Argentine town faces ghosts of its Dirty War
Argentine town faces ghosts of its Dirty War
By ALMUDENA CALATRAVA, Associated Press
| October 19, 2014 | Updated: October 19, 2014 11:23pm
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This Oct. 6, 2014 photo, shows a monument reading "Justice, Truth and Memory, here was the
clandestine detention center Monet Peloni" in front of a road heading Olavarria city, Argentina. After
almost 31 years of the return to democracy, this city of around 90,000 inhabitants, rediscovers its past
with the first trial judging human rights violations committed in Monte Peloni, a clandestine detention
center in the outskirts of the city.
Photo: Natacha Pisarenko, AP / AP
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OLAVARRIA, Argentina (AP) — Shade trees hide the crumbling farm house outside of Olavarria. Hidden at the end of a dirt path, the white plaster coating is falling away from the brick foundation like scabs peeling off an unhealed wound.
Araceli Gutierrez guards the memories of this place like a fragile keepsake. A voluntary caretaker, the 61-year-old with faded blonde curls watches over the house known as Monte Peloni where, as a young woman, she was tortured and raped by her military captors.
"This is a faithful reflection of the memory," she says, walking through the decaying rooms, her expression lost in time. "If it collapsed, it would be as if the most important part of my life were to collapse."
The events that took place in 1977 now are coming to light, forcing residents of this pastoral community to examine their role in Argentina's Dirty War against those who challenged the military regime. One secret unearthed this summer already cracked Olavarria's facade of quiet rural life.
In August, residents learned an Olavarria music teacher named Ignacio Hurban was, in fact, Guido Montoya Carlotto, the lost grandson of Estela de Carlotta, whose Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo group searches for children taken by the regime.
Now, Olavarria is learning about the secrets of Monte Peloni. Gutierrez is among the witnesses testifying before a judicial panel investigating the detentions of 21 people taken there by military officials.
More:
http://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Argentine-town-faces-ghosts-of-its-Dirty-War-5833842.php#photo-7023138