Garage Olimpo

I'm taking a class called Drugs and Violence in Buenos Aires and it's super interesting.

On Monday our class went to an old detention center from the last military government (from about 30 years ago) in Argentina.  It looked like any other building on the street which made the truth about it that much shocking.

The government would kidnap any activists or anyone speaking out against the government and take them to a detention center like Garage Olimpo. There they would detain and torture them. The conditions were terrible and no one could help them since it was the government doing this.

They were called los desaparecidos because of their sudden disappearances. Their families usually did not know where they went. Their families would go to the police station saying their son or daughter was missing. Families would go to the police station and find other families in the same situation.

Eventually, the families understood, somewhat, what was happening and began meet in la Plaza de Mayo. At the time they were not allowed to meet in groups so the police said they had to move or else they would be arrested. So the mothers began to walk, silently in a circle around the obelisk in the Plaza de Mayo in protest for their disappeared children.  They became known as Las Madres de Plaza de Mayo.

Today, the mothers still walk around the obelisk weekly in protest for their missing children.

Monday was a very cold day—which, I think, added to the eerie feeling of the center. However, there unfortunately wasn't much to see because towards the end of the military rule, most of the structure was torn down.

There were no more cells or visuals of anyone to have ever lived there—let alone tortured prisoners.

The only thing left was a gutted building where, apparently, held the torture chamber and recently kidnapped prisoners. Other than that, there was evidence of cell-like structures in the concrete under the cement the government laid down after tearing everything down.  They also found toilet holes in the ground in the cells under the newer cement.

It definitely had a great impression on me to imagine what these people went through but I just wish I could have seen the actual cells—that would have made the experience unbelievable. For example, if the people at the center re-built the walls of the structures I think it would have affected me more deeply.

I enjoyed the tour very much. I’m glad it was in English, though, because I was able to understand the important details of Argentine’s dark era.

We all heard about the terrible happenings of the military government but I don’t think, unless living here at that time, one could truly understand it. Going to the old detention center really helped me realize that the terrible things that happened during that time period were real.  Those people were tortured and killed just for speaking, dressing and acting the way they wanted.

It was a great, but heavy, experience. It really showed me what a corrupt government can do to the people.

Until next time!