Today is the anniversary of the start of the Falkland Islands War or ‘la guerra de las Malvinas’. The 2nd of April 1982 marks the day that the military government under General Galtieri decided to retake the islands with an ill-thought out invasion.
“Neither forgiven, nor forgotten”
The conflict lasted 74 days and 257 British and 649 Argentine troops died, along with three civilian Falkland Islanders. Most of the casualties of the war were young Argentine soldiers sent into battle without proper training, equipment or weapons.”
“We are still being forgotten.” |
While Argentines remember those who fell in battle and veterans of the war on ‘El Dia del Veterano y de los Caidos’, the country’s claims to las Malvinas won’t go away. Graffiti reading: “Las Malvinas son argentinas” (“The Malvinas are Argentine”) can be found all over Buenos Aires. The sovereignty of the islands will always remain an emotive issue for Argentina. There are numerous shops, restaurants and football stadia named after las Malvinas, and dozens of songs also refer to Argentina’s rights to the territory.
“English get out of las Malvinas! We will return” |
Argentina wake up |
A movie called Fuckland, that was filmed without permission of the local government, depicts an Argentine who goes to the islands to impregnate a Falkland Islander. He has a theory that if 500 Argentines did the same each year it would start a ‘sexual invasion’ that would breed out the British and lead to Argentina reclaiming The Falklands.
2 replies on “Graffiti commemorating the Falklands or Las Malvinas war”
Roman
Argentina had claimed and occupied the Malvinas for 13 years before the British arrived and deported the citizens back to Argentina. The Malvinas lay 300 miles from Argentine, the Falklands some 8,000.
Gerald
Despite the morality of using violence to achieve personal or political aims, the fact remains that Countries exist because of wars fought against their neighbours or rivals. Independence is largely secured through the employment of armed forces and the willingness to fight if threatened, this alone prepares us all for such an eventuality.
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