| The TV Documentary:
"The Honor Of God"
Gabriel Seisdedos' had never
met a priest in his life. Educated in the Jewish tradition, he learned the
importance of the keeping of the memory. While he was on the Board of Directors of
the Engelmajer Foundation in Buenos Aires, he was introduced to a fellow Director: Father
Thomas O'Donnell. Gabriel had just finished a documentary on the Foundation's work
with recovering drug addicts.
After their first encounter, he walked back with
Father O'Donnell to St. Patrick's church, located just two blocks away from the
Foundation. The priest invited him in. Gabriel could not avoid seeing the
five portraits hanging at the house's entrance. After mentioning the names of the
five martyrs, Father O'Donnell showed Gabriel the red carpet where they were killed.
To break the silence that the red carpet imposes on all visitors, Father O'Donnell
asked him: "It would be a good idea to tell their story, don't you think?"
That was the beginning of a project that would lead
both men through a massive ordeal, changing them and those around them forever. With
Ivan Marino as the cameraman and a short list of names, Gabriel embarked on a three-year
investigation. His purpose was to find the truth about the death of five consecrated
men in their living room, at the hands of the military dictatorship that ruled Argentina
for seven atrocious years.
His investigation led him to interview neighbors,
friends and families of the victims, Pallottine priests, former revolutionaries,
politicians, judges, bishops, government officials, writers, and ultimately, the only Navy
officer who had ever admitted to the genocidal methods utilized during "the dirty
war."
The Interview with Scilingo
Gabriel Seisdedos interviewed Retired Captain
Adolfo Scilingo in prison, where he was jailed for fraud. His testimony about his
participation in the Navy's death flights had been published by journalist Horacio
Verbitsky in his book "The Flight" ("El Vuelo") now printed in English
as well. Mike Wallace had previously interviewed Scilingo on April 2, 1995 about his
participation on the infamous "death flights" for the CBS television magazine
"60 MINUTES." That week, "Newsweek" and "Time"
magazines published commentaries on Scilingo's statements.
Scilingo agreed to appear on Seisdedos' TV
documentary to confirm that a Navy death squad commanded by Captain Antonio Pernias killed
the Pallottines. Scilingo was in charge of hiding the two cars utilized in the crime
while he was working at the ESMA (Superior School of Naval Mechanics) -- the most
notorious Naval concentration camp. Never before an official from any of the
Argentine Armed Forces had clearly acknowledged the Navy's participation in the massacre
of the Pallottines. Captain Pernias had admitted only to torturing prisoners to a
Senate Committee in charge of reviewing his promotion. Thanks to the pressure created by
the media, his promotion was denied -- although it had been secretly approved by President
Menem.
Broadcasts
Gabriel Seisdedos' TV documentary was presented at
The Latin American Workshop in New York on June 8, 1997, in conjunction with the Human
Rights Watch International Film Festival at Lincoln Center. The edition of the
documentary was completed at WUSF-TV16, at the University of South Florida, Tampa, USA.
The program had its 1998
broadcasting in Boston Catholic TV (July 4-5) and WUSF-TV16 in Tampa (July 13). This
gave the Argentine Pallottine Community the chance to enter the program for the South
Florida Emmy Awards' Chapter for that year.
The documentary is currently being offered to
television stations worldwide for broadcasting. It is also being offered to
religious communities, universities, and Human Rights organizations for educational
purposes.
To obtain a copy, please e-mail five@fivemartyrs.org |