PM’s visit to memorial puts focus on human rights
BUENOS AIRES • Nora Patrich stopped at the spot on the Parque de la Memoria that bears her late husband’s name. At her side was Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
She described her husband and how she brought her grandchildren to this spot to hear of a man they would never meet. Before long, she stopped talking, her eyes welling up with tears. Trudeau put a hand on her shoulder.
Patrich lost her husband and six other family members before fleeing Argentina with her then two-month-old daughter, eventually settling in Canada.
She said the monument is a reminder to world leaders like to Trudeau to protect and defend human rights.
The Parque de la Memoria was built for the roughly 30,000 victims of Argentina’s military junta “dirty war” where political opponents and those demanding democracy were tortured and killed.
Speaking of the dead, which includes pregnant women and children, Patrich said they continue to have a voice through the monument.
“It’s like they keep on speaking. They (the junta) killed them, but they didn’t really kill them. They’re still alive. They’re still struggling for a better world.”
Liberal MP Pablo Rodriguez fled with his family from Argentina when he was eight. His father was tortured and imprisoned repeatedly before a bombing at the family home cemented his decision to leave the country.
It was the first time Rodriguez visited the memorial.
“It’s very, very emotional. I know that a lot of people here were with my father at the time. He was tortured and imprisoned many times. That’s why we left for Canada.”