40 years on, war still casts a shadow over the Falklands

For the Falkland islanders, the war in Ukraine brings back haunting memories of their own trauma four decades ago. Having themselves experienced a barbaric invasion by a big bully next door, they understand all too well what the people of Ukraine are going through.

‘I still feel that gun in my back,’ one islander told me recently, describing the day Argentine troops landed on Pebble Island and brutally rounded up the locals. Much has changed in the Falklands since 1982, nearly all of it for the better, yet the war remains seared in the memory.

This year’s 2 April is, therefore, hugely significant – the 40th anniversary of the invasion. After two months of conflict and the loss of 907 lives, mostly Argentine, the Falklands were liberated and the aggressor sent packing. But while the anniversary is a chance to reflect, it will also be a day when islanders will shake their heads and sigh. Because the Argentine threat remains.

Landing at the islands’ Mount Pleasant complex today, it’s hard to imagine there used to be only the tiny Stanley airport. Before the war there were no roads to outlying communities. You rode on horseback, or drove across the hills, often getting ‘bogged’ for hours or days. People rarely left and if they did, it was for good. The only industry of note was sheep farming, and that was a tough life. The population was shrinking.

Nobody wanted the war, but it changed everything. Afterwards, British money arrived. Roads were built. Stanley got a new hospital, school and the islands’ first swimming pool. Arrangements were made for children to study in the UK after the age of 16. A vehicle ferry linked East and West Falkland, and a modern telephone system was installed.