James Peck (artist)

Last updated

James Peck
James Peck (cropped).jpg
James Peck, 2011.
Born1968 (age 54–55)
Stanley, Falkland Islands
NationalityBritish
CitizenshipBritish
Argentine (by law)

James Peck (born 1968) is an artist and writer born in the Falkland Islands who held both Argentine and British citizenship. He renounced his Argentine citizenship in 2015 and returned to live in the Falklands in 2016.

Peck was born in the island's capital, Stanley, and is the fourth generation of his family living in the islands. His family is of English, Scottish and Irish descent. James is the youngest of three brothers. [1] His father, Terry Peck, was the former chief of police in the islands and fought on the British side in the Falklands War in the Battle of Mount Longdon.

James' artistic work features the Falklands War reflecting the suffering of individual soldiers particularly the Argentine conscripts. Whilst exhibiting in Buenos Aires he met and befriended Miguel Savage, an Argentine Veteran of the Falklands War. Savage also fought in the Battle of Mount Longdon and travelled to the islands meeting and staying with Terry Peck before his death from cancer in 2006.

Whilst living in Buenos Aires, Peck met and married the Argentine artist María Abriani. After moving back to the Falklands they had two children. In 2002, there was controversy in the Falkland Islands when officials denied free medical treatment for María whilst pregnant with their first child Jack who was subsequently born in Argentina. [2]

In 2008 Peck unsuccessfully sought election to the Falkland Islands Legislative Council advocating a tougher stance in negotiations with Argentina at a time when the Falkland Islands Government had proposed direct talks with Argentina. [3] [4]

In 2011, it was widely claimed that he was the first person born in the Falklands to obtain an Argentine birth certificate [5] [6] (this ignores for example Alejandro Betts in 1982, and many others). These reports claim that Argentine law and its sovereignty claim over the archipelago confer citizenship for all those born in the islands, [7] although the Argentine government often describes the islanders as "illegal", "squatters" and "illegally implanted population". [8] [9] [10]

In a ceremony led by President Kirchner on 14 June, designed to coincide with Liberation Day in the Falkland Islands, he was handed his " Documento Nacional de Identidad " (National Identity Document) and an Argentine passport. Peck stated his main reason for applying for citizenship stemmed from difficulties with Argentine bureaucracy in seeing his two children [11] from his marriage to an Argentine woman and that he did not abandon his British nationality. [12] There was a hostile reaction in the Falklands to the news reports.

In December 2014, Peck returned to the Falklands visiting his sisters and family in the islands. [13] At around the same time, he was summarily dismissed from his job working for the Argentine Government in the National Archives restoring books. A year later, in December 2015, Peck announced on his Facebook page that he had destroyed his DNI card, that he would like to return to the Falklands but "thanks to the gross manipulation by the Argentine Government of my citizenship, in 2011, I cannot.". [14] Peck returned to the Falkland Islands in January 2016. [15] In an interview given to the Guardian he stated that he had applied for citizenship to be with his children in Argentina as Argentina refused to accept he was British for the purposes of his residency application as he was born in the Falklands. [15] He became increasingly disillusioned with life in Argentina, citing pressure to take part in "Malvinas ceremonies" and “I didn’t feel integrated". I felt separated. I had had enough”. [15] Speaking of his children by his former wife “I just want my sons to know my story and that they don’t grow up here tainted by this society that I have given up on. I feel like I lost for not learning to live the Argentina way. I remember writing on my studio wall once, in the islands, that my thirst to make a difference was greater than my fear of being used." [15]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Falkland Islands</span>

The history of the Falkland Islands goes back at least five hundred years, with active exploration and colonisation only taking place in the 18th century. Nonetheless, the Falkland Islands have been a matter of controversy, as they have been claimed by the French, British, Spaniards and Argentines at various points.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Mount Longdon</span> 1982 Falklands War conflict

The Battle of Mount Longdon was a battle fought between the British 3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment and elements of the Argentine 7th Infantry Regiment on 11–12 June 1982, towards the end of the Falklands War. It was one of three engagements in a Brigade-size operation that night, along with the Battle of Mount Harriet and the Battle of Two Sisters. A mixture of hand-to-hand fighting and ranged combat resulted in the British occupying this key position around the Argentine garrison at Port Stanley. The battle ended in a British victory.

Sovereignty over the Falkland Islands is disputed by Argentina and the United Kingdom. The British claim to sovereignty dates from 1690, when they made the first recorded landing on the islands, and the United Kingdom has exercised de facto sovereignty over the archipelago almost continuously since 1833. Argentina has long disputed this claim, having been in control of the islands for a few years prior to 1833. The dispute escalated in 1982, when Argentina invaded the islands, precipitating the Falklands War.

Fernando Zylberberg is a retired field hockey player from Argentina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malvinas Day</span> Holiday in Argentina

Malvinas Day, officially Day of the Veterans and Fallen of the Malvinas War, is a public holiday in Argentina, observed each year on 2 April. The name refers to the Falkland Islands, known in Spanish as the Islas Malvinas.

The cultural impact of the Falklands War spanned several media in both Britain and Argentina. A number of films and television productions emerged from the conflict. The first Argentine film about the war was Los chicos de la guerra in 1984. The BBC drama Tumbledown (1988) tells the story of a British officer paralysed from a bullet wound. The computer game Harrier Attack (1983) and the naval strategy game Strike Fleet (1987) are two examples of Falklands-related games. A number of fictional works were set during the Falklands War, including in Stephen King's novella The Langoliers (1990), in which the character Nick Hopewell is a Falklands veteran. The war provided a wealth of material for non-fiction writers; in the United Kingdom (UK) an important account became Max Hastings and Simon Jenkins' The Battle for the Falklands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Falkland Islands</span> Group of islands in the South Atlantic

The Falkland Islands is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about 300 mi (480 km) east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about 752 mi (1,210 km) from Cape Dubouzet at the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, at a latitude of about 52°S. The archipelago, with an area of 4,700 sq mi (12,000 km2), comprises East Falkland, West Falkland, and 776 smaller islands. As a British overseas territory, the Falklands have internal self-governance, but the United Kingdom takes responsibility for their defence and foreign affairs. The capital and largest settlement is Stanley on East Falkland.

There were many events leading to the 1982 Falklands War between the United Kingdom and Argentina over possession of the Falkland Islands and South Georgia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Argentine passport</span> Passport of Argentine republic issued to Argentine citizens

Argentine passports are issued to citizens of Argentina by the National Registry for People (ReNaPer). They were issued exclusively by the Argentine Federal Police up to 2011. Their primary use is to facilitate international travel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">7th Infantry Regiment (Argentina)</span> Argentine military unit

The 7th Infantry Regiment is a unit of the Argentine Army based at Arana, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. The unit's full official name is 7th "Coronel Conde" Mechanized Infantry Regiment, and it is part of the 1st Armored Brigade, 3rd Army Division.

Terence John Peck was a member of the Falkland Islands Defence Force who during the 1982 Falklands War became a war hero by spying on the Argentine invaders, subsequently escaping to British lines, acting as a scout for 3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment, and taking part in the fighting for Mount Longdon. A fiercely patriotic Islander, he vehemently opposed Argentina's claim to the Islands. He later met and befriended an Argentine conscript who served during the war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Origins of Falkland Islanders</span>

Falkland Islanders derive from various origins. Earliest among these are the numerically small but internationally diverse early 19th century inhabitants of the Falkland Islands, comprising and descended in part from settlers brought by Luis Vernet, and English and American sealers; South American gauchos who settled in the 1840s and 1850s; and since the late 1830s, settlers largely from Britain with a minority from other European countries. There has also been significant recent contributions from Saint Helena and Chile.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mario Benjamín Menéndez</span> Argentinian military officer (1930–2015)

Mario Benjamin Menéndez was the Argentine governor of the Falklands during the 1982 Argentine occupation of the islands. He also served in the Argentine Army. Menéndez surrendered Argentine forces to Britain during the Falklands War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Argentine Military Cemetery</span> Military cemetery on East Falkland

The Argentine Military Cemetery, Spanish: Cementerio de Darwin, is a military cemetery on East Falkland that holds the remains of 236 Argentine combatants killed during the 1982 Falklands War. It is located at Fish Creek to the east of the Darwin Settlement the location of the Battle of Goose Green. There is a replica of the cemetery at Berazategui in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Documento Nacional de Identidad (Argentina)</span> National identity card of Argentina

Documento Nacional de Identidad or DNI is the main identity document for Argentine citizens, as well as temporary or permanent resident aliens. It is issued at a person's birth, and must be updated at 8 and 14 years of age, and thereafter every 15 years. It takes the form of a card, and is required for voting, payments, military service inscriptions and formalities. They are issued by the National Registry of Persons (RENAPER).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">601 Commando Company</span> Argentine military unit

The 601 Commando Company is a special operations unit of the Argentine Army.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jorge Argüello</span> Argentine politician and diplomat

Jorge Martín Arturo Argüello is an Argentine politician and diplomat. He is the Ambassador of Argentina to the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alejandro Betts</span> Argentine political activist (1947–2020)

Alejandro Jacobo Betts was a Falklands-born Argentine air-traffic controller and activist who worked with the Argentine government as a technical advisor on the Tierra del Fuego's Malvinas Question Provincial Observatory Advisory Council. Betts supported Argentina's claim to the Falkland Islands and was a controversial figure in the Falklands as a result. Betts also was the older brother of Terry Betts, who served as a member of the Falkland Islands Legislative Council and assisted British forces in the Falklands War. His younger brother Peter served in the British Task Force.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aerolíneas Argentinas Flight 648 hijacking</span>

The hijacking of Aerolíneas Argentinas Flight 648 occurred on 28 and 29 September 1966 when a group of Argentine nationalists hijacked a civilian Aerolíneas Argentinas aircraft en route from Buenos Aires to Río Gallegos and forced the captain at gunpoint to land in the Falkland Islands in protest to the UK's presence on the islands. After landing, the hijackers raised the Argentine flag, took several islanders hostage and demanded the Governor of the Falkland Islands recognise Argentine sovereignty over the islands. On 29 September 1966, after negotiating through a Catholic priest, the hijackers surrendered and were returned to Argentina for trial.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eduardo A. Roca</span> Argentine diplomat (1921–2019)

Eduardo Alejandro Roca was an Argentine lawyer, academic, and diplomat. He was Ambassador of Argentina to the United States (1968–1970) and was appointed as a permanent representative to the United Nations during the 1982 Falklands War.

References

  1. ↑ Brando. "James Peck: el inglés nativo de Malvinas con documento argentino" (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 September 2014.
  2. ↑ Jack Peck born in Buenos Aires, Mercopress, 29 May 2002.
  3. ↑ Islander and former Bs. Aires resident in Falkland's election, Lisa Johnston, Mercopress, 7 December 2007
  4. ↑ Falkland Islands: Weekly Penguin News update, reproduced in Mercopress, 4 January 2008
  5. ↑ La Nación (Argentina) (14 June 2014). "Por primera vez, un malvinense tramitó la partida de nacimiento argentina" (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 September 2014.
  6. ↑ La Gaceta (Tucumán) (15 June 2011). "Nació en Malvinas y se hizo argentino" (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 September 2014.
  7. ↑ Télam (14 June 2011). "La Presidenta entregó el DNI argentino a un ciudadano nacido en Malvinas". Archived from the original on 8 July 2009. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
  8. ↑ Argentine Ambassador to the UN, Jorge Arguello, Speech to the GA, 25 August 2010.
  9. ↑ Press Release, Special Committee on Decolonization, 9th Meeting (AM), SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON DECOLONIZATION RECOMMENDS GENERAL ASSEMBLY REITERATE CALL FOR RESUMPTION OF NEGOTIATIONS OVER FALKLAND ISLANDS (MALVINAS), GA/COL/3212, 24 June 2010
  10. ↑ The Question of Malvinas and the Bicentennial of Argentina, compiled by Agustín M. Romero. Buenos Aires: “Malvinas Parliamentary Observatory Committee”, Honorable House of Deputies of the Nation. 152 p. ; 30 cm. ISBN   978-950-691-076-1
  11. ↑ Falklands born James Peck has no plans to give up his British passport, Mercopress, 21 June 2011 "Further on he said that obtaining Argentine papers was basically because of practical reasons. A year and a half ago he split with his wife but wants to live close to his children in Buenos Aires, but moving around only with a British passport exposed him to “hostility and bureaucratic difficulties”"
  12. ↑ Buenos Aires Herald (21 June 2011). "James Peck: first Malvinas DNI? No, actually" . Retrieved 2 September 2014. "Soledad Rende was born on the islands in 1980 and spent 10 days there before returning to Argentina, according to an article published by a newspaper last Saturday. Instead of receiving her DNI from the President at a national ceremony, Rende claims that it took four years and a court case to confirm her nationality."..."I expected some reaction (from the islanders) but it's as if I'd killed someone," said Peck, who has not renounced his British nationality, in an interview with UK daily The Times.
  13. ↑ Peck, James (July 2015). Behind the door lurks a Monster: Punk, politics and the President; a life growing up in the Falkland Islands. ISBN   978-1514764695.
  14. ↑ "El "buen kelper" de Cristina rompió su DNI y contó el motivo en Facebook". La Voz del Interior. Cordoba. 16 December 2015. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
  15. 1 2 3 4 Goñi, Uki (17 January 2016). "'Argentina cast a shadow on my soul': Falklands artist says he became a 'prize'". The Guardian. Buenos Aires. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.