By veterans ex soldiers of the Malvinas War, who belong to several units

Everything was set. Permits, flight tickets, reservations, even the passports, a painful issue for us argentines. Going back to our land and imposing this requirement digs deep in the souls of the veterans, but we have given up on our diplomacy getting back our sovereignty over the islands for a long time and we are not willing to wait another minute to return and reunite with the land where the course of our lives was marked with fire.
The first time I met them was in the Río Gallegos Veteran Center, a Saturday morning on September the 12 th, 2009. Their faces say all, they´re about to experience what they yearned for a long time, 27 years to be exact. The group is made out of a 12 person committee, Jorge Palacios “Chapu”, Walter Buffarini, “El polaco” (the polish man), Juan Carlos Garello, “El colorado” (The red head), Roberto Ojeda, “Oso” (bear), Raúl Bricchi, “El gringo que lo quieren por los ojos celestes” (The gringo who is loved for his blue eyes), Elio Álvarez, “Hijo del viento” (Son of the wind), Omar Girotti, “El loco” (The crazy man), Eduardo Miranda, “Lala”, Mario Gutiérrez, “Garganta con arena” (Sand throat), Martín González, “Indiana”, Heraldo Romano, “John Lennon” y Marcelo Perissé, “Cocodrilo” (Crocodile).

We headed for the military base and from there to the airport to take the LAN LA-992 flight that will take us to Mount Pleasant, on Malvinas Islands. Actually, the flight destination is Falkland Islands (for kelpers and English) but it´s Malvinas for us, the argentines. Anyways, since who has sovereignty hasn´t been defined, LAN doesn´t choose any of both names and only uses the airport name. The first curiosity comes up when the pilot announces “Welcome to LAN LA-992 flight going from Río Gallegos to Falkland Islands or Malvinas. We will be flying for 50 minutes approximately”.
The plane takes off and so do the dreams of each and every single one of the boys. An illusion is being materialized, in less than an hour we´ll see the Islands and what if even stronger…we´ll step on its land, feel its wind, see its geography, walk through it and surely, the memories will come back from the island´s core settling the thoughts of this group of heroes which come back to show that they are present and they haven´t forgotten anything of what happened there.

Filming of photographing the landing is strictly forbidden because it´s military base. We came down and walked about fifty meters through the landing strip until we arrived to a control zone. While we entered, we see a C-130 Hercules plane and artillery antiaircraft pieces placed all over. We thought it would be a long and thorough control, but to our surprise, in less than five minutes we passed the control and we were set, waiting for someone to carry our luggage. The distance between the airport and Stanley Port (Puerto Argentino for us) is huge and it´s almost a one-hour drive.
Some people from Chile invited us to travel and that´s how we split up and headed to town. We arrived at the Lookout Lodge, which is a shelter made out of bound containers, forming a hotel with individual pieces, with a capacity for 80 people, kitchen, dining room, living room and TV room. The truth is that everything is so well done, that being inside one does not realize that he is in a set of containers…

Little by little everyone started arriving and we reunited the initial party. We went out for a walk and the boys didn´t recognize the place at all. These 27 years have changed the town´s face and it is now big and tidy. Rubén, the lodging´s chef where we were staying, told us that in 1982 England felt the Islands as a hassle and that the war with Argentina had as a consequence a change in the English government position before the islanders called kelpers, to such point that the money investment got bigger in time and today one can see the really good quality of life, with a fine education (there are scholarships to study in the United Kingdom), a good health system and a strong presence from the local government translated in public and infrastructure works.
Even though the official UK local currency is the sterling pound, in the Islands they use the Falkland Pound and it is only valid in that territory. One pound equals 6.70 argentine pesos. Kelpers say that it is one of the world´s most expensive places, due to the fact that everything arrives in ships or planes and this generates costs rising, because of the supply logistics. Just to have an idea, a card to talk on the phone for ten minutes costs ten pounds (67 argentine pesos). There is no “cyber” with internet and to go online one must go to the Wireless and pay a huge cost. The islanders have high cost internet by megabytes, but in a strange form, since it´s like a phone card system where MB are subtracted as they are consumed and when they run out the service is interrupted.
The boys are anxious to go around their old “positions”, that is, go to the places where they had to be in the war. Logically, the nine veterans have been in different and distant places, and that is why we know we are going to walk a lot in the next few days.

On Sunday, we got up early and headed for the old airport area. This is the place where Argentina landed in 1982, with Seineldín as one of the main figures. The ground is different, the floor has been removed, almost three decades have passed, but still, the boys begin to find their position areas. To guide themselves, they use physical parameters like the airport antenna, a solitary island, etc. The despair, the anxiousness and the time passed are against them and they are having a hard time finding the right spot. It seems that when they left in 1982 they swore themselves to find each other in the same place and to look one another in the eyes and heal the wounds caused by this war, give a pat in the back and travel all together back to Argentina . Everything is tense, their faces say it all.
Suddenly, Lala begins to remember his partners´ location, closes his eyes and names them just like we would we could name our classmates location in the classroom at high school. He breaks apart and inconsolably starts crying. His eyes express a question that will be repeated in the crying of every veteran: Why?
The helping comfort arrives and we move on. We start to find more positions and if one looks at the ground in very little detail, one can start to see bullets, sheaths, etc. Everything is lying there, it just takes to watch closely and one can begin to realize that behind a shelter built behind a rock, or dug up in the ground there were people who fought and met their fate in 1982.
The walk gets long and we found metallic boxes underneath the rocks, with pictures, writings and else. In this case, it was an English soldier who left the chest in the 25 th anniversary of the war. We observed everything and kept it just as it was, because this has to be deal with mayor respect. The existing codes between both countries veterans are very highly esteemed, filled with ethics and respect because they all know that nobody fought willingly, the war was reached out of lack of maturity of both countries which had to come to a diplomatic agreement instead of a war.

We went back to the lodging alter walking all day… we were exhausted! We dined at 17 hs and then we went for a drink at a pub called Globe Tavern. All is well, we are a group of argentines in the middle of English and kelpers and there is no trouble at all. After a while, a 22 year old boy shows up and asks for a drink at the bar. When he turns around, he says to us in English that he hates us and he even insults as. He goes over to his friends and starts telling his friends that we are argentines. The situation is hard, but we promised ourselves to put up with this kind of onslaughts, because we don´t want any trouble and for this to create future drawbacks for future argentine visitors. Some girls grab hi, take him away and apologize to us. All ends well and we go back to the lodging.
On Monday morning we head for the Falkland Islands Company, where 4x4 vans can be rented to move around quickly in the island. To our surprise, there are no vehicles available and we will have to go around by foot. We headed for the zone where the “Two Sisters” cliffs are located and Mount Longdon (all of this is placed opposite the old airport). In this place, the beginning of the end of the Malvinas war practically started, as England landed in San Carlos and the soldiers were divided in two main groups, one headed to Port Stanley and the other towards Darwin and Goose Green.
Argentina did everything to defend Port Stanley, and that is why when San Carlos , Darwin and Goose Gren fell, the English became invincible. In this area near Stanley fought Jorge Palacios, and that is why this day was very emotional for him. We walked a lot, passed by areas with crosses, reminder souvenirs, we see more bullets, sheaths, large calibre guns, etc.

We arrived at the top of Mount Longdon and from there we could see how the English moved forward. We could also see a great deal of shovels, campaign kitchens, blankets, bullets, combat boots and the typical “Flecha” sneakers.
We continued towards the “Two Sisters” cliffs and we see mortars, personal missile launchers, etc. At all times, since the first day, we watch a great deal of land fenced and identified with signs that forbid entrance, due to the existence –still- of landmines. When Argentina took over the islands, beaches were mined, as well as rivers and different roads of access, and until today, this is still active and the access to the different areas is still restricted. It could be said that both countries fought for the land and, at the end of the day, this one was the one that lost the most because a great part of the ground can´t be used for any activity.
We go back and Jorge takes off with Lala towards the mountain to walk and they happily find their position. We go back to the lodging after another long day.
On Tuesday we got up early headed on a van to Darwin and Goose Green. We know this day is going to be difficult since we´ll encounter the cemetery that holds the argentines that fell in Malvinas. We arrive and see a plaque which refers to the place. Where it used to say “Malvinas” somebody crossed it out and now says “Falklands”. The locals get really angry when they hear someone say “Islas Malvinas”, but we are equally upset by that strikethrough, because we consider this place to belong to our soldiers and they deserve respect.

The situation gets very tense, we all walk around the cemetery in silence, reflecting...suddenly Buffarini breaks down and say he could´ve been there...that it took very little for him to be there. This is because in the Goose Green confrontation, he was badly injured and English medics saved him by making a first intervention and then was transported by helicopter to be stabilized and operated. The hard situation goes on and one by one, they sink in the tears caused by being there.
Later, two RAF Tornado airplanes, parked in the Islands, pass us by and the roar of the turbines makes each and every one of us recall the experiences lived 27 years before. We are living a difficult moment and start to comfort the more despaired.
It´s the first time that everyone in the group feels bad. Slowly, we start to exit and our mood eventually begins to improve. A lot of the boys find tombstones with names of a fallen partner, they thought some of them wouldn´t even be identified, since the Argentine Army didn´t have time to give all of them identifying badges, and so, they set a cloth band with their names on it, which logically after two months buried in a hole with rain water and cold, in most cases disappeared. Finding these names is very emotional, but doesn´t generate a painful situation, on the contrary, it generates pleasure knowing that they are there and that their families will be able to visit them. Anyways, there are a lot of tombstones that say “Argentine Soldier, only known by God”...we pray The Lord´s Prayer and Holy Mary and leave very thoughtful.

Inside the van everything is silence. Eventually, we start talking and things start improving. We get to Goose Green and before the suspicious looks on the residents we start to walk around the place. We see the docks, the shed where the prisoners were kept, etc.
Afterwards, we head out to a more advanced area and got to the place were “H” Jones, the English parachute head chief, fell. In there, there is a monument and a summary of the combat. This is the place where Buffarini fought and was injured. We go in the field until he identifies the spot where the fight occurred. He starts remembering and tells us everything, until the last detail. I look at him and I feel that as he pronounces each word he is living the situation all over again. A bomb exploded nearby and a sliver made impact on his face. His jaw came off and he put a towel around it. When he saw that it got filled with blood, he got it out and placed a balaclava with which happened the same thing. Instantly, an English medica placed a dressing and they evacuated him going up a hill. Then they made him climb down and get on a helicopter to transport him to the English medic boat “ Uganda ”, where he had surgery and saved his life.  
Several partners died in there. It was one of the bloodiest confrontations that were held in the Islands. The “Polaco” breaks and everyone hugs him. He leans down and grabs some of the dirt from the same spot where he was wounded. He also tells that he never felt pain, he walked by his own means towards the helicopter.

We´re about to head back to the van y we see that lower down the mountain some members of an English Army Company are walking around. Among them, there is a big man moving his arms and explaining something to them. We ask the Polaco and he agrees for us to go forward and talk to them. We climb up the hill (the same he climbed up wounded 27 years ago) and we met the English military. We apologize for the interruption and we begin to talk to Sergeant James, who took off his beret when he found out he was before a veteran, he saluted and congratulated him for having fought and for going back after so long. The atmosphere is completely different to the one that everybody imagines. Everything takes place in a polite manner and with a lot of respect…it seems as a conversation of two people who know each other and meet again after a long time… Buffarini thanks him for saving his life after being wounded… the experience is priceless and the final handshake between them rejoices the souls of those who believe that everything is possible in this life when people can agree. We leave satisfied, not everything is so bad after all.
The rest of the days are used by the boys to go to the museum, walk around Port Stanley and going back to the positions in order to spend more time in them. Lala invites some partners for a meal in his house and they say it´s a very good idea, too bad it´s thousands of miles apart… he looks at them and says that in that moment his house is there, in the location of “his position”. They sit and eat in Lala´s house, thanking him for his hospitality.

Jorge Palacios buys a book from the days of war and, for Buffarini´s pleasant surprise, in the main part of the book there´s a picture of him on his knees, with the towel soaked in blood. It is the picture taken at the same moment in which he was being taken prisoner. I can imagine what he must feel seeing himself in that situation 27 years ago! ... All of this is very emotional and before this kind of surprises, it gets really hard to control the heartbeats.
Thursday arrives and we have an idea with Martín. We want to reach the top of Mount Osbourne 1 and 2, the highest point in the Malvinas Islands . We are going to place an argentine flag so that it will fly high in the islands. We invite Jorge Palacios “El Chapu”, he doesn´t hesitate and at 7:00 hs we started the journey on a 4X4, property of a man from Chile called Rodolfo.
After going through a considerable amount of cross country, at 9:30 hs we arrive at the area to start hiking and we take off. The field is a little steep and there are a lot of rocks. The wind is very, but very strong. We feel a strange noise and see how a military helicopter places behind us and follows us in such a slow way that it seems as if time has stopped. We started to laugh and say hello with a gesture that indicated “here we are!”. We reached the top of the Ousborne 2 at 11:10. We jabbed a stake, wrote in the flag the name of all the veterans from that group, and for the record, we wrote “Malvinas are and always will be argentine” and let it fly. We kept on walking and left through a slope where a window of stones if formed.

The wind over there becomes unbearable and Chapu decides that he will stay and wait for us. We don´t have a lot of time and so we decide that if we are going to reach the top we will have to step up our pace. When we headed towards the peak we found a lot of fog and snow. As we climb higher and higher, we see more snow and begin to walk over it. We reached the top at 12:20 hs AM…it is beautiful, for a few moments, when the sky clears, we see all the paths below. We mark the spot with a GPS and place there a hat with the argentine flag, tied to a few stones. We thank the lads for letting us be a part of the group, we gathered stones from the peak and went down to meet with Chapu. We kept our journey all the way to San Carlos, the place where the English landed.
At night, we met with the boys and they get very emotional when they see the video. We are very happy because our flag will be in the highest point of the islands for some time. Fridays arrives quickly and we begin to say goodbye to the beautiful Malvinas Islands. Everybody tries to finish what they think is necessary because time is running out.

The Colo Garello still isn´t clear on where his position is and so I walk with him to the old airport area. I wish with all my heart that he will be able to find the place where he was those months on 1982. After walking around and appealing to all our guiding senses we found the spot. It leaves me very happy to know that Colo found himself. On Saturday we left early for the airport and there they told us the scanner wasn´t working, and that they will have to check manually our luggage.
With no doubt, this is a well thought strategy meant for us and so we spent a lot of time until the control ended and they take away from us several things we had taken as a reminder of the Islands. A lot of the men are sad because they wanted to share this with their families, but we know we have no other choice.
The LAN LA-993 flight arrives on time and we get on the plane. With a knot in our throats we leave the Islands . But this time, the boys feel defeated, they have hope. They know that in the face of adversity and against all fears they have given themselves a gift, the possibility to go back… and they trust that sooner or later, God´s justice will make its presence once and for all, because …

MALVINAS ARE ARGENTINE!