Association of the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo In 1976, a civil war broke out in Argentina. In this so-called “Dirty War” period, military government took many lives and made many violations of human rights. Warring sides were the left wing supporters of reform and the Argentine Army backed by the right wing. The ultimate goal of the Dirty War was to force people to preserve a conservative national identity and patriarchal ideology. The war lasted until 1983 (Koepsel Rachel 2).
During the years of military regime, citizens of Argentina were terrified of attracting the government's attention. Any king of opposition was not tolerated and those opposing the government were made to go away (Kurtz 2).
In 1976, more than 30000 people disappeared. Some estimators claim that number of disappeared was 45000. The vast majority of disappeared persons were young people between the ages of 20 to 25. In response to the disappearances in 1977, mothers in Buenos Aires were able to mobilize together to demand the truth about their children. The mothers of the disappeared created the organization - Association of the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo (“Asociación Madres de Plaza de Mayo”) and …show more content…
Once every week they gathered for weekly demonstrations. They marched in public together, and even attracted some press. They made signs with photos of their children and names. The government tried to marginalize and trivialize their work by calling them “the mad women” (“las locas”). As the movement grew and gathered international attention and widespread sympathy, the military government felt threatened and by the end of the 1977, fourteen of the mothers themselves were “disappeared”. Their disappearance attracted international attention, and request for a United Nations investigation of human rights abuses. The Argentine government denied all responsibility for them (Kurtz
During the years of military regime, citizens of Argentina were terrified of attracting the government's attention. Any king of opposition was not tolerated and those opposing the government were made to go away (Kurtz 2).
In 1976, more than 30000 people disappeared. Some estimators claim that number of disappeared was 45000. The vast majority of disappeared persons were young people between the ages of 20 to 25. In response to the disappearances in 1977, mothers in Buenos Aires were able to mobilize together to demand the truth about their children. The mothers of the disappeared created the organization - Association of the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo (“Asociación Madres de Plaza de Mayo”) and …show more content…
Once every week they gathered for weekly demonstrations. They marched in public together, and even attracted some press. They made signs with photos of their children and names. The government tried to marginalize and trivialize their work by calling them “the mad women” (“las locas”). As the movement grew and gathered international attention and widespread sympathy, the military government felt threatened and by the end of the 1977, fourteen of the mothers themselves were “disappeared”. Their disappearance attracted international attention, and request for a United Nations investigation of human rights abuses. The Argentine government denied all responsibility for them (Kurtz