Help Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo in their search

Thanks to the ongoing support and valuable contributions that we are fortunate to receive from you every month, the work of Abuelas continues to grow. In the past few months, we have had the joy of announcing the restitution of identity of a grandson and a granddaughter, both victims of enforced disappearance during the dictatorship. One of which is the son of Juan Carlos Villamayor and Marta Pourtalé, and the other, the daughter of Daniel Inama and Norma Beatriz Macedo. In both cases, they were able to reunite with their siblings, who never stopped looking for them.

In March, as a prelude to the mobilizations commemorating 49 years since the civil-military coup, we launched the campaign "La Memoria en Marcha Se Multiplica" (“Spreading the Movement of Memory”), together with H.I.J.O.S. and CELS. Across the country and in cities around the world, schools, clubs, institutions, unions, and families created paper figurines to symbolically and physically build a collective that embraces the struggle for memory, standing against the rise of fascism and denialism.

In this spirit, we also held a paper figurine-making workshop during the Human Rights Book Fair at the former ESMA, now Espacio Memoria, where the infamous clandestine detention center once operated. That day, we also presented five books and a magazine, together with their authors.

Shortly after, we joined the massive march to Plaza de Mayo, united with other human rights organizations and social and labor movements. There, we spoke with demonstrators about the setbacks in human rights to encourage their involvement in the search, and we distributed the monthly bulletin, which we were able to print.

At Abuelas, we continue working on education-related efforts: in March, we launched a new edition of the course “Las Abuelas y el derecho a la identidad”, with more than 500 participants from municipalities in Buenos Aires with which we have been collaborating. Our transmission of history also continues through guided tours for schools and the general public at the Casa por la Identidad (House for Identity) at the former ESMA and at the former 5th Police Station in La Plata (ex Comisaría 5ta).

Additionally, in partnership with the Banco Provincia Museum, we curated and opened the exhibition “La inventiva de Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo. Objetos y documentos que construyen su historia” (The inventiveness of the Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo: Objects and Documents that tell their story), which is already being visited by hundreds of primary school students.

Each restitution is the institution’s greatest reward, and it is only possible thanks to society’s continued support, as people all over the world keep providing information and financial aid to sustain our daily work.

To date, 139 cases have been resolved, but nearly 300 grandchildren are still missing. We know we can count on your help to find them.

Links:

• Welcome granddaughter 139!
• We end the year with the joy of a new reunion
• Speech: 49 Years Since the Genocidal Coup