Buenos Aires/Prensa Latina
The Argentine association Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo celebrated on Wednesday the reception by its president, Estela de Carlotto, of the Honoris Causa Doctorate from the Roma Tres University, in Italy.
According to that organization, this distinction recognizes the fight for human rights, identity, and the cultural and artistic work promoted by women who are still searching for their children and grandchildren who disappeared and were taken away during the last civil-military dictatorship in this country ( 1976-1983).
The first time I went to the Plaza de Mayo I was shaking like a leaf. There were so many soldiers, horses, rifles, but my companions kept walking and told me: Don’t be afraid, we are together, De Carlotto recalled during his speech at the European nation’s house of higher education.
We met in secret because the repression was fierce. The passing of the years convinced us that our grandchildren would not be returned to us and that our claim should be sustained over time, until the last one was found. So, we left our routines to go out to claim inside and outside Argentina, he added.
Likewise, he highlighted international solidarity, the first restitutions, the formulation of a scientific identification method, the creation of a Genetic Data Bank and the National Commission for the Right to Identity.
Today, some of the Memory, Truth and Justice policies are in danger. Hate speeches and denialism, in many cases uttered by members of the current government, attempt to delegitimize our struggle, he warned.
However, he pointed out that the Argentine people know their history and on March 24, when 48 years passed since the military coup that began the regime, they took to the streets to reaffirm their commitment to the Never Again slogan.
We reiterate our conviction that the only way is collective struggle, with love and perseverance. So far we have found 137 grandchildren. We are still looking for about 300 people who live with a violated identity, he stated.
We will continue fighting to defend democracy and working until we find them, he asserted.
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