I Remember Julia: Voices of the Disappeared

This book deals with political, religious, and social aspects of the military coup that occoured in Argentina from 1976-1982. The book talks of a young female medical doctor and her husband who were kidnapped. At the time of their disappearance the young woman was two months pregnant. The young girls mother talks of the woman. As she finishes her thoughts she adds that she wonders if one of the children that she sees on the streets everyday may be her granddaughter or grandson. The mother of this woman also talks about how no one would help her in her search to find her daughter. The church would not even help, because some of the priests felt that the actions that the government was taking were not wrong. Not all priests felt this way however, and many died because they did not follow the military policies. The author of this book interviews numerous people that Julia knew over the course of her short life. Everyone that the author talks to remembers Julia as a loving and caring person. Some of the people even said that after the first night they met her they were best friends allready. She was a honet, loving, and caring person, and that in itself may have been what cost her her life. The day that her body was discovered must have been horrible. Her body was found in Avellaneda. This is the mass grave of the disappeared. When she was discovered her body was referred to as #17, because they had no way of knowing who she was. The only way that they were able to identify the girls body was because she had had heart surgery, and because she had bad teeth, and a mark on her pelvis common in women who have children. It is terrible that this happened to one person, let alone to the estimated 30,000 that suffered through this. Julia's story is not the only one told in this book. Luis Brandoni a professional actor was a member of a union, and received death threats. There are also many are others who share stories in this book. This book is well written, and if you are interested at all in this subject you should read it! Another good book that deals with this is called Circle of Love over death by Matilde Mellibovsky