crisis of 2001. It aimed at understanding how these two events compel Argentineans to reconsider the importance incorporating the UN convention on the rights of children into the national legislation. The hands-on experience of interviewing human rights activists, government representatives, was an educative experience for students both intellectually and emotionally.

The students explored these problematic through many different documentary materials; they analyzed films, read essays and testimonials, conducted interviews with one of the Judges of the trials to the last military Junta, and the Argentine Forensic Team and visited a detention and extermination center. Some of the questions we explored were: What occurred during the genocide in Argentina and the subsequent economic crisis? How are Argentine youths currently involved in the efforts to preserve the memory of the political, cultural and social genocide? How has the youth mobilized to face current socio-political issues in the country? And most importantly, how can we learn from their experiences?

The students who presented as a panel in the conference were: Claudia Ahumada, Laura Cossette, Miho Saito, Katie Kamimoto, Kimberley Ng, Maria Valdovinos, (Professor Crowder-Taraborrelli, served as coordinator). This was the second time that a group of students from Soka University spoke at this conference. Last year another learning cluster shared their research on sustainable development and immigration in the Tijuana/San Diego border.

La goleada del Plan Condor

Un exsenador peruano denuncia que la victoria de Argentina frente a Perú por 6 a 0 en el Mundial del 78 fue pactada entre los dictadores de ambos países.

Siempre ha habido sospechas de que el partido en el que Argentina goleó 6 a 0 a Perú en el Mundial que organizó en 1978 había estado amañado. Pero ahora esa suposición ha quedado plasmada en una denuncia judicial de un exsenador peruano secuestrado por la dictadura de su país y enviado a Argentina como parte del Plan Cóndor, la cooperación entre regímenes militares de Sudamérica para exterminar a opositores. El exsenador peruano Genaro Ledesma Izquieta declaró que el entonces dictador argentino, Jorge Videla, había aceptado recibirlo a él y a otros 12 conciudadanos como "prisioneros de guerra" con la condición de que la selección en la que brillaba Cubillas se dejara golear por la de Mario Kempes para permitir el acceso de la albiceleste a la final. [leer más]

“El concepto de derechos humanos se fue modificando con el tiempo”

Su escape de la Mansión Seré en 1978 fue relatado en la película Crónica de una fuga. Claudio Tamburrini aporta propuestas polémicas, como reducir penas a los represores que brinden información. Trabaja en el sistema judicial sueco y desde ese lugar desmitifica algunos tópicos sobre las sociedades escandinavas: dice que existe sobre ellas una percepción ralentizada. [leer más]

My name is Victoria

By Claudia Ahumada and María Valdovinos

Before taking our trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina, we were required to read My Name is Victoria by Victoria Donda. It was a very important text that would prepare us for the upcoming assignments throughout the rest of our project. It served as a detailed introduction to the Learning Cluster because it covered many of the essential topics. The book is divided in six sections that are equally important for the full understanding of this dark period in the history of Argentina. It begins with Donda talking about her biological parents, and in this section she also includes the current situation Argentina was facing and its connection with the external world. She moves on to what her childhood was like and her peculiar fascination with the name Victoria. Then, it later transitions to what it was like to discover that she was in fact someone else. She describes the obstacles and psychological problems this process of regaining a new identity brought. She clarified that accepting a new identity now as Victoria Donda did not mean that her old one “Analia” died. It meant that today she is able to live with these two identities and bring them together as one because Victoria was always in Analia.

“My life. The life of Victoria Donda, but also Analia’s. Because they’re one and the same. Both women are me. And to become Victoria was not simply a matter of administrative procedures and a degree of public exposure that I never could have imagined: to recover my identity was also to recover my parents’ past, their families, their blood ties. And, therefore, my own.”

Argentina’s horrible dictatorship ended the lives of many brave individuals who fought against state terrorism. Fortunately, many of these Argentines survived and now give us the opportunity to understand the history of the period through personal testimonies. The survivors ranged from those who were detained and tortured in clandestine centers to the new born babies of abducted mothers. Due to the hard work of “The Mothers of Plaza de Mayo” many of these children, who are now adults, were able to discover their true genetic identity. Victoria Donda is one of those fortunate individuals who accomplished what might seem to be impossible. In her book, My name is Victoria, Donda elaborately describes her struggles in attempting to find her true roots and parents- her true identity.

During the dictatorship, thousands of people were abducted and tortured in clandestine detention centers. In My name is Victoria, Donda mentions that her parents had been taken to ESMA, one of the hundreds of detention centers in Argentina. Her mother gave birth to her in one of the special rooms specifically used for deliveries. Soon after she was born, Victoria was given to a man and woman named Raúl and Graciela. Raúl was involved in the injustices committed by the government. It was his job to raise a daughter, "a true argentine citizen," who would follow and learn to share his same political views. The man in charge of directing Victoria’s childhood and early adult life was her uncle, Adolfo Miguel Donda Tigel. He was one of the military officials in charge of the torture centers and believed that giving Victoria Donda away to a collaborator of the government was the best action to assure the “right” future for her.

“This is a war. And in a war you can’t show mercy to your enemy. I didn’t show mercy to my own brother, who was a Montonero. And I didn’t show mercy to my sister-in-law, who was brought here to the ESMA just like you. And she was transferred, just as you’ll be if you don’t do what we tell you. I didn’t show them the least preferential treatment and I didn’t feel the slightest guilt, because this is a war, and they were on the other side. That’s how it goes: either we win or you do. So you might as well cough up whatever you know….”

This book brings out the horrid reality of what occurred during that era and specifically captured Victoria’s personal story. Also, in My name is Victoria, the reader is able to witness what it takes to regain one's identity. Victoria Donda is very detailed about each and every single change and emotion she felt throughout the process. She is the seventy-eighth grandchild identified by the Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo. Today, Victoria Donda is a human-rights activist, legislator, and the youngest woman to become a member of the Argentine National Congress. She exemplifies the possibility of recovering one’s identity and family history. Donda also represents the hope that every Argentine and world citizen should have in searching for justice, truth, and inner peace. Everything is possible.

Los Estudiantes del Nicolas Avellaneda

Claudia Ahumada and Maria Valdovinos

We had the pleasure to meet with students from Nicolás Avellaneda High School: Calu Callegari, Franco Scalisi, Fatu Rodriguez, and Leopoldo Bebchuk. Nicolas Avellaneda’s history dates back to Argentina’s dictatorial period when fifteen alumni disappeared. They were arrested and later taken to clandestine detention centers. The abducted alumni of Nicolas Avellaneda were politically active as they fought for justice against the dictatorship. Today, things have changed and these four students are an example of that transition. These young adults and other students are presently active in after school workshops. In these workshops, students have the opportunity to direct their interest in technology and media towards making educational documentaries that reflects on parts of Argentina’s history. The head organizer of these workshops is Leticia Guindi, a history professor at Nicolas Avellaneda.

The students described the way in which they became interested and involved with the workshops on Memory. Leopoldo explained, “We came in, Leticia told us about 'memory' and I didn’t understand what it meant, but saw posters at the school and became very interested.” They later realized the workshop was not only about filming, but also learning about the importance of memory. One of the many required tasks was interviewing people who lived through the atrocious years of the dictatorship. For instance, they interviewed mothers whose sons or daughters disappeared due to their political views. Calu thought, “Oh, I get to interview people. Yeah!” but then she quickly learned that asking personal questions like, "How did you feel when you found out your son/daughter was disappeared?" was not as easy or fun as she had imagined.

Calu and Franco
Photo by Norito Hagino

These students came across many obstacles while interviewing, filming, and editing. They shared one of the many anecdotes from this project. On their first interview they were over-prepared; they had a few tapes and two batteries which could last for a few hours, however, the interview only lasted thirty minutes. Also, making sure the camera was properly placed at the right angle was unexpectedly tedious. Regardless, these students overcame all obstacles and have now produced two remarkable documentaries. One of them is about the disappeared people and the other on the shift in politics from a dictatorship to a democratic government.

On top of creating a documentary, these students organized and helped with the making of three “Baldosas” (green tiles) in honor of the disappeared students who attended Nicolas Avellaneda. The baldosas included the students’ name and the date they disappeared. They were placed in front of the school for all pedestrians to see. Throughout the challenging interviews and research they discovered more and more families who had lost a son or daughter, but remained silent during the dictatorship due to fear of having another relative kidnapped or tortured. Today, their names remain right in front of Nicolas Avellaneda and serve as an inspiration for the youth to fight for their rights.

Text in Spanish

Tuvimos el placer de encontrarnos con estudiantes del colegio Nicolás Avellaneda: Calu, Franco Scalisi, Fatu Rodriguez y Leopoldo Bebchuk. La historia del Nicolás Avellaneda comienza con el periodo de la dictadura en Argentina cuando muchos egresados desaparecieron. Fueron detenidos y llevados a centros de detención clandestinos. Los egresados secuestrados estaban muy involucrados en la política. Hoy en día, las cosas han cambiado, y estos cuatro estudiantes son un ejemplo de esa transición gubernamental. Ellos junto con otros estudiantes actualmente participan en talleres, donde tienen la oportunidad de usar su interés en la tecnología para crear documentales educacionales que cuenten la historia de Argentina. La organizadora de estos talleres es la profesora de historia del Nicolás Avellaneda, Leticia Guindi.

Soka University students together with students of Nicolás Avellaneda High School
Photo by Norito Hagino

Los estudiantes describieron la manera en la que se interesaron e involucraron en estos talleres sobre Memoria. Leopoldo explico que “cuando ingresamos, Leticia nos habló sobre Memoria y nosotros no entendimos que significaba, pero vimos posters en el colegio y nos interesamos mucho.” Luego se dieron cuenta que los talleres no eran solo sobre films, sino también sobre la importancia de la Memoria. Uno de los requerimientos era entrevistar a personas que vivieron los atroces actos de la dictadura. Por ejemplo, entrevistaron a madres cuyos hijos e hijas desaparecieron debido a sus creencias políticas. Calu comentó, “...oh, tengo que entrevistar a estas personas. Si!” pero después rápidamente se dio cuenta que preguntarle a unas persona algo tan personal como “que sintió cuando supo que su hijo/a había desaparecido” no era fácil o entretenido como ella se había imaginado.

Estos estudiantes enfrentaron muchos retos en este proceso. Compartieron una de muchas anécdotas de este maravilloso proyecto. En la primera entrevista ellos estaban demasiado preparados; pero la entrevista solo duro media hora. También, asegurarse que la cámara estuviera ubicada en el ángulo correcto fue muy tedioso. A pesar de todo, ellos superaron estos los obstáculos y ahora son los productores de dos documentares extraordinarios. Uno de ellos es sobre las personas desaparecidas y el otro sobre el cambio político desde la dictadura al actual gobierno.

Además de crear el documental, los estudiantes organizaron y ayudaron en la creación de tres ‘baldosas’ en honor a los estudiantes desaparecidos del Avellaneda. Las baldosas incluyen los nombres de los estudiantes y la fecha que desaparecieron. A través de las entrevistas y la investigación, se dieron cuenta de más y más familias que habían perdido a sus hijos/as, pero que no habían hablado durante la dictadura por miedo a represalias. Hoy, esos nombres están frente del colegio Nicolás Avellaneda y sirven como una inspiración para los jóvenes que luchan por sus derechos.

In this short clip Calu Callegari shares her personal experience making the short documentary film, telling us that how hard it was for her to ask such difficult questions.

"Cautiva," Gastón Biraben

By Laura Cossette

The film Cautiva tells the story of an adolescent girl who learns that she is the daughter of desaparecidos. The film begins with her life before she discovers her true background, showing that she is very happy with, what she believes to be, her family. An interesting bit of foreshadowing is the disturbance that occurs in one of Cristina’s classes towards the beginning of the film. During a history lesson, a fellow classmate has an outburst in which she tells of what really happened during the Dirty War; she speaks of all the people who disappeared. She does this because she is, in fact, the daughter of desaparecidos. The story progresses and we see that Cristina does have a rebellious side, she is seen smoking cigarettes in the bathroom, but overall she gets along perfectly with her family and seems to have a desirable life. However, her world is flipped upside down when she is told by a judge that she is the daughter of a man and a woman who are desaparecidos. She is subsequently taken from the home where she was living, and she lives with her biological grandmother.

At first, Cristina refuses to accept the circumstances she is put in and still wants to live with her appropriators. She is clearly angry and confused and does not want to lead the life of Sofia Lombardi, which she is told is her birth name. However, with the help of her friend Angelica, her former classmate, who is also the daughter of a desaperecido, she gradually begins piecing her life together. Although the transition is rough, Cristina slowly begins to adjust to her new life. She meets many members of her biological family, and eventually forms a very strong bond with her grandmother. She reaches a point where she accepts the life of Sofia Lombardi and rejects the life she used to live as Cristina.

The most striking thing about Cautiva to many of the members of our Learning Cluster was its irrefutable resemblance to the life of Victoria Donda. After having read Donda’s book, My Name is Victoria, we all saw many things in common between the two stories, however, there is no reference to Donda’s book or her, so as of now it is simply a theory we have. Overall, it was a very powerful movie that offered a much more tangible insight into the life and experiences of an appropriated child. The visual representations of Cristina/Sofia’s emotional struggles made the experience more real and relatable. Cautiva is a very valuable film in understanding the history of Argentina and the battle that appropriated children face once they learn about their true roots and have to face Argentina’s bloody history firsthand.

La Historia Política del Nunca Mas – Emilio Crenzel

by María Valdovinos

Nunca Mas (Never Again) is a report about disappearances in Argentina written by Ernesto Sabato and a committee of notables and published by CONADEP (Sep 20, 1984). Its goal was to clarify the events that happened in the country during the military dictatorship from March 23, 1976 to December 10, 1983. The mission of Nunca Mas was to collect all sources that can possibly serve as proof of the incredible atrocities committed during the dictatorship. The sources collected vary from documents to demands from families or friends given to the police about the disappearances, abductions and torture; all used for the same purpose, to generate reports that would inform people. This is one of the most important forms of documentation because it officially illustrated the gravity of the crimes committed by the dictatorship. As expected, it opened the eyes of many Argentines who had ignored or did not know what was taking place. Emilio Crenzel presents to readers what Nunca Mas is, describing the importance of every section.

La Historia Politica del Nunca Mas by Crenzel is an informative text that describes the purpose of every section of the CONADEP report. It legitimizes the obvious culpability of the “Fuerzas Armadas” and also describes the clandestine acts that were not yet public or recognized. He declares, “The report emphasizes the complicity of the judiciary in covering up the disappearances and the constitution of defenseless citizens (107).”Crenzel, brings out the usual question asked after such events: How can we prevent this from happening again? And answers: “Retomando su periodización institucional de la violencia, postulando la democracia política como solución (Sabato, 186).” Throughout the text we can see that Crenzel supports the report; he says that Nunca Mas was completed to bring some justice to those whose human rights were violated. Crenzel clearly describes each section’s effectiveness. For instance, seeing and describing the clandestine centers provided a vast amount of information, such as the number of people who were held there, the amount of time they were detained, and the intensity of the torture (115). Also, most importantly, the testimonies are shown in a declarative way with voices so people have no doubt on the severity of the cruelty (121). Each piece is extremely important and when, together as one in a book or report, it represents its’ credibility.

Presentation by Leticia Guindi, Teacher at the Nicolás Avellaneda High School

By Maria Valdovinos and Claudia Ahumada

As a group, we had the opportunity to interview Leticia Guindi through video conferencing. Leticia Guindi is a history professor currently teaching at a high school located in Palermo, Buenos Aires, called Nicolas Avellaneda. Guindi particularly identifies herself with history because, as a college student, she lived Argentina’s transition from dictatorship to democracy. She explained: “Me di cuenta que había nombres que estaban muy guardados en el fondo de mi memoria, que eran las situaciones que habían ocurrido en mi infancia antes del inicio de la dictadura y cuando esos nombre vuelven a surgir, me doy cuenta de lo que había sido la censura y el hecho de tomar conciencia de que me habían robado mi memoria histórica.” The transition towards democracy brought with it the first widely available public evidence of state sponsored terrorism. While state sponsored terrorism been never been fully concealed in the past, many of those who suspected its existence had lacked any legitimate proof.

Soon after her graduation, Guindi was given the opportunity to work at Nicolás Avellaneda high school, which was significantly affected by the dictatorship. The Avellaneda school suffered the disappearances of some of its students who protested against the dictatorship. To Guindi, this job was a gift since the school’s values coincide with those of her own, in regards to the importance of memory and history. Only two years ago Guindi and a friend decided to organize a workshop in which students would learn about human rights, memory, and history. This “Memory workshop” emerged after noticing that the school did not have an actual list documenting the names of the disappeared students. The workshop takes place after school, is voluntarily without a prerequisite and is free of charge. Some of the topics learned in this workshop are: History overview of Argentina and its connection with other countries. What is state terrorism? Why high school and university students were targeted? What was the dictatorship’s goal?

Photo by Norito Hagino

Guindi explains that usually the workshops begin with about 20 students. Some of them join because they are interested in making videos and films and later decide to stay. The workshops require full commitment and a high level of responsibility in completing the assigned tasks. Despite the difficulty of conducting a project that involves such sensitive topics like disappearance, torture and death, the students were able, most of the time, to control their emotions and were determined to complete the documentary. The students felt accomplished after their outstanding work was completed. Their parents are pleased to hear about their children's involvement in such honorable cause and are happy to see the outcome of their child’s hard work. As a whole, the main goal of the workshop is to “Hacer memoria” (make memory). Towards the end of our dialogue with Leticia Guindi, she emphasized one more time the importance of always looking back at the past: “Nuestra curiosidad se dirige al pasado pero nunca perdiendo de vista el presente.”

Photo by Norito Hagino

Conversation with Pablo Piedras and Javier Campos

By Jacob Edelstein

Towards the end of our trip to Argentina, the Learning Cluster group met (via Skype and in person, respectively) with Javier Campo and Pablo Piedras, to speak about the role of documentary cinema in Argentine history and memory preservation. Pablo and Javier are each separately involved in research on human rights and crimes of the dictatorship, and together they are the editors of the online magazine Revista Cine Documental: http://www.revista.cinedocumental.com.ar/

Our conversation began on Skype with an overview of the work Javier Campo has done recently. He spoke about his book, Cine Documental, Memoria y Derechos Humanos, and about the importance of human rights research. Along with Pablo, he feels that every Argentinean has in some way been affected by the dictatorship and its crimes against humanity. Pablo shared personal anecdotes about his own father that further illustrated this point. Through our conversation, it became abundantly clear that the dictatorship’s crimes shocked Argentinean society to its very core.

Pablo Piedras, Photo by Norito Hagino

According to what Javier and Pablo explained are popular schools of thought on the topic, the history of Argentine documentary film about the dictatorship from the last three decades can be divided into three general stages. Pablo explained that the documentary cinema coming out of the dictatorship in Argentina responds directly to the socio-political atmosphere of the time. Each of the films sees events from a different point of view, driven by a different film maker, in a different context. In this way, documentary cinema speaks for the people that created it and about the decade it was produced in.

The first of these three classifications categorizes film that was produced during and shortly after the dictatorship. During those years, military juntas took control of a large portion of Argentine broadcast media and greatly obscured public knowledge of their activities. Using this influence, members of the juntas produced films designed to shed the government and its anti-subversion resistance in a positive light. Though the images in these films are rarely seen, their narratives are biased. The cinema created by and for the Juntas portrays the Argentine struggle as though it was a war, the Juntas against subversion. Truthfully, it is hard to know whether or not this was the case. After the Malvinas War, the military government of the Juntas crumbled, clearing the way for democratization in Argentina. The transition process was not a clean one. In their fall, amidst audits and trials for the crimes against humanity committed, the Juntas did their best to destroy all compromising images that could lead their prosecutors to victory.

Years later, as documentary filmmakers attempted to compile material for documentaries about the dictatorship they encountered a very serious lack of images in the wake of this censorship. This lack of archival images about the dictatorship leads us to the second defined era of Argentine documentary cinema. Films produced during this second batch of documentaries rely heavily on the direct survivor testimony to describe state terrorism. In the absence of material with which to show the viewer a story, these documentaries generally allow a heavy handed testimony to lead the audience rather than presenting information objectively. Films during this period, such as Juan Como Si Nada Hubiera Sucedido, took on issues from an entirely different perspective than those produced directly by the dictatorship, but because of small private production and no distribution, few people saw them.

Photo by Norito Hagino

Javier and Pablo continuously stressed how new information is constantly being presented and reinterpreted within the context of human rights research and memory preservation. Documentary cinema in the third and most recent era of Argentine film acts very much in the same way. With the start of the new millennium children of desaparecidos began to document their parent’s stories in a much more personal way. For the first time images from personal family archives appeared and gave these stories an entirely new and much more compelling personal feeling. The documentaries produced by the children of state terror victims began to ask hard questions about the motivation that drove their parent’s political activism. Most children agreed with the ideology, but question why their parents preferred militarism over safe family life.

At this point many of the films being made are investigations. Personal family archives are used to piece together shattered stories that the military Juntas left behind and unlike previous filmmakers, sons and daughters rarely create rounded stories with all questions answered. These films work to preserve memory in contemporary life so that in the future tragedies like that of the desaparecidos never are allowed to happen again. Nunca mas.

Presentation by Argentine economist Alexis Dritsos

By Nandini Puri

In order for us to gain a thorough and well-rounded understanding of the last dictatorship in Argentina and its domino effect on human rights, it was crucial for our Learning Cluster to understand and familiarize ourselves with the dynamics of the Argentine economy. Speaking with economist Alexis Dritsos about the financial system was a revelation for me as it helped me understand the correlation between human rights and the economy. He gave us a systematic overview of the fiscal market since the time of the Spanish colonial times to present day Argentina. Oscillating between an oligarchy (when the wealthy elite, who comprise a small minority of the population, primarily hold the political power) to the emergence of a middle class after the turn of the Twentieth Century where the idea of neutrality of globe issues (inspired by Gandhi’s theory of not involving one’s country in world problems) was followed. We were also introduced to the political ideas of Peronism, the period of hyperinflation, and the phase during which the peso equaled the dollar. Insight into this was the fundamental basis for understanding the military coup d’état and the economic crisis that followed.

Alexis Dritsos, Photo by Norito Hagino

Perón was responsible for introducing the concept of a mixed economy in Argentina and nationalizing the railroads. However, during the time of Alfonsin’s presidency, the Argentine economy went through a period of hyperinflation, leaving Argentina in a huge debt with a chronic deficit and most human rights violations, which occurred during the dictatorship, were unresolved. When Menem took over in 1989, all private debt was nationalized and he pegged the Peso to the US Dollar. What made Menem thoroughly unpopular with the working class is that he gave amnesty to everyone guilty of human rights violations during the dictatorship. Moreover, he left Argentina in a lurch with a huge debt, unemployment, and recession. Following that, Néstor Kirchner announced the cancellation of Argentina's debt to the IMF in full and offered a single payment, which was met with controversy.

To wrap up our session, Alexis Dritsos asked us to write a summary on how we could relate the topic of our learning cluster to the economic crisis. Initially, all of us were a little confused and did not know how to link human rights to something as technical as the economy. However, we soon realized that there is no way for a country to have sustainable economic growth without respecting the basic human rights of their citizens. There might be a point in every country’s history where there was rapid monetary growth but that was stunted by the fact the wellbeing of the people was overlooked.

Documental producido por el Taller de la Memoria, Colegio Nicolás Avellaneda

Los lápices eran de colores

By Miho Saito

The students of Nacional Nicolás Avellaneda created a documentary based on the theme of their workshop: Memory. Their story is dedicated to the alumni of their high school who have disappeared during the military dictatorship and for the next coming generation of youth who are fighting for their rights.

The documentary begins with the making of flagstones that were placed on the sidewalk in front of the high school to commemorate the disappeared students. The scene, then transitions to testimonies given by those who were affected by the disappearances of their loved ones- a man who was politically active during the height of the military regime, a mother and a sister of a desaparecido. From the testimonies of the past, the film takes the viewers to the here and now, linking the struggles of Argentina’s rich history to the struggles of the youth in the political scene today.

The sister of a desaparecido describes how she understands and doesn’t blame today's youth for not being as politically involved because of the fear that still exists: “No porque a los jóvenes no les interesa sino porque la historia vivida nos ha arrasado e hizo que todos perdamos interes o que tengamos mucho miedo de volver a comprometermos.” However, she believes that if youth want change, they need to do something about it: “Los aliento a que sigan en ese camino, en el camino de la lucha, hacerse valer, yo creo que esa es la única forma.”

This documentary symbolizes the importance of transmitting memory. Just as memories of our own unique past are always present with us, the memory of Argentina’s heavy history is still an influential force in the country today. We learn from our past: The history of Argentina tells youth to continue fighting for their rights and to carry on what their brothers and sisters of the generation before had started. In the last scenes of the film, a student says in her speech: “misión de callar el silencio.” It is the youth’s mission to silence the silence that surrounded the crimes against those that were disappeared.

As young people today, our responsibility is to continue coloring our history with bright colors so the dark shades of the past remain in the past…

Los lapices ~~eran~~ somos de colores y seguiremos escribiendo

Photo Essay

By Jacob Edelstein

35 degrees Celsius surrounded humidity you can chew, Argentina was really hot. Choripán, sausage that you better not call a greasy sausage for fear of offending the institution of Choripán, the food in Buenos Aires is world class. And so much color, I have never been to a city that is more colorful than the capital city of Argentina, Buenos Aires.

As I reach back into my visceral memory, I find that this trip to Argentina has stored the smells and sounds and culture of a country whose people define its existence. We met with leaders and philanthropists, teachers and filmmakers, students and people trying to answer the questions that have plagued Argentina’s struggle with corruption since the word go. What these individuals had to say was insightful but, as I walked through the city, nearly 30 blocks a day, I learned just as much from the walls.

The street art culture is prevailing and vibrant in the capital. From massive full structure murals to spray painted phrases on the corner, the paint and the people use their infrastructure as canvases from which to speak. These works of skill and thought give all those who can see a window into a subculture, and a slice of the truth on the unabashed minds of a few Argentine people. Following are eleven of the most powerful examples of this consciousness I encountered. Street artists like NOS claiming their city with pictures, the political comic book character El Eternauta painted under a street sign, a plea to remember the victims of state terrorism Nunca Mas, and beautiful pictures whose real meaning we may not ever know. Buenos Aires is stunning its history lives on its walls. Please Enjoy.

Photo Essay

By Malahat Zhobin

El Jagüel de María

Text and photos by Norito Hagino

Our group had the opportunity to visit the El jagüel de María foster home. Established by the sisters Estela and Susana Sosa in 1999, the foster home has welcomed and accommodated over 300 children between age 3 and 18 to this day. Some stay at the home for a few days before being taken to their adoptive parents, while some stay there until the day he or she turns 18 years old.

At the time we visited, there were 17 children living at the foster home. The “aunts,” the volunteers, and the collaborators do not only provide the children material needs such as a bed, food, and clothes, but emotional and spiritual care in order to protect them from possible violation of their rights in critical family situations.

The learning cluster had the opportunity to talk and interact with the aunts of the home, the children who are living there, and a youth who lived there until the age of 18. Many of those who have lived in this foster home come back to visit their aunts, brothers, and sisters. We really felt that all the people there were like one big family, sharing much care and love, even though they are not blood relations.

Children come to the foster home for various reasons, some of them being domestic violence, malnutrition at home, and being withheld by the courts. The aunts told us that many choose to stay in the foster home because they have things like food every day, a comfortable bed, and a private bathroom inside the house. The aunts feel sad that the children do not want to go back to their homes, which would be the optimal end result for the children if their home life were suitable.

One episode that one of the aunts told us was about a brother and a sister: Juan and María José. Both of them came into the foster home together and had the opportunity to be taken by adoptive parents, but the younger brother Juan decided to stay in the foster home. The older sister, María José, is now living with an adoptive family, going to a private high school. She is aiming to become a lawyer and make money so that she can protect and take care of her young brother. Children who come to the foster home face problems such as poor-education and finance, problems which are of great concern to the aunts.

One of the biggest goals in the foster care is to prepare the children so that they live and take care of themselves when they turn 18 and leave the foster care. In order to achieve this, workshops by psychologists and psychiatrists are held to provide spiritual support for the students, and workshops of baking, art, and craft are held to help the children obtain working skills.

For more information about El jagüel de María, please visit their website:
http://www.eljagueldemaria.com.ar/

This video was put together for the children of El jagüel de María and it contains photos of them with their Christmas presents.

Having Children: Philosophical and Legal Reflections on Parenthood, Onora O’Neill and William Ruddick

By Nandini Puri

This reading is an excerpt from a book of collected essays that focus on parental authority over a child and the first part, written by John Locke disputes the view presented by Robert Filmer’s Patriarcha, in which the role of the father within a household is described as being a kingly authority; something that is absolute and unquestionable. In the first part of the reading, Locke wrote that the mother of a child has as much hold or authority over her offspring as the father. The mother takes equal responsibility over the upbringing of the child as the father, but only because in most situations the father is the breadwinner, he is accountable for the education and providing for the basic well-being of the child. Locke compares the modern day parents to Adam and Eve, stating similarities between the two. By this, he is trying to explain to the reader that God has made man and woman equal and expects both partners to share equal responsibility while looking after a child. In the second section of the essay, Locke points out that ‘on the other side, honor and support, all that which Gratitude requires to return for the Benefits received by and from them is the indispensible Duty of the Child and the proper Privilege of the Parent’. Implying that children are only under the control or influence of their parents for a certain amount of time and after that they don't need not obey their parents out of force but because they respect and honor them.

In ‘Growing up and Apart’, it tells us how the maturity of a child into adolescent is determined by the physical age. More times than not, children are restricted to various activities only because of their age and in some cases ‘the liberties older children acquire have often more to do with the trappings than with the substance of independent adult life’. In the eyes of the law, every individual is a minor under the age of 18 (most countries) and tried accordingly in court when faced with charges. However this is today, Philippe Aries wrote that ‘adolescent was bypassed by nearly everyone before the nineteenth century; work began before physical maturation for most people’, which shows that age is merely a social contruct. Futhermore, Henley wrote about education and liberty in the life of a child and how the family and the community are responsible for ‘socialzing’ the individual so he or she can later grow on to be a productive part of society. He uses the example of Adam and the only reason he was not sent into formal education is because he was born ‘perfect and socialized’, however none of us are born that way and depend on factors around us (primarily the family) to teach us the various norms and values of society. there are five reasons why an individual is educated: satisfying the child, satisfying the parent, satifying society, protecting the liberty of the child, and protecting the liberty of the parent.

It is important to look at the fact that even though children should be allowed various rights, they are denied those rights on the basis that if given too much freedom, a child will most likely harm themselves because ‘they cannot be a judge of what is good for themselves or that they are not mentally mature enough to make life changing decisions’. Overall, the eternal question of whether children should be allowed the same rights as adults remains unanswered, there are blatand examples of when children must be controlled for example in imposing a legal drinking age or an age to drive automobiles. But what about the circumstances where a child needs to decide where to live? Or legally sue an adult for mistreatment? These are ambiguous questions that need to addressed.

I feel that this reading is essential for understanding the topic of our learning cluster thoroughly. This text examines all the arguments that are made for and against letting children have the same legal rights as an adult in the court of law. There is always a thin line dividing people who view and treat children as adults and those who do not. After examining this text, I can see that both sides do infact have extremely valid points and in the end it depends on the individual case of the child. For example, after a child was discovered by the Grandmothers of Plazo De Mayo as an appropiated child, the child could decide for themselves if they want to stick to their old identity or be known as what their birth parents wanted them to be known as.