Argentina was ruled by a military junta from 1976 to 1983. During this time many of those who opposed the dictatorship were arrested and ‘disappeared’. Political activists went into hiding and several ten thousand Argentinians managed to get out of the country and find safety in other countries. A handful came to Cambridge and made their home here. Churchill College and the Bell School offered support for the refugees.
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Gustave managed to escape the dictatorship and persecution in Argentina as a young adult, and arrived with his pregnant wife in Cambridge. Below are his experiences of escape from Argentina, and arrival and life in Cambridge.
1. Dictatorship, political repression and escape
" They [military police] came with weapons, with vehicles, and were ready to find people [opponent of the military regime]... Their bodies arrived in the boxes in the centre of Buenos Aires at the opera (1975).
I was on a certain list [created by the dictatorship], and I had to leave my home and live somewhere without giving my address. The plan we had, was to get away and breathe a little air to see what we wanted to do. I was 23 years old at the time, my wife was 20 and pregnant."
2. Arrival and Language
" We were very, very naïve, didn't know what to do, we didn't have a plan. So the first thing we did was, we tried to find somewhere to learn English. We just went to the Bell School and were helped there. There was a lot of goodwill. We didn't find any problems. People were very sympathetic to people fleeing Argentina under the dictatorship."
3. Social life
" When we came back from Glasgow it was very good because our daughter was very young. We met many families with children, who went to school or nursing school or something like that together…When we came back to Cambridge, there was college social life. We met a lot of people there. I was involved in sports."
4. Work
" But, I made it, got a job and then socialized with the people in the practice. It was a small practice, but there were other architects and friends."
"It's during my work hours, when I talk about a lot of things with people. It's a very nice office. This is an office in Cambridge. Yes, this is a very wonderful office."