El Museo de memoria

As part of the Spanish courses here at Elebaires, activities run throughout the week allowing the students to see the city and explore the culture whilst practicing Spanish and learning about the rich history of Argentina. Recently we went on a special trip to the the memorial museam, it was a thought-provoking, informative but also extremely sad and sensitive outing.

In 1976 to 1983 Argentina was governed by military forces who operated a regime and punished those who thought differently kidnapping and killing the majority.  The regime was brutal and saw 30,000 civilians disappear leaving society questioning there whereabouts.  It was a dark and sad time in Argentina’s recent history which greatly effects the nation.  We went to the museum and learnt about the regime, the victims and the response to the tragedy.

The Escuela de Mecánica de la Armada (ESMA) was a military training base in Buenos Aires but during the regime it was not only used as a military school but functioned as a clandestine centre for torture and interrogation.  The memory museum is inside the original ESMA centre which provided a context for the information and allowed us to comprehend the sincerity and tragedy that occurred. The severe conditions and routines that the captured endured was extremely saddening.

The mothers of the disappeared were left without answers and in protest marched around the Plaza de Mayo demanding answers from the military government.  The symbolism of the hood (la capucha) which was worn by the mothers of the desaparecidos can be found in Plaza de Mayo in the form of a sculpture, this serves to remind of tragedy that occurred. Las ‘las madres de los desaparecidos’ still walk today to in search for answers of what actually happened to their loved ones who disappeared under the authoritarian military rule.  The military government lost power and support over the years eventually Argentina returned back into the hands of civilian politicians with democratic a structure ruling.

This dark time in the recent socio-political history of Argentina known as ‘The dirty War’ must not be forgotten and must be treated with the respect that the desaparecidos deserve.  The trip was greatly appreciated by all the students and was important to understand more of Argentinas culture and history.