Today I found out about the death of two people I cared about.
This morning my uncle Tití, AKA Vicente Fernando Ardenghi, died of a massive heart attack. He was only 63, an year older than my mother. My grandfather, after whom he was named, died of the same cause when he was 69. In both cases the heart attacks were unexpected. Both men were doctors.
I hadn't seen my uncle Tití in over 22 years, since I left Argentina when I was a kid. Unlike the majority of my aunts and uncles, he lived far away, in Punta Alta at the Naval Base where he worked. Still, we saw him and his family - my aunt Lelé and cousin Fernando at holidays or during business trips to La Plata. Mostly I remember him from the stories my mother told about him. He was only a year older and they were very close growing up, specially when they were both in college. Tití had been a brillant and committed student.
I was already in the United States when my passion for human rights developed. Since then I've had missguivings about my uncle, not just because he was a Navy officer (albeing a medical one) during the whole of the dirty war, but also because he seemed to dismiss the or deny the crimes against humanity committed by his colleagues. He seemed to have similar misguivings about me - I heard he was afraid that his colleagues would find out I was related to him. During my last trip to Argentina he was in La Plata, but neither of us made an effort to see the other one. Now, of course, I regret it.
I mourn his death, I'm specially sad for the four children he left behind: my cousins Fernando, Guadalupe, Itatí and Estefanía. Indeed, the last thing my mom received from him was the announcement of Guadalupe's wedding a few weeks from now.
Bernie Hamilton died a few months ago, during my trip to Argentina and my overall sabatical from human rights, but I didn't find out about his death until today. He was a great defender of human rights, a fighter against genocide, and an all-around nice guy. I won't write his full biography here, you can read it at Genocide Watch, but he was one of the most well respected and admired human rights advocates I've known. And definitely one of my favorites. He was always so helpful, so cheery and human and ready to march on. I know I'm going to miss him so much. I already do.