It has been 40 years, but Gabriela Zuñiga is no closer to knowing what happened to her husband than she was the day he was taken by Chilean security forces on Aug.15, 1974.
“I don’t know where he was taken, where he was killed, when he was killed. I know it happened but that is all,” Zuñiga told The Santiago Times.
Zuñiga is now the communications director for the Group for Relatives of the Disappeared (AFDD) that continues to search for answers in the more than 1,000 cases in which there is no information at all about the fate of the victims. The AFDD is spearheading a number of events to coincide with the International Day of the Disappeared, Aug. 30, as well as the upcoming 40th anniversary of the coup which was the spark that instigated the thousands of crimes against humanity committed by military and security forces across Chile from 1973-1990.
“In the first few months of the dictatorship there were a lot of prisoners who didn’t show up on any list,” Zuñiga said. “Then the systematic disappearances started in 1974.”
The term “disappeared” or “forced disappearances” refers to the practice of arresting individuals and secretly detaining them, likely torturing, interrogating and killing them, then secretly disposing of the body without ever releasing any information about the status of the detainee. In this way, the victim simply disappears, with no records of detention or information about their final whereabouts. According to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, this act constitutes a crime against humanity.
Ana Piquer, director of Amnesty International Chile, told The Santiago Times that states used systematic disappearances to terrorize both the targeted individuals and their families and communities.
“The practice of enforced disappearance has been frequently used as a deliberate strategy to instill terror among the population and extend the sense of insecurity, many times against political opponents, ethnic or religious groups, and inflicts suffering and psychological damage not only to the victims but also to family members,” Piquer said.
Pact of silence
Families are then left without a body to bury or death certificate — instead they only have questions. Thanks to what has become known as the “pact of silence” in Chile, an unspoken agreement among those involved in the disappearances to not say anything, those questions remain unanswered even after the crimes have ceased. Victims’ families lack closure, not knowing with certainty that a loved one is not still out there somewhere, and issues are raised over their legal statuses, often preventing them from somewhat of a normal life.
“I am legally still married to a living man,” Zuñiga told The Santiago Times.
She explained that because her husband was never declared dead, she remains legally a married woman, unable to remarry despite having lost her husband 40 years ago.
“I was 21 when it happened, now I am 60,” she said.
For Zuñiga, having to answer questions like, “Where is your husband? What is his status?” when applying for travel visas, or jobs only adds to the victimization. She noted that the same trauma happened to the children of the disappeared who would have to answer questions about their missing parents when attending school.
Olga Weisfeiler, whose brother Boris is the only U.S. citizen on the list of disappeared, also expressed this feeling of continued trauma. She has tirelessly fought for answers in her brother’s case since his disappearance in 1984, making many trips to Chile in search for documents and clues.
“This prolonged investigation has been very distressing and placed enormous strain on my family,” Weisfeiler told The Santiago Times. “In almost 29 years I have not been able to come to terms with this tragedy. I have been unable to get on with my own life.”
She blames inaction from the government as a major reason for the lack of answers.
“All those cases of the disappeared in Chile are taking too long to investigate and the judicial system in Chile is way too slow,” Weisfeiler said. “It seems Chile is especially prolonging suffering of its people with such slow judicial system. Forty years has already past but more than half of the cases are still not even close to finished.”
One thing that all those looking for answers can agree upon, is that time is not on their side.
“Many of the relatives are dying, and [the perpetrators] are also dying, and they need to say what they know,” Zuñiga said.
The AFDD will be hosting a screening of the documentary “Vivas Voces” about the history of the group and its work to mark the international Day of the Disappeared on Friday at 6:30 p.m. at the Cine Arte Alameda in Santiago. They will also have a flower ceremony at the Cementerio General at noon on Saturday.
Friday 30 August 2013
http://www.santiagotimes.cl/chile/human-rights-a-law/26659-chile-marks-international-day-of-the-disappeared
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