Rome, 17 April. (beraking latest news) – “Today, some of the policies of ‘Memory, truth and justice’ are in danger. The speeches of hatred and denial, in many cases uttered by members of the governments of the day, seek to delegitimize our struggle”. This was said by Estela de Carlotto, president of the association of the Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo (Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo), an association created to search for children who disappeared in Argentina during the darkest years of the dictatorship between 1976 and 1983. Tomorrow , Thursday 18 April 2024, will be received in a special audience by Pope Francis.
Several times nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, during her lectio magistralis for the awarding of an honorary degree in educational language and literature and translation at the Roma Tre University, Estela de Carlotto explained: “One of the happiest days of my life was August 5, 2014, when I had the immense fortune of finding my nephew again. He is a musician, like his father, and in his heart the flame of my daughter Laura burns. His appearance was wonderful, like that of every nephew who was able to recover his identity. Currently, we have found 137 grandchildren,” explained Estela de Carlotto.
“The civic-military dictatorship that usurped power in Argentina between 1976 and 1983 kidnapped and disappeared thousands of people, including ours and our nieces. We started to come together, first as Madres of Plaza de Mayo, then as Abuelas of Plaza de Mayo, and we realized that, together, we could make ourselves heard. And so, our personal drama has been converted, over the years, into a public and collective struggle – were his words – In my case, it all started when, thanks to the testimony of a survivor, I learned that my daughter had gave birth to a child during her captivity: my nephew. The first time I went to Plaza de Mayo I was shaking like a leaf. There were many soldiers, horses, rifles.”
Estela de Carlotto also indicates the results achieved: “In the United States, a group of scientists – moved by our struggle – worked for two years to arrive at what is known as the ‘grandfathering index’. And soon after, in Argentina, we managed to create the National Genetic Data Bank. A unique bank in the world that collects and preserves the genetic profiles of the families of the nephews and nieces we are looking for and those of people who doubt their identity, in order to cross-reference them.”
Estela de Carlotto concludes: “We have also facilitated progress in the legislative field, such as the inclusion of articles 7, 8 and 11 in the International Convention on the Rights of the Child. In 1992, the National Commission for the Right to Identity was established, a public policy unique in the world which has the task of protecting the right to identity of girls and boys”.