Don't Mention the Falkland Islands

"Two bald men fighting over a comb."

Before I left Australia for Argentina, my boss joked to me, “don’t mention the Falkland Islands.” I half laughed but didn’t think much about it. As we established in my last Substack, I had so much on in Newcastle before I left, I had no time to consider a disputed archipelago in the South Atlantic.

Now that I’ve taken the time to soak up the Malbec, wander the botanical gardens and watch some Tango, I’m thinking more deeply about the country. (You can read more about my experience in Buenos Aires in the Newcastle Herald.) I type this from a spacious shack in Monte Hermosa. I’m visiting a southern beach an hour’s drive from Bahia Blanca where my family and my brother’s girlfriend Costi flew into on Friday. I am learning so much, hanging with Costi’s family in this adorable beach town.

Her father Hugo picked us up from the airport and drove us to Monte Hermosa. I noticed we passed a large sign about Isla Malvinas (what Argentinans call the Falkland Islands). I’d also seen another one in Buenos Aires that read “malvinas nos une.” Malvinas unite us.

“The Islas Malvinas are Argentina”

I thought about my boss’s joke. I decided to be controversial in the car and ask about it. Hugo told us that he was almost drafted for the war over it; it all happened when he was a young man. Had he been born a year earlier, he would have had to fight.

Before I came to Buenos Aires I understood that the Malvinas/Falklands were random islands that Argentina fought the British over. It seems like I become genuinely curious about a place only when I’m smack dab in the middle of it. While people (myself included) understandably debate the merits of travel (expensive, snobby, unnecessary luxury, contributes to CO2 and climate change etc.), a good thing about it, at least from what I’ve seen, is that travel makes people more curious.

Here’s what else I now know about the Malvinas since discussing it with Costi’s family and doing a little reading. 

The Falkland Islands are known to Argentinians (and probably many other folks) as Isla Malvinas, a name given by a French explorer. They are nearly 800 islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, covering nearly 5,000 miles. Both the UK and Argentina claim ownership of the islands, and perhaps one thing that makes it less controversial than a lot of land disputes is that the islands were uninhabited by people when an English captain landed in 1690. From this point comes a long and complicated history with different governments claiming ownership: UK, France, Spain and of course Argentina. More than 3,000 people currently live on the islands, most of them English speaking, British citizens. The Falkland Wars, (the ones Hugo missed being drafted for) launched in 1982 with Operation Rosario when the Argentinians invaded and the British then fought back. For ten weeks they warred. Six hundred and forty nine Argentine Military were killed as were 255 British military and three island residents. Eventually Argentina surrendered, but still maintains sovereignty of the islands. Interestingly, the politics from this helped hasten the end of the ongoing military dictatorship in Argentina, more on that in a minute.

Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges described this war as “a fight between two bald men over a comb.”

And none of that would have been nearly as interesting to me if I wasn’t in the midst of it.

The second night of our arrival, many Malbecs in, I tried my best to listen as Hugo, Costi’s Aunt Lilli and Lilli’s boyfriend Eduardo explained to me in Spanish with sweeping hand gestures, more about the Malvinas. They told me Chile supported the UK during the war, something Argentinians are still angry about. From what I understood, for the UK, the Malvinas were less about the land itself and more about its oil rich, optimal location.

It was about “estrategia” Eduardo told me passionately, shaking his fist and looking me deeply in the eyes.  

Family dinners go very, very late into the evening in Argentina.

Casual Googling doesn’t tell me much about Chile’s involvement with the Falkland Wars, and I would love to sit down with someone on the islands and hear their side of the story. The UK too. Regardless, I’d love to go.  
             
Last time I was in Buenos Aires in 2022, I took a street art tour of the city, and it was so much more than street art. It explained the different dictatorships Buenos Aires had been through and much more. You can read about it in depth in my Instagram post. The street art was great, but also a fantastic learning tool.

author

Alexandra Morris on Instagram: “Photos from the sweet street art walking tour the other day. Here are my hastily scribbled notes; not sure I got all the spelling/dates/names correct.
Up until the late 70s and early 80s Argentina was under a military dictatorship. Even groups of 3 people could not assemble as it might be considered a protest. During the 90s the USD was linked to the peso which made the country richer? Street artists would ring doorbells of residents and ask if they could paint their walls for free, but these days, like most places, street art has been co-opted by businesses. The first photo is street art that are actually also non fungible tokens. (In Argentina street art is not competitive and artists don’t tend to tag or cover each other’s work.)
The second one “Latin America United” is from 2019 referencing “Palermo vuelve” indigenous revolt which led other countries in Latin America to do the same. How things have changed, as now Palermo is very rich.
The next one is Dario Coronda painting with bricks. It eventually became a story dedicated to all the people who went missing in Argentina during the military dictator years. Coronda spoke to an older woman in the building before he started. She said two people in the building had gone missing, one of which was her brother. (Over 30,000 people are said to have gone missing in this time, most from Buenos Aires.) First Dario painted the two birds represent the missing men. Later on the 24th of March (an Argentinian holiday recognising missing people and celebrating democracy) he painted their faces on the next wall. There’s also a plaque dedicated to them. A famous trio called the “Golden Triangle” painted the man in the chair.
I love the piece by Duo Amazonas painted for down syndrome awareness.
#lleydehumedalesya means protect the wetland territory. This mural was painted as environmental advocacy. I learned that their jaguars are endangered partially due to losing their natural territory to soy crops, a huge export in Argentina. One of the largest and most famous murals in Buenos Aires is the girl taking the selfie from 2015. This collaboration came about due to a city sponsored project. (More in comments.)”

January 9, 2024

Yes Argentina, rich, European and luxurious as it may seem, has gone through many ups and downs. Before the Falkland Wars, Argentina was under a military dictatorship, supported by the United States. During this time many people (often leftist activists) went missing and/or were tortured. A group of grandmothers still protest in Argentina over the injustice. They want to locate those who were missing during this tumultuous time. They call themselves Abuelos De Plaza De Mazo. I saw their signs and flags when I visited Plaza De Mayo last week. I casually strolled through the wealthy, popular area, crossing bridges, swatting at mosquitos and trying cafes. Most of Plaza De Mayo was only developed in the last 30 years. Argentina must have been so different when Hugo was a teenager.

I enjoy the beachside sunsets, Fernet, Gancia and maté, but I also hear real stories and see first hand the results from trauma and evil in this world, some of which my home country has contributed to. It’s great to try my best to cover this all in a quick substack. But when I’m travelling and culture shocking, I wonder, how much don’t I know about the world. How many other things do I inadvertently ignore because I’m not in the middle of it? How can I become more like my boss, who’s never left Australia, and just somehow be genuinely, deeply interested in all relevant, important things. Visiting a country in order to become more enlightened it is plenty of fun but not really sustainable nor economical.

The older I get, the more I believe that if I want to do anything to make the world better, I must better understand its past, which is a daunting task. Hopefully that didn’t make me sound like a cranky old man. Next week I’ll write about tango dancing or something.

Things I’m learning about this week.

These include a few Wikipedia rabbit holes I went down while writing the above:

- Fuegains, the Indigenous people of the most Southern part of South America.

- The UN’s Special Committee on Decolonization.

- Nat Geo’s Kid friendly explanation of why we have Leap Year. (Looked this up after Dad explained it to me, ha.) 

- Stumbled on this random interesting map on Facebook of “Indigenous Argentina” I have no idea about the accuracy, but it made me want to learn more.