Uruguayan activist against 'dirty war' dies at 92

[Judi Lynn]

Uruguayan activist against 'dirty war' dies at 92
The Associated Press
Sunday, December 5, 2010; 6:12 PM

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay -- Maria Esther Gatti de Islas, a human rights activist who helped found Uruguay's organization of relatives of people who disappeared during South America's "dirty wars," died Sunday at age 92, her group said.

A photograph of the eyes of her missing 18-month-old granddaughter became a symbol of the struggle of Uruguayan families to find out what happened to their loved ones who were taken away by a military dictatorship. The girl was taken at the same time Gatti's leftist activist daughter, Maria Emilia Islas, and son-in-law Jorge Zaffaroni were abducted in 1976 in Argentina as part of a crackdown coordinated by the dictatorships then ruling the nations of southern South America.

Gatti became a militant in denouncing political disappearances. Working with an Argentine activist group, the Organization of the Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo, Gatti helped start the Uruguayan Association of Relatives of the Disappeared.

After a long investigation following the restoration of democracy, Gatti's granddaughter, Mariana Zaffaroni, was found in 1992 living with a family of a former official of Argentina's repressive regime. Her identity was restored and her kidnappers were punished.

More:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/05/AR2010120503343.html

[Judi Lynn]

1. I found a photo of this lady and her granddaughter to post:

http://cache.daylife.com.nyud.net:8090/imageserve/0eIk1tzfFqdOT/610x.jpg

AP Photo 13 months ago

Mariana Zaffaroni Islas, front left, stands next to her grandmother Maria Esther Gatti de Islas, while holding a sign with the picture of her mother during a demonstration against the 1986 law which prevents members of the military to be judged for crimes committed during Uruguay's 1973-1984 dictatorship in Montevideo, Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2009. Zaffaroni was given to an Argentine military officer as a newborn after being kidnapped in Buenos Aires and her Uruguayan parents killed. Next Oct. 25 during the country's general elections, Uruguayans will also vote whether to abolish or not the 1986 law.

http://coordinadoracerrolargo.files.wordpress.com.nyud.net:8090/2009/10/mariana.jpg

http://media.ladiaria.com.nyud.net:8090/photologue/photos/cache/tapa_200100322jc_fullscreen.jpg

With her granddaughter, and greatgranddaughter.