Dear students of the United States, I am not writing to you as a politician, nor as a mere bearer of political ideas, but I speak to you as a husband and as a father. In the midst of the Dirty War, in 1978, my wife Agustina was taken from our home while she was in labor. It was the most devastating moment of my life up until that point. That was until I learned what had happened while she was being held there. She had given birth to her baby and was killed. Later, on the day of the execution, his name appeared in the local newspaper with the status of "missing". My little boy or girl was somewhere unknown and the mere thought of my motherless child became a nightmare for years to come. I am not here to cry further or ask for sympathy, but allow me to explain my experience living in Argentina during the Dirty War and, more specifically, under the government of Jorge Videla. Above all, Videla's government was the cause of negative effects on Argentina and its people. I have experienced this first hand. Although the child abductions have caused pain for some people, many others have been affected by Videla's strong opposition to left-wing groups. Indeed, he was known to torture and kill anyone who opposed his right-wing ideas, especially those associated with the government. Similar to my wife, government officials would be kidnapped and mysteriously dubbed “disappeared” the next day. But that was only the beginning. Videla opposed any diversity when it came to political ideas. The slightest mention of being a left-wing thinker, and you would often face the same fate as my wife. This fate was, in essence, the method by which Videla avoided a right-wing future, raising the kidnapped children to respect the same ideals and political opinions that she believed were tre... middle of paper... I see it, a first impression means nothing if it is not satisfied and, as an Argentine citizen, I feel as betrayed as I am sad. The fact that he was unable to listen to other people's ideas and punished them for thinking differently surpasses the glimmer of hope he initially gave off. My message to anyone reading this, appreciate what you have. Not in a material sense, you recognize that you have the right to think freely and not to worry about your safety. Our country has been hurt by this experience, but maybe it's just one of those lessons that needs to be learned the hard way. I have faith that Argentina will recover and will never allow a dictatorship to consume the country like Videla did. As for me, I am continuing to look for my son. Hopefully, he or she has the strength to think independently and practice the freedoms we all deserve as human beings.