Argentine Grandmothers Search for Children Kidnapped During Argentina's Dirty War
The nation's grandmothers have banded together in search of their grandchildren who were stolen during Argentina's Dirty War with some success stories already emerging.
Grandmothers (Abuelas) of the Plaza de Mayo is a group that formed to locate about 500 babies of thousands seized in military cells during the war that lasted from 1976-1983, according to The Telegraph.
After finding more than 100 of the babies so far, the leader of the group, Estela de Carlotto, 83, found her own grandson, Guido.
"Thanks to everyone, Thanks to God, Thanks to life because I didn't want to die without embracing him and soon I will be able to," she said.
Her daughter gave birth to her grandson when she was one of 30,000 imprisoned, tortured and killed during the military rule at the time. Because the Argentine military did not murder pregnant women, de Carlotto's daughter was allowed to give birth in prison before she died -- or was murdered -- two days later, according to BBC.
The Grandmothers group was initially called the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, but once the women learned it was likely their own children were dead, and that the women had given birth, they became the Grandmothers.
The group has been in existence since the start of the dictatorship, in 1977, and the women have been searching for their families since, according to their website.
"As mothers our search is two-folded because we are demanding the restitution of our grandchildren while simultaneously searching for these children's parents, our sons and daughters. From the moment that our children (often with our grandchildren in their wombs) disappeared, we visited every court, office, orphanage, day care center, and so on, to locate them," the website said.
A federal judge, Maria Servini de Cubria, who has dealt with several of the group's cases, was the one to deliver the confirmation of the DNA match to de Carlotto.
"When it was known that he could be Estela's grandson, we worked all weekend and the Genetics Database did an excellent job," he told Del Plata radio, according to The Telegraph.
"I have located several children, but this is the biggest thrill. I always told Estela: I am going to find your grandson."
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