We all remember the shocking image of a Syrian boy, three-year-old Aylan Kurdi, drowned in the Mediterranean Sea, along with his mother and brother, in September 2015. Somehow, the drawing by cartoonist @Maledita Wiesel of Diego Jiménez and his twelve-year-old daughter Abigail, entering their province, Santiago del Estero, on foot, reminded me of that picture. Abigail’s parents were not allowed by the local authorities to return to Termas de Río Hondo, their hometown. They were coming from the Children’s Hospital, in Tucumán, where Abigail had received oncological treatment. After waiting at the border for hours, under a scorching hot sun, surrounded by insects, Diego decided to cross on foot, holding Abigail in his arms. Governor Gerardo Zamora has now apologized to the family for what happened. Is that enough? Isn’t it too late? Shouldn’t he hand in his resignation? Oooops, sorry! I keep forgetting this is Argentina. Feudal lords own their provinces and set the rules. Sigh …
Irene Bianchi