Argentina - Carter, Regan, and Bush VP

-7-
guards, I put my hands through Into my husband's cubicle and
was able to touch him* I felt that he had a fever* He tried
to touch my hands* Then I passed the water to him and he drank
it all. The same thing happened the next day* A few days
later,, they let him eat and gave him water* Little by little
he began to recover. Once when the guards were not watching,
we spoke a little* He told me he had gone out in a car with
them, telling him that he was going to take them to a
rendezvous near the Italian Hospital. When they were not
paying attention, he jumped out of the car and a bus ran over
his body. He succeeded in yelling his name so that people
could notify his family. They immediately put him back into
the car and when they brought him back they tortured him more
than ever. He tried to encourage me and told me that he was
very proud of me. Every day of the month I spent there was the
same, stretched out on the mattress and constantly shackled.
Sometimes they took the handcuffs off for a few days, and they
took the hood off permanently. The electric light was always
on and the music was always playing loudly. Once a day, after
much begging, they took me to- the bathroom. On three
occasions, I was able to take a bath and change into clothing
they gave me. While I did so, the guards would open the door
whenever they wished. I had to undress, bathe and dress again
in three minutes. For the bath they took off our handcuffs,
chain and shackles. Meals were always the same: in the
morning, a cup of stew, at noon a meat sandwich and sometimes a
cup of broth, and at night the same. On some days, one or two
meals were omitted. I don't know exactly how many people were
there, but I estimate that there were about 50. The pregnant
women—and there were many of them—were given special meals;
in the morning coffee with milk, at noon and at night, meat
with mashed potatoes, and in the evening coffee with milk.
Sometimes they were given vitamins. Every day the guards
punished two or three persons. They did so for any reason;
because they removed their hoods while they were sleeping,
because they were not lying right; It because the guards
suspected them of spying; or for any other reason. - The
punishments consisted of kicks and punches for hours until they
were left unconclous. The panic is constant. Only once was
the situation reversed: the lights went out and the guards
were frightened and rushed out. Then they realized how
ridiculously they were behaving and they returned, with their
weapons in their hands, saying: "Everybody quiet, don't move";
but even their voices were trembling. Another time, the lights
went out—It must have been about December 20th—and we' could
hear troops marching past. In the first days they called roll,
asking for the name and number of each person. My husband was
on one side of me, with the number 104. I was number 103; at