International Women's Day

March 8, 2008 is International Women's Day. Every year since 1911 people around the globe have celebrated both the accomplishments and continuing struggles of all women. This year, Women Together, a local women's organization,will note the occasion with a breakfast/brunch and sharing of women's stories.
During the 1970's, military dictatorships prevailed in Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay in South America. Many people who opposed these governments were arrested, tortured, kidnapped, and simply disappeared. Frantic mothers traveled from one police or military station to the next seeking information about the whereabouts of their sons and daughters. They were met with SILENCE! These women took enormous risks doing this because they could have been arrested themselves. In desperation, the women began meeting in churches asking for help from the clergy.
On April 30, 1977, a group of 14 mothers after realizing that the priests were powerless to help them decided to stage a protest in front of the presidential palace on the Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires, Argentina. in an attempt to pressure the president to meet with them. They all wore the same white head scarves to demonstrate their solidarity. The police took a stand and would not allow the women to stand in front of the president's palace, so the women decided to encircle and walk slowly around a nearby statue. Thus began a tradition that has continued for the past 31 years. This group of women wearing white scarves walk solemnly around this statue in Buenos Aires demanding to know what happened to their relatives. From 14 women in the beginning the numbers have now grown to where they now number in the thousands.
During the dictatorship years, 30,000 people disappeared without leaving a trace. Probably about half of that number consisted of blue collar workers because the military intended to break the power of the unions. Only a small number of these victims were associated with the left-wing guerillas.
Most likely, the fate of the victims of the military dictatorships of South America will never be known. However, the struggle of these courageous women will never be forgotten even if the walk around the statue were to stop.....Why?....because, as I understand it, there is an institution founded by these mothers called,...PLAZA DE MAYO UNIVERSITY!!!
Truly an amazing story, wouldn't you say?
AUTHOR'S NOTE and a note to LAKALE: I wrote the story again mostly for my Wednesday class. Lakale, they ended up with three versions of the story. I gave them your uncorrected story first. Then I gave them your corrected story. Finally, I gave them my version of the same story. Now they can compare all three along with the homework assignment I gave them. Now Lakale you get an "A" if you can add a picture of the statue that all those women walk around. Also, you can correct any facts that I may be mixed up on. (Maybe some Wednesday if you have a day off you can come as my guest to my Wednesday class. You really have been part of it anyway!)
AUTHOR'S NOTE #2: (Recently, the Worcester organization known as WOMEN TOGETHER was honored as an outstanding community group by the Worcester Telegram and Evening Gazette at a ceremony at Mechanics Hall.