MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentine cemetery benefactor visits Falklands to say “thank you” for the joint humanitarian identification program

Eduardo Eurnekian with former British Ambassador to Buenos Aires Robin Christopher (L) and Mark Kent, current British ambassador in Buenos Aires (R)

Argentine entrepreneur Eduardo Eurnekián, who financed the Argentine cemetery in the Falkland Islands to bury with dignity those who perished in the 1982 war and also the March 26 flights for relatives to visit the graves of the newly-identified bodies, last week flew to the Islands to the place that has touched his heart since 2003 and thank everybody for the humanitarian accomplishment.

In an unprecedented event for an Argentine citizen post-1982, Eurnekián was greeted by every Falklands' authority one can think of, civilian, military and religious.

In 2003, Eurnekián took it upon himself at the request of then British Ambassador to Buenos Aires Robin Christopher to convert a precarious cemetery into a memorial for the Argentine combatants fallen during the conflict. The old cemetery had remained unchanged since 1983.

In 2004, Eurnekián commenced work at the old graveyard laid out by the Commonwealth War Commission under British Colonel Geoffrey Cardozo.

And from that moment on Eurnekián made the humanitarian cause his own by sponsoring the Malvinas Family Commission and supporting maintenance at Darwin, among other things. Earlier this month he even took care of the costs of bringing the body of Captain Luis Castagnari to Rio Cuarto to be laid to rest next to his eldest son who had died of cancer at age 3.

When he deplaned at Mount Pleasant, Eurnekián was greeted by Governor Nigel Phillips CBE, together with Chief Executive Barry Rowland, Works and Infrastructure Director Colin Summers, Brigadier Nick Sawyer, commander of the British Forces of the South Atlantic Islands, Catholic Father John Wisdom and Falklands lawmaker MLA Roger Spink, who had been in Geneva earlier this year attending to details regarding the process of identifying the unnamed bodies.

Also at the air terminal were Falkland Islands Company Director Kevin Ironside as well as Tim Miller, owner of Stanley Growers Market Garden and in charge of the cemetery.

At lunch, Eurnekián said “Thank you!” for the hosts' assistance on March 26 when the relatives flew to the Falklands to see named tombs instead of the old “Argentine soldier known only by God.”

The British and Falklands authorities reportedly praised and recognized Eurnekián’s commitment to something the Argentine government should have undertaken long ago.

“This was a humanitarian visit. Eurnekián having Armenian ancestry particularly appreciating the way the dead were treated” commented MLA Spink to MercoPress.

Eurnekián was not aboard on March 26, saying that day was for the relatives, that they were the ones who deserved it. They were the ones in mourning.

All parties agreed to underline the importance of “ordinary citizens” who carried out the humanitarian cause of identifying the fallen, particularly Malvinas veteran Julio Aro of the No Me Olvides (Forget Me Not) Foundation, Colonel Geoffrey Cardozo, and Roger Waters, the former leader of Pink Floyd, who took the initiative to the presidential office during his visit to Argentina in 2012 and managed to open doors that had been closed for years.

Eurnekián, CEO of Corporación América, presented Governor Philips and MLA Roger Spink with commemorative plaques with the AA2000 (a CA subsidiary) logo which read: “OUR GRATITUDE FOR HELPING THE FAMILIES OF OUR FALLEN HEROES FINDING THEIR PEACE”.

In return, Eurnekián, an amateur astronomer, received from Brigadier Sawyer a framed photograph of the Milky Way and a book with the Islands' flora and fauna.

It was a meeting of camaraderie, of people with common interests who want to build bonds and pursue peace and reconciliation.

Significantly accompanying Eurnekián were Miguel Acevedo, president of the Argentine Industrial Union (UIA); Daniel Pelegrina, president of Sociedad Rural Argentina (Rural Association); Robin Christopher, British ambassador to Argentina in 2003; Mark Kent, current British ambassador in Buenos Aires; Richard Jones, of the British embassy and who worked in the cause of the identification of the fallen ones; Roberto Curilovic, logistics manager at AA2000 (Aeropuertos Argentina 2000) and an Argentine Navy aviator in 1982, and Carolina Barros, Director of Communications and International Relations of Corporación América.

After lunch, it was time to visit the Argentine military cemetery at Darwin together with Fergus Cliff, second in command of the British Forces in the islands, Colin Summers, Father Wisdom, Tim Miller and Kevin Ironside.

Upon arriving at the cemetery, great was the surprise when they met Marcelo Vallejo, a war veteran and an actor in the Mined Field company of three British ad three Argentine actors who tour the world portraying what it was like back there in 1982.

Eurnekián stopped and prayed before each cross. The road to mutual understanding started with a simple “Thank you.” (Source and photos: Infobae)