I was disappeared under Argentina’s dictatorship. I know how autocracy begins | Miriam Lewin

Foreigners treated as enemies, judges under attack: the signs are everywhere in the US. But there are still reasons to hope

Like so many others, I watched the video of Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish student at Tufts University, as she was surrounded by men dressed in black, some wearing masks. They carried guns. One grabbed her by the collar. The men surrounded her, and one handcuffed her. You can hear her short shrieks of fear.

She must have been terrified. I know I was when, as a 19-year-old student, I was kidnapped off the streets of Buenos Aires by members of an irregular taskforce. I know what it feels like and I know what it portends.

Miriam Lewin is a leading Argentine journalist and survivor of the dictatorship. She is the author of six books, including Iosi, the Remorseful Spy forthcoming in English in July 2025 (Seven Stories Press). A seven episode podcast about Miriam Lewin's experience as a prisoner of the state and her fight for justice is titled The Burden: Avenger