Hijos del exilio: 

Conversations about second-generation exile in and beyond the Southern Cone 

Tue 28^th March, 16.00 O’Rahilly Building 1.32 (in Spanish) 

with Fira Chmiel and Mariana Norandi 

Exile and migration to, from, and between South America have been commonplace throughout the history of the region. However, from the 1960s onwards forced displacement would become a ‘ubiquitous phenomenon’ (Roniger et al 2018, 32), with Europe a natural destination for an unprecedented exodus of individuals, as well as families, fleeing dictatorships from across the region, including Argentina (1976-83) and Uruguay (1973-85). Whilst there has been significant academic interest in the first generation of exiles — those who were adults when they left South America — there is notable absence of scholarship on the legacy of exile for second and subsequent generations. This session will explore the experience of the hijos del exilio from a range of disciplinary perspectives from two leading researchers on second-generation Southern Cone exile.  

Mariana Norandi is a journalist and postdoctoral researcher. Her doctoral research (undertaken and completed at Universidad del País Vasco) focused on the construction of identity of Uruguayan hijos in Spain, specifically the no-retornados, those who did not return to Uruguay after the end of dictatorship.  

Fira Chmiel has a PhD in Social Science from the Universidad de Buenos Aires. She is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Universidad de San Martin, also in Buenos Aires. Her research focuses on the relationship between childhood and politics, specifically in relation to memory and exile and she works comparatively between Argentina and Uruguay.