Dear bereaved family and friends
of Patricio in Argentina and in the rest of the world,
For
the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD) which was
established in 1999, we have known Patricio since 1999, during the 15th
Congress of FEDEFAM in Mar del Plata, Argentina. During the first
meeting with him both in Mar del Plata and in his nice home in
Argentina, it seemed that we had already known him from years back
because he was one of the nicest persons we have ever met. Never did we
know that the FEDEFAM Congress in Mar del Plata was only a start
of more than a decade of meaningful and fruitful friendship and
camaraderie that our Federation had the opportunity to share with him.
In all these years, we were together in many countries: In Argentina
(1999), Sri Lanka(1999); Switzerland (in many occasions till a few days
before his death); Guatemala (2003); Croatia (2003); Benin (2003);
Tanzania (2003); Philippines (2005 and 2007); The Netherlands (2005);
France (2003 and 2007) Indonesia (2007); Colombia (2010), Washington
D.C. (2009-1010).
On the eve of our 4th Congress held in Jakarta, Indonesia on 31 May – 5
June, Patricio was elected as the new Focal Point of the International
Coalition Against Enforced Disappearances. He brought renewed hopes for
the Coalition, whose principal mandate is to work for as many
ratifications as possible to ensure the entry into force and universal
implementation of the UN Convention for the Protection of All Persons
from Enforced Disappearances.
We take this opportunity to fondly remember Patricio as a person, a
friend, a comrade in this long-drawn struggle for a world without
disappeared persons. Every time we met him, his warm greetings and
beautiful smile always greeted us. Knowledgeable as he was, he could
discuss human rights issues and various other topics under the sun. In
intense discussions, he could be so transparent with his feelings but
always maintaining composure. In a number of occasions, we called to his
home at the middle of the night to request him to come to Asia and
always, he tried his utmost best never to fail us - always taking into
consideration the cheapest flight available, neither minding the
distance nor the long hours of waiting at various airports.
For our Federation, Patricio contributed in no small measure to our
development and growth as a Federation.
To recall, here in Asia, he was with us in Sri Lanka, during our infancy
in 1999, he accompanied us in our meetings with the families of the
victims, in meeting government agencies and in our discussion on the
international phenomenon of enforced disappearances. In the Philippines,
he was with us when we had our participatory capacity building
evaluation. He took part in evaluating our work during our first seven
years as a Federation, after which, participated in our concert entitled
“Seeking.” The second time he was with us; he participated in our
management training and shared about the struggles in Argentina and
Latin America. From then, we traveled together to Indonesia where he
spent time to talk to the victims and their families, lobbied for the
Convention, etc.
In Africa, with high hopes, we worked hard together to give our share on
how our situation was in our respective continents and how we responded
through the formation of our respective federations, FEDEFAM and
AFAD. We likewise partook of each other’s worry about the difficulty of
forming the African network in view of the unique African context and
the heterogeneous character of the participants during all those
processes of forming the envisioned African Network Against Enforced
Disappearances. Just a week before his death, he shared his frustration,
albeit with kind understanding, that such a network was not sustained.
What we would like to remember the most was our joint celebration with
the rest of the international movement against enforced disappearances,
our friends from the international NGOs, our Geneva support groups, the
UN delegations and with the late French Ambassador Bernard Kessedjian in
that most euphoric moment when the UN Convention For the Protection of
All Persons from Enforced Disappearances was adopted by the then
Commission on UN Human Rights. Like all of us, and together with us, he
was in his glorious state - enjoying the well-deserved champagne offered
by the French government. Moreover, with the now Argentinean president,
Christina Kirshner; with the late French Ambassador Kessedjian and with
his compañeras in Latin America, Marta Vasquez and Loyola Guzman,
we were together in celebrating the signing by 57 governments of the
Convention on 6 February 2007 in Paris, France.
… and death shall have no dominion…
In Latin American countries, we witnessed the intensive discussions of
our compañeras and compañeros of FEDEFAM during
their congresses. Always, Patricio had his words of wisdom and kind
advice. His passion for truth and justice was evident. His stories of
the horrors of the dictatorship were vivid. Always, he spoke with great
respect and admiration about the mothers, grandmothers, sisters,
brothers and children of the disappeared in his beloved Argentina who
tirelessly continue to search for their disappeared loved ones. Only
very recently, in Colombia, we spoke of the psychosocial support in the
process of searching for the disappeared and as always, with passion and
with a loud voice, he inspired everyone with his presentations.
In North America, particularly in Washington DC., in these two
consecutive years, we knocked at the doors of the White House and the US
Congress asking the latter to listen to the voice of torture survivors
and to approve legislations criminalizing torture and enforced
disappearances. We braved the heat and the cold in front of the White
House in the annual vigil for torture survivors. In these occasions,
Patricio gave his best –presenting speeches, singing songs, marching
with other survivors, reciting poems of which, his favorite poem was:
“Death Shall Have No Dominion.”
In many instances, he wrote for our publications. The wealth of his
knowledge and experience, coupled with his writing ability, had helped
enrich our publications.
And he was with us in some of our houses here in Asia, extending his
friendship to us and remembering always, with his photographic memory,
the many little things about our families and always concerned that from
afar, all is well with us here in Asia.
To
you, Fatima, Carlos, Amy and Blanca, thank you very much for sharing
your beloved Patricio with us. He left with us an indelible imprint in
our struggle here in Asia. He endowed us a beautiful friendship and
camaraderie which shall remain forever in our minds and hearts. Please
be assured that “death is not extinguishing the light, but putting
out the lamp because the dawn has come.” His exemplary life is worth
our commendation. His heroic death which occurred when he was fighting
against enforced disappearances and for a world without disappeared
persons will be remembered forever.
Our dearest Patricio, we had so much confidence in you that we really
collectively put you as the then new focal point of the International
Coalition Against Enforced Disappearances. With a heart wide open, you
accepted the position and immediately started so fast, writing to all of
us, working on the administrative matters while traveling to five
countries in less than a month to share your experiences, to lobby with
us, and in all these tasks, you never ever forgot the value of humanity
- that we were friends and comrades in struggle for truth, justice and
memory! How we wish we could have expressed our heartfelt gratitude to
you when you were physically with us. But again, we know that while you
are physically gone, from the bottom of our hearts, your memory, your
spirit and your good examples will never be forgotten.
To honor you is to continue our struggle so that the generations of
today and tomorrow will have a better world to live in.
Farewell, our dearest friend and comrade. As you repeatedly recited
recently: “… and death shall have no dominion…”
Vaya con Dios….
