A Woman of Valor
APRIL 9, 2019
by CESAR CHELALA
During Argentina’s “Dirty War” (1976-1983), thousands of opponents to the military rulers were killed or “made to disappear,” a euphemism for those whose fate was unknown but who were almost certainly killed. The recent news that between 600-700 human remains are still to be identified shows the persisting echoes of a tragic period in Argentina’s history.
One of the biggest paradoxes I’ve encountered in my life, as a physician specializing in international public health and as a human rights activist, is the behavior of some of my medical colleagues, specifically those doctors and paramedical personnel, including psychologists, who aided and participated in acts of torture during that war. Such actions can range from monitoring a prisoner’s state of health to determining how much more torture can continue without compromising the prisoner’s life or determining the most effective forms of psychological torture.
One case that I knew closely is that of Adriana Calvo de Laborde, an Argentine physicist who in 1977 had been imprisoned by the military when she was six and a half months pregnant. At that time, Calvo was a teacher and researcher at the Faculty of Exact Sciences of La Plata, in Buenos Aires Province.
I had a talk with her in Buenos Aires, years after she was released. We were sitting in a cafe in Palermo, on a beautiful autumn day, which contrasted remarkably with her story. Calvo told me of the role that Dr. Jorge A. Bergés, a physician in the police department, had had in her mistreatment. She told me that despite the brutality with which she had been treated, she had been luckier than most of her companions.
More:
https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/04/09/a-woman-of-valor/
(The current President of Argentina is known publicly to be a supporter of the previous military dictatorship.)
Editorials and other articles:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016230039
