Portfolios > The Inevitability of Nina

Dear Nina,
I had never been to the Falkland Islands (Malvinas) before now. The first time I heard the name was in Scotland during the summer of 1972, before I moved to Canada. I was planting trees with a guy who had spent a year in the Falklands doing anthropological fieldwork. He shared many colorful stories about his experience and the results of his research. He introduced me to the Falkland Islands, anthropology, and the idea that field research was a thing. Most notably, our meeting sparked my interest in the Falkland Islands as an exotic destination I hoped to visit someday. And now, fifty-four years later, I find myself here.

The next time the Falkland Islands caught my attention, and the attention of the world, was in April 1982, when Argentina invaded to reclaim what it believed was its own territory. For what it's worth, Nina, the Falkland Islands are 8,000 miles from the UK and 300 miles from Argentina. Back then, I was living in a tent in Eastern Oregon, prospecting for minerals. Feeling isolated from what was happening in the world, I bought a shortwave radio to listen to the BBC World Service. As Britain prepared a response to the invasion, news from the South Atlantic was not good, at least from a British perspective. The only news from Argentina was about the brutality of the military dictator, General Galtieri, and the ‘disappearance’ of his opponents.

There was news that the Royal Marines had to surrender and were humiliated by the invading Argentine soldiers in the capital, Stanley. Debates grew more intense in the British Parliament, and ultimately, Margaret Thatcher sent the British armed forces to retake the islands. When the Brits arrived, several ships were destroyed by the Argentine Air Force, showing Argentina's ability as a fighting force. It’s worth noting, Nina, that both Thatcher and Galtieri were unpopular at the time, and their actions could be seen as distractions. But that’s beyond the scope of my story, except to mention that the causes of war are never clear-cut. Since you lived through both the First and Second World Wars, Nina, there’s no need to convince you otherwise.

What interested me most and prompted my visit to the Falklands was how captivated I was by the BBC’s propaganda machine and how it was designed to appeal to my immaturity and masculinity—perhaps my immature masculinity. The propaganda was so convincing that I decided to join the British Marines to do my 'bit.’ Although the war probably would have ended before I was even accepted, the sinking of the Argentine cruiser ARA General Belgrano by a British nuclear submarine, which resulted in the death of 323 conscripts with an average age of 19, divided public support for the war and challenged my initial bravado.

After the Falklands War, I reflected on it with the benefit of hindsight and wondered how I might see things differently if I ever considered participating in institutional violence again. I call this anticipating hindsight. So, here I am in the Falkland Islands, and from conversations I’ve had with locals, it’s clear why they didn’t want to be forcibly annexed by another country, even though proximity was a compelling factor for the invaders. A fellow passenger on the flight from Chile to the Falklands told me that, in 1982, when the Falklands War was happening, there were disproportionately more men than women on the islands. He felt that if Argentina had invaded with six hundred women, the outcome would have been different. Initially, I thought he was joking, but now I believe he's an enlightened man. If women were in charge, would there be war?
Love, Roddy