Getting out of Buenos Aires for a little while, we made a day-trip down to La Plata to visit the Museum of Art and Memory, followed by the Provincial Commission for Memory. The two stops reflected two complementary ways that we have for processing and remembering traumatic events - and both speak to the critical role played by memory in national reconciliation.

In the Museum of Art and Memory, we were guided by Laura Poisio. She explained that the museum generally features two major exhibits, with one floor devoted to an issue from the military dictatorship and the other focused on a contemporary problem. In this manner, they maintain a dialogue on the ways the military dictatorship still influences Argentina today.

Currently, however, the museum only has one exhibit, dedicated to the Falklands War. An unpopular conflict, forced upon the Argentine people by the military dictatorship, it proved to be a terrible decision. Following initial success for Argentina's navy, Britain rallied and smashed the Latin American country. The defeat undermined the military government's base of support and ultimately brought about its demise.

However, those who fought in the war remain tormented by it. Soldiers were poorly armed - and sometimes unarmed - insufficiently fed, and lacking necessary supplies. Mandatory military service forced many young Argentines to fight against their will. And, upon returning home, they were forced to internalize their pain, unable to talk openly about their experiences in what was perceived to be an illegitimate war.

We next moved on to the Commission for Memory, formerly the police intelligence headquarters from 1955-1998. During that time, the police amassed files on over 200,000 different people suspected of subversive activity. Organized on different desks, files were lumped together under thematic categories like political activists, union leaders, and delinquent subversives.

The commission's mission is to process and make available all of these files in support of judicial activities, research and teaching, and family searches. In addition, the commission operates a Committee Against Torture and a Schools and Memory Project, to which all school-aged children in Buenos Aires contribute.