Clamor
The search for the disappeared of the South American dictatorships
Pinochet’s dictatorship in Chile is relatively well known in the UK, but what happened during the Argentine dictatorship, 1976-83, when thousands of men, women, and children were subjected to state terrorism, remains largely unknown. The book describes the secret detention camps, the disappearances, the kidnapping of hundreds of babies and small children. It is based largely on eyewitness accounts gathered by CLAMOR, an ecumenical group of volunteers in São Paulo, Brazil which was backed by the Catholic church and the World Council of Churches. The group was instrumental in finding the first ‘disappeared’ children to be located, and contributed to the search for many others.
The book also covers the situation in the other South American countries ruled by military dictators, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile and Bolivia, where CLAMOR supported local human rights organizations and sent missions. The group was one of the first organizations to denounce the collaboration between the security forces of the dictatorships, involving cross-border kidnappings, torture and murder of dissidents, which later became known as Operation Condor.
Clamor's work involved careful, daring and at times dangerous work, and this book has the intensity and excitement of a crime or spy thriller.
Because CLAMOR closed its doors when the region returned to democracy, its role has gone largely unreported. As a founder member of CLAMOR, with access to all the archives, Jan Rocha, Journalist and former Correspondent for the BBC and the Guardian, is in a unique position to tell its story. She concentrates on eyewitness accounts, including her own, and on the question of the children, not only those kidnapped, but those left behind when their parents disappeared.
The book also fills a gap in understanding why the UK government, and Europe as a whole, reacted so differently to the human rights situation in Chile and Argentina.
Series: Latin America Bureau Books
Published: 2023
Pages: 212
eBook: 9781909014305
Paperback: 9781909014923
Hardback: 9781909014299
The book also covers the situation in the other South American countries ruled by military dictators, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile and Bolivia, where CLAMOR supported local human rights organizations and sent missions. The group was one of the first organizations to denounce the collaboration between the security forces of the dictatorships, involving cross-border kidnappings, torture and murder of dissidents, which later became known as Operation Condor.
Clamor's work involved careful, daring and at times dangerous work, and this book has the intensity and excitement of a crime or spy thriller.
Because CLAMOR closed its doors when the region returned to democracy, its role has gone largely unreported. As a founder member of CLAMOR, with access to all the archives, Jan Rocha, Journalist and former Correspondent for the BBC and the Guardian, is in a unique position to tell its story. She concentrates on eyewitness accounts, including her own, and on the question of the children, not only those kidnapped, but those left behind when their parents disappeared.
The book also fills a gap in understanding why the UK government, and Europe as a whole, reacted so differently to the human rights situation in Chile and Argentina.
| List of acronyms | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Foreword by Patricia Feeney | |||
| Introduction | |||
| Part 1: Five terrible years (1977–1982) | |||
| 1. The house on Turiassu Street | |||
| 2. The refugees | |||
| 3. Coups and operation condor | |||
| 4. The 1978 World Cup in Argentina | |||
| 5. The disappeared | |||
| 6. The secret camps | |||
| 7. Kidnapped in Porto Alegre: Condor in Brazil | |||
| 8. Disappeared children found in Chile | |||
| 9. The grandmothers | |||
| 10. The UN goes to Argentina | |||
| 11. The role of the Catholic Church | |||
| 12. The defectors | |||
| 13. A bloody coup in Bolivia | |||
| 14. Paraguay: The iron fist of General Stroessner | |||
| 15. The nightmare of Remigio Giménez | |||
| 16. The suffering of Uruguay | |||
| 17. Chile in the grip of Pinochet | |||
| 18. The list | |||
| Part 2: Light at the end of the tunnel (1983–1989) | |||
| 19. Where are Carla and Maria Eugenia? | |||
| 20. The search for Mariana | |||
| 21. The survivors of La Cacha tell their stories | |||
| 22. The theology of loopholes | |||
| 23. Argentina: The return to democracy | |||
| 24. Uruguay: The military leaves power | |||
| 25. Paraguay: Stroessner is overthrown | |||
| 26. Chileans say ‘no’ to Pinochet | |||
| 27. Clamor closes its doors | |||
| Appendix: List of Clamor bulletins and press releases | |||
| Index |
‘This is a beautifully written account of one of the most horrific chapters in recent global history. It will ensure it will never be forgotten. While communicating the extreme cruelty of South America’s military dictatorships, it juxtaposes this with the solidarity, self sacrifice and meticulous efforts of Clamor’s volunteers, its allies and activist victims to record and resist it.’
Professor Jenny Pearce
'In the midst of the dictatorship, when they called us madwomen, one of our first destinations abroad was Brazil, to visit Clamor, where we immediately felt shielded and helped.
Thanks to Clamor, which collected the testimonies of the survivors of the genocide in Argentina, we could confirm the birth in captivity of various of our grandchildren.
Besides proving the coordination of the South American dictatorships, we discovered an enormous regional solidarity, ignoring frontiers, between victims, their families and people committed to justice and human dignity. And all this was due to a great extent to that first contact with Clamor.'
Estela Barnes de Carlotto, president of the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo, Buenos Aires
‘This book reveals the close collaboration between the dictatorships in South America in the late 1970s and 1980s, little known at the time to those of us reporting from the region. It also tells the tale of how a small, poorly funded human rights organisation, Clamor, based in Brazil, was able to play a key role in tracking down children, born in prison to left-wing activists and then illegally adopted by government supporters, often military officers. A fascinating tale.’
Sue Branford, a journalist reporting for the Financial Times from Brazil during the 1970s
Jan Rocha
Jan Rocha is a freelance reporter and wriiter and has worked for the BBC and The Guardian
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