Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo recover grandson 131: "It gives us hope to find those who are missing"

As an early Christmas gift, the Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo announced this Thursday the restitution of a new grandson, the 131 who recovers his true identity after having been appropriated during the dictatorship that ruled Argentina between 1976 and 1983. "As if the At the end of the year, he would have insisted on fulfilling wishes, after almost three years, we once again celebrate the discovery of a new grandson," the human rights organization said in a statement in which it included a final nod to the soccer team, winner of the World Cup last Sunday: "Now we are excited again."

"This for us is even more than the prize we had with soccer," said the president of the Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo, Estela de Carlotto, at a press conference.

"It makes us say goodbye to the year giving us hope to find the missing grandchildren," he said, while the auditorium erupted in applause and chanted the song that has become popular during the World Cup to honor the elderly: "Grandmothers, la la la la the".

The story of the newly recovered grandson still has many chiaroscuro because the case is in court.

He is 45 years old and lives in the province of Buenos Aires.

He did not appear spontaneously before the National Genetic Data Bank because he had any doubts about his identity, but he underwent DNA analysis by court order after being located thanks to a long investigation.

His parents, Lucía Nadín and Aldo Quevedo, were from the province of Mendoza, in the west of the country.

They met at the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters and six months later they were married.

Both were active in the Republican People's Army (ERP) and after the arrest of a comrade, they moved to Buenos Aires, but suffered the same fate: between September and October 1977 they were kidnapped.

First they were in the Club Atlético clandestine detention center and then in El Banco.

From the testimonies of survivors, it is known that Lucía did not give birth in El Banco but was taken to give birth somewhere outside of there between March and April 1978. The prosecution suspects that grandson 131 was born in captivity at the Escuela Superior of Mechanics of the Navy (ESMA), the largest clandestine center of the dictatorship due to the similarities that this case presents with that of another recovered grandson, Juan Cabandié, today Minister of the Environment.

The mothers of both were kidnapped in the Bank and the two falsified birth certificates stated that they were born in the Penna public hospital, but their names did not appear in the birth registry of the medical center.

The search

The Nadín family did not know that Lucía was pregnant.

They found out in 2004, following a documentary investigation by the National Commission for the Right to Identity, and left their DNA sample at the National Genetic Data Bank.

In 2010 they managed to find Aldo's brother, who also provided a DNA sample.

The first lead to grandson 131 came in 2015, when a man suspected of being the son of missing persons was identified.

Not being able to contact him, the case was taken to the prosecutor's office specializing in the abduction of children during state terrorism and a complaint was filed.

Justice finally located him last September and this month he was invited to undergo a genetic study.

The result was positive: he is the son of Lucía Nadín and Aldo Quevedo.

"These political militants who were kidnapped, tortured and murdered in the worst way reappear because their son today knows who they are, he saw them for the first time in a photo and I think that is bringing them back to life," said the secretary. of Human Rights of Argentina, Horacio Pietragalla, also a recovered grandson.

The head of the Conadi, Claudia Carlotto, assured that after receiving the news of his true identity in court, they saw grandson 131 “very well disposed”. “He was very excited when we showed him the photograph of his father, because he is also the same than him," he added.

Even so, he said that he is "shocked" and that he asked for time before meeting his biological family.

Another grandson recovered by @abuelasdifusion!

♥️

It is an infinite joy to close the year in this way.

As they say, we are excited that more and more men and women can recover their identity like the 131 who already did.

Thank you forever, Grandmas.

pic.twitter.com/Qi5z3VaoKN

– Alberto Fernández (@alferdez) December 22, 2022

The head of the Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo recalled that they carry out "constant, silent and loving work, but "there are still many [grandchildren to be found] and time does not stop."

For this reason, she asked all those who have doubts about their identity to appear before the National Genetic Data Bank.

In the last four years, more than 2,000 people have come forward spontaneously and another 400 have undergone tests by court order, as in the case of grandson 131.

“In these days of joy and celebration in which we feel the strength of the community, we end 2022 with renewed hope.

We will raise the glass to toast a 2023 full of reunions because we know that the only fight that is lost is the one that is abandoned”, he concluded between applause and songs of “Grandmothers la la la ”.

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