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Montenegro felt betrayed -- and shocked to realize that the couplewho raised her were part of the military regime responsible for herparents' disappearance. "I was 'appropriated,'" Montenegro said, using the term given tochildren whose parents were killed or disappeared during the DirtyWar and were given to other couples. "It took me several years toassimilate my new identity and find peace about my truebackground." Now a 36-year-old mother of three children, Montenegro learnedanother truth this week: One of eight unidentified bodies foundacross the border in Uruguay in 2002 was confirmed to be theremains of her father. Roque Orlando Montenegro, who disappeared at age 20 in 1976 whenVictoria was just a few days old, was an apparent victim of thewar's barbaric "death flights," a series of military airplane ridesin which political prisoners were thrown alive into the sea,forensic investigators said. His body probably washed ashore on the Uruguayan coast, and someoneburied him in a nameless grave. "I personally feel that there is no word for so many feelings," shetold reporters this week, describing her country as "a genocidalstate" that threw her father into the ocean. Today, Victoria Montenegro feels disconnected from her militaryfather -- who died in 2003 -- because he was part of the regimetargeting liberals like her real parents. Her adoptive mother died recently. Affection for the adoptive couple has dissipated: They had beengood parents who raised her well. She feels no hate or animosity --just betrayal, she told CNN this week. She felt "peace" knowing the truth about her father's fate. But now she wonders about what happened to her mother. The group investigating the war's legacy, Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo(May Square Grandmothers), which determined her father's fatethrough DNA testing, is now continuing to help Montenegro about themystery of her mother -- as well as thousands of others who weretaken away from their politically persecuted parents as children. Guillermo Wulff, a spokesman with Abuelas, said that forMontenegro, learning the truth about her parents wasn't easy. "It took a long time for her to accept it; but when she did, shewas then ready for the next step, which was finding out how herparents died," Wulff said. The Argentinian Forensic Anthropology Team (EAAF by its Spanishacronym) announced this week that forensic and DNA tests prove thathuman remains found in a Uruguayan cemetery are those of RoqueOrlando Montenegro, known as "Toti." Said Victoria Montenegro: "It is a miracle that the EEAF, with adrop of my blood, has succeeded in identifying the remains of myfather that were in Uruguay since May '76." Luis Fondevrider, president of EAAF, said that identifying theremains of Montenegro was a process that started 10 years ago inColonia, Uruguay, across the Rio de La Plata from Buenos Aires. "In 2002 we exhumed eight unidentified bodies from the cemetery inColonia. At that time, we had no hypothesis as to how the bodiesended up there," said Fondevrider. EAAF took DNA and forensic samples from the bodies. In 2007, theindependent organization started taking blood and DNA samples frompeople in Argentina with missing relatives. Victoria Montenegro wasone of 8,500 people who left samples over the following four years.Finally, a match was made this year. But how did the body of a man kidnapped in Buenos Aires end up in adifferent country? Fondevrider believes Montenegro was killedduring the so-called "death flights." Montenegro's body probablywashed ashore on the Uruguayan coast. A nameless tombstone wasplaced over his grave in Colonia. For Victoria Montenegro, seeking the truth about her origins hasbeen a slow and painful process, but she says knowing what trulyhappened has given her some closure. "Recovering my true identity was paramount," Montenegro said."Having a true identity is a human right. Recovering the remains ofmy father has been important not only to understand how he died,but also to bring some justice to Argentina and the victims of theregime." Montenegro said her rendezvous with her past is only halfway done. She has no knowledge or clues about what happened to her mother. Now with a son who, at 20, is as old as her father was when hedisappeared, Montenegro said she hopes the episode shines a littlemore light on a dark past. "As painful as it may be, we need to find the truth about ourhistory," she said. "By exhuming and identifying our loved onesafter all these years, we give them back their dignity.". The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as China Tattoo Equipment Supplies , Tattoo Grips and Tubes Manufacturer, and more. For more , please visit Tattoo Aftercare Cream today!
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