REMEMBERING AMIA - Ten Year Anniversary

On the tenth anniversary of the bombing of the Jewish Community Centre (AMIA) in Buenos Aires, we asked Adriana Reisfeld and Diana Malamudto, both of Buenos Aires, to share their thoughts with us.  Adriana's sister and Diana's husband both died in the bombing. They are both members of the organization "Memoria Activa".

"Ten years ago a criminal attack perpetrated by murderers ended with the life of 85 innocents and with the AMIA building.

From that day on, nothing remained the same, not for the relatives of those that perished, not for the Jewish Community, nor for the people of Argentina.

This description of the facts may look too simple, but after 10 years full of words, it's worth it to faithfully remember, without any additional comments, what happened that July 18, to clearly understand this awful chapter of our lives.

To be original when expressing what happened, is really difficult after so many thoughts and words were spoken.

One possibility would be to say that the bomb turned our reality into a huge jigsaw puzzle, with numerous pieces, difficult to put together again, even less without a guiding picture.

So, we come together to hopefully re assemble the puzzle, knowing that the main pieces, our beloved ones, are lost.

Then we realize that the pieces that should be coming from Justice are also lost, and that, to have them, we need to look for them ourselves.

We counted on our Community leaders, but they decided to have their own picture, similar to the one from the Government where the building is being built over the death bodies.  With no foundation below.

Those who once tried to assemble a puzzle know that if the pieces are hidden away and there's no guiding pictures, is almost impossible to succeed.

However, today, after so many years, we manage to put together something fairly similar to what it should have been.

The picture that was there almost 8 years ago is the one that today everybody accepts as the closest to the truth.

In our reconstruction there was no place for Galeano, or Menem, or Beraja, just to mention a few.

But there are many others who did help us and brought pieces of truth:  Human right associations, many friends that came Monday after Monday to the square, many artists that joined us in every enterprise, and many unknown ones, that some way or another understood that Memoria Activa is trying to assemble what happened to better understand it and to stop it from happening again.

On Saturday July 17th at the evening, we gathered again in the memorial square in Buenos Aires city, and the presence and support of each and everyone of you, is essential to this puzzle solving.

And today, after 10 years, when our representatives look more determined than the ones before, to find the missing pieces, it would be comforting to have you helping us to solve this dilemma that seems endless.

As we already said, there are 85 pieces lost forever.  Let us at least have, the pieces that come from Justice and truth.  So that our task does not become useless and forces us to assemble the puzzle that most suits the murderers and their accomplices, the one of impunity.

Justice, Justice, You will pursue..... (Deut.)

Adriana Reisfeld (President)                                Diana Malamud (Secretary)
MEMORIA ACTIVA

As communities across Canada and throughout the world remember July 18, 1994, we offer our support to Adraina, Diana and the families of all those who have lost loved ones to terrorist attacks.