To the Editors:
I cannot leave unanswered Dr. D'Amore's letter published in the October 1978 Newsletter.
First, I cannot share his feelings of distress due to the American Psychoanalytic Association's having sent a letter, both courteous and dignified, and passed by the membership by a vote of nine to one, to the President of Argentina inquiring and seeking information about the health, welfare, and whereabouts of missing physicians, psychiatrists, psychoanalysts, and related professionals. Some had been taken into custody without having been charged with any offense; others had been seized or kidnapped by roving gangs outside of the interest or control of the government. Amnesty International estimates that 6000 have been liquidated, while 15,000 have been held incommunicado, or without having been heard from for years, notwithstanding letters and appeals by relatives or concerned scientific organizations… .
Dr. D'Amore, who visited Argentina, 17-21 July, to lecture on the history of psychoanalysis, disagrees profoundly with my viewpoints, especially those pertaining to harassment of medical professionals, and to the harassment of Jews. They are based on the excellent series of articles published in Psychiatric News (December 17, 1977, and February 3, 1978); on voluminous material from Amnesty International; on letter correspondence from refugee colleagues in Mexico; and from face-to-face contact with Argentinian colleagues.
A former professor of psychiatry stated in the News of APA (Dr. D'Amore is a member), “few psychiatrists would dare to take or keep notes; that most had destroyed old files; that group therapy, once popular in Argentina, is severely curtailed, being looked upon with suspicion by the military.” Surely Dr. D'Amore cannot maintain that colleagues could enjoy peace of mind under such professional harassment.
I talked to several Argentinian colleagues (not in Argentina). I tried to express my viewpoint but as I noted their tenseness and anxiety, I desisted, and listened to theirs. It was this: “as long as the government permits us to travel, we shall do nothing; as long as the government permits us to practice, we shall do nothing.” I have no scruples about their taking this position for economic survival, but it does indicate further harassment.
Though I did not refer to the Jewish problem in my letter-resolution, Dr. D'Amore did refer to it in his letter to you, and therefore I must reply to it as part of his overall disagreement with me. He found not a single instance of anti-Semitism “other than a small red spot the size of a cherry tomato that may have represented a hostile act.” He even went so far as to say that a Jewish colleague, by a gesture to his head, indicated that even the thought of anti-Semitism was ridiculous. I quote from a letter that I have received from an American colleague: “Last week I was privileged to hear an off-the-record account of the present situation by a rabbi who was heavily in liaison work in Latin America. He mentioned that leaders in the community deny and repudiate, like clockwork, all criticism about Argentina made by groups outside of that country. This is quite understandable, because they all live in terror. Only recently, the son of the president of the Jewish community was kidnapped for three days. A well-known newspaper editor was in prison for over a year, and now is under house arrest ‘for his protection’. Everyone is terrified, because if such prominent men are vulnerable, then everyone is vulnerable. Argentina is very sensitive about world opinion and has signed a very large agreement with an American public relations firm to polish its image.” …
I have taken my position from Amnesty International. It is international and influential, non-partisan, and the recipient of a Nobel Prize. The organization functions in terms of awareness (they have a roster of missing psychiatrists), exposure, inquiry, and protest.
We must continue in that direction.
Walter Briehl
Los Angeles