Time to take another trip back in time and learn about more badass Latin American women who have left their mark in history. Third on our "MUJERES BACANAS" series son Las Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo.
3.Las Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo
During Argentina’s “Guerra Sucia” the disappearance of children became increasingly common. During this time period many children were kidnapped or illegally adopted. Many children born in detention centers during the military era were illegally passed through the adoption system with a hidden identity after their mothers had “disappeared”. Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo is a human rights organization founded by all women in 1977. The organization was created to locate the missing children during the repression and return them to their biological families. The disappearance of children was part of a systematic government plan to pass the children for adoption by military families and allies, to avoid another generation of rebels.
The Grandmothers fought through the court systems to revoke the unlawful adoptions. However, by the mid 1990s legal battles of custody were no longer valid because the missing grandchildren were now legal adults. Their organization transformed into a commercial campaign which raised speculations amongst groups of people who would have never questioned their family to begin with. Compared to other child-trafficking cases, many of the children didn’t even know that they were adopted in the first place. Besides raising awareness, the organization’s purpose was to direct the missing grandchildren to contact the organization. With the assistance of scientist Mary-Claire King, the grandmothers were able to locate over ten percent of the missing children by 1998.
On September 14th, 2011, Las Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo received the Felix Houphouet-Boigny Peace Prize for their defense of human rights. Las Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo’s continuous investigation is an accurate representation of the unconditional love a mother can possess. The grandmother’s search is still on going in hopes of one day finding their loved ones.
When I first learned about Las Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo, I was both heartbroken and left in awe. "La Guerra Sucia" is just another example of hidden history where many civilians unknowingly played a part in an inhuman atrocity simply by being uninformed and failing to search for the truth. Many times we look for a hero, a leader to guide us towards justice and victory. Las Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo are clear examples that a leader exists within everyone, including ourselves. Our only responsibility is to recognize our own power. Once realized, the entire world lies within the palms of our own hands. When guided by feelings of righteousness and a deep set love, nothing is impossible.