Article May 13, 2002 Issue

'The Mothers of Plaza de Mayo'

By Patricia Del Castillo

The power of a mother's love. Never could it be more profoundly evident than when a mother's child is murdered. Hebe (pronounced Ay-beh) de Bonafini experienced this unthinkable event three times when two of her sons and her daughter-in-law were killed during Argentina's so-called "Dirty War" in the 1970s (see p. 19). As thousands of civilians "disappeared" during this tumultuous period, the mothers of the disappeared formed a protest group—the Association of the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo. Every Thursday since 1977, they have demonstrated peacefully against the government and in memory of their murdered children. These demonstrations take place in downtown Buenos Aires in front of the Casa Rosada ("Pink House"), the government offices. This has at times been at the risk of the mothers' own lives.

Hebe, a well-known political activist and controversial figure throughout Argentina, is the current president of the association. As the 25th anniversary of the association's founding approaches, Hebe talked with Patricia del Castillo of the Spanish edition of The Herald of Christian Science. Hebe talked simply, and from the heart, about her inner struggles—mother-to-mother.

Hebe, I'm a mother, and I can't imagine what your life has been like. What has kept you so firm in this movement?

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THE 'DIRTY WAR'
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