31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
How can 30,000 people disappear ?, July 12, 1999
By A Customer
Nunca Mas, (Spanish for "Never Again") Is the official report of the Argentine National Commission on the Disappearance of persons (CONADEP).
During the late 70's and early 80's, between 15,000 and 30,000 people were kidnapped, tortured and murdered in the name of "National Security" under the worst military dictatorship in Argentina's history. These people were 99% innocent civilians considered dissidents by the military, paramilitary, and the police.
How can such thing happen? Think of it as a kind of a go-amok witch-hunt. Something akin to the US McCartheism during the 50's, except the coutry is not a democracy, rule of law is virtually non-existent and instead of losing your job for thinking in a certain way, you (and in many cases all your family) lose your life.
In 1983, after democracy was restored in the coutry (following Argentina's rout in the Falklands War) the newly elected democratic government led by Raul Alfonsin appointed a national commission to investigate the mass disappearances.
This book, the published work of that commission, is the authoritative source on the tragic events. It is based on the 50,000 pages of original testimonies of families and survivors given before the commission.
It includes a Prologue by the chair of the commission, Ernesto Sabato and a terrifying yet revealing introduction by Ronald Dworkin.
As proven over and over throughout history, such unbelievable things can happen anywhere and those who do not learn from history are bound to repeat it. Those who care should do themselves a favor and read this book so tragedies such as this one, the blackest period in Argentina's history, would never happen again.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is just very scary, October 1, 2006
Think about this. Lots and lots of people lost their lives and their loved ones. They did not have the freedom to choose their future. And it was all in the interest of "National Security?" Hopefully this will not ever, ever, never happen again.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
and the men responsible for these unspeakable acts still walk free..., January 12, 2006
Thoroughly and courageously researched reporting. As the review below shows, some people still support the killings and torture and belief the myths created to justify it. Who knows, whoever took the time to try and discredit hundreds of people's heart-rendering accounts of their personal suffering may have themselves likely been involved in the military.
The truth is, the government both exaggerated the forces of the few hundred guerillas fighting for a more economically just order, and also in fact planted people in the guerillas to cause havoc and justify further repression. This is from declassified government sources themselves. Open your eyes and you'll see the story of Argentina repeated in different patterns throughout Latin America, usually with US government support. I guess those women and kids and old people they tortured and raped were posing a big threat to "Western Christian morals," as the leaders of Argentina and the previous "dissenting reader" contend.
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