Argentina’s Stolen Babies, and the Grandmothers Leading the Search

Estela de Carlotto has spent decades searching for her grandson, one of the estimated 500 babies who disappeared after their mothers were taken by the military regime in Argentina in the 1970s.

As many as 30,000 people were tortured and killed during the seven year military regime – from 1976-1983. They came to be known as the “disappeared.” Over time, it became clear that they were not coming back, but the question remained: what had happened to them and to the estimated 500 babies whose mothers were taken during pregnancy?

In 1977, the Mothers and Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo in Argentina began silent protests around the famed city square opposite the Presidential Palace. Parallel groups with a single, razor-sharp mission – finding out what had happened to their children – and in some cases, grandchildren. They began storing their DNA and tracking down the missing babies, many who had been given to military families to raise. So far, they have identified 117 grandchildren, but perhaps no story is more compelling than that of Grandchild Number 114.