We are living in an anomic country, where there is no regard for the lives of the citizens. Our family is being denied justice and truth.
Is Claudio Alejandro Kussman my husband? Yes, he is.
He was born in Argentina, South America, more precisely at 1800 Moldes Street in the neighborhood of Belgrano, in the city of Buenos Aires. His mother, Lina Margarita Perosino, was born in Bahía Blanca in the Province of Buenos Aires into an Italian Argentine family, but spent her childhood and teen years in the same area of Belgrano, on former Blandengues street. His father, Teo Kussman, was born in Poland and had German ancestry. Lina and Teo met at the famous restaurant bar Bodensee on Cramer Avenue, in Belgrano, where German immigrants and descendants used to gather for beer and bowling. They got married and, in time, Claudio was to be born into the hands of his Grandmother María Luisa Binello, a midwife. He was baptized into the Roman Catholic religion and later took his Holy Communion.
When Claudio was eight months old, his family moved to 2279 Salta Street, Olivos, a few meters away from the Presidential Villa, which is the residence of Argentine Presidents. Such proximity allowed him to meet Presidents Juan Domingo Perón, politician and a military man, and Arturo Frondizi, Esq.,who was subsequently overthrown by a coup d’ état. In addition to attending the villa’s movie theater, Claudio used to see Mr. Frondizi taking walks around the neighborhood.
Claudio spent his childhood between Bahía Blanca, where his uncle Felix owned several drugstores (and later became a lawyer), and his home in Olivos. He graduated from the Police academy and requested to be sent to the 2nd Precinct in Bahía Blanca, so as to be close to his grandmother María Luis Binello, whom he loved dearly. He spent almost 14 years in Bahía Blanca, which is the city where I was born.
Why did my husband become a policeman? Because it was his calling. As a young boy, he dreamed of being a detective, so at age 16 he joined the Juan Vucetich Police School, which is located at 17500 Centenario Street, Berazategui, in the Province of Buenos Aires. He retired with the rank of Comisario Mayor 22 years ago [currently ranked “Comisario Mayor (R)”]. Granting him his request, he was neither retired in advance, nor laid off [a fairly usual request in order to collect layoff compensation]. He joined the force and left it at will, he was in no hurry to retire, nor was he sorry to do it when the time came: He is a policeman at heart, and he will be a policeman until he dies. Nobody can take that away from him, not even invoking justice.
Claudio is a loyal, principled man, deeply committed to his duties, a loving husband and father. He has always dedicated a part of his life to the rescue and protection of mistreated and abandoned animals, picking up hundreds of them from the streets or from the different districts where he worked, and actively contributing donations and assistance to animal shelters. Numerous anecdotes of the many animals he rescued remain as cherished memories: “Alita”, the bitch adopted by the 5th Regional Unit in Bahía Blanca; “Rosita” the cat rescued from a house adjoining the Investigations Brigade in Martínez; “Cabezón”, the tomcat lodged at the Tigre Brigade, in San Fernando; the longish dog “Escopeta” at the Quilmes Regional Unit, and the list continues endlessly.
A telling anecdote reveals my husband’s varied interests, observant mind and sensibility. He once noticed that in the middle of the school grounds there stood a very unusual tree (Agathis Alba), commonly known as “Crystal tree”, “Glass tree”, Damara”or “Bell tree”, of the Araucariaceae family. The tree is an exotic species, perhaps one of the few in existance in the Americas, and it was introduced into our country from Malaysia and Oceania. Claudio was moved by his discovery, and he took me and our granddaughter on a special visit to see it.
Does his family love him? Infinitely so! He is a devoted father and grandfather, constantly seeing to his granddaughter’s future. Unparalleled husband, I love him as much nowadays as when we were adolescents, when I first met him. He was hanging out with a friend at a street corner in Bahía Blanca when I came by. We were introduced and I fell for him for ever... Cupid’s arrow hit me hard! We became a family and here we are now, together in health and in sickness, in prosperity and adversity, loving each other forever.
Is my husband a torturer, or was he ever one? No, never! Such a thing would violate every principle he himself and his family uphold.
I shall not comment at this point on the malicious accusation my husband fell victim to, which I have studied thoroughly, save to declare that it is a downright lie, as are those others being flung at him more recently. My husband was arrested on December 28th, 2014, and since then, he has not been allowed to read his case file, despite his numerous requests to that effect. Additionally, yesterday, February 6th, 2015, other criminal charges were added. To the so-called justice officials I say: no matter what criminal charges you bring against my husband, this family will continue to assert the truth.
Be strong, my love! Your family stands by you, and together we will keep fighting for truth and justice. And our friends, who are also rallying to your defence, I leave out of this, so that they are not subject to Vice Minister Forti’s persecution.
María del Carmen Ferreyra de Kussman