September 11th. A date to remember...

We are on the road again after a long emotional goodbye with our families and friends in Ovalle. Over the past 5 months, we have experienced incredible kindness from all of the Chilenos we have met. "Somos de Piel" they say (literally, we are of skin), and certainly Chile is a nation united in its warmth and love for all.

But it has not always been this way. Today, we took a trip to the newly opened Museum of Human Rights in Santiago. Initially planning a brief stop in, we stayed for hours. I wanted to share some of our experience, given that it is largely unspoken about in Chilean Society today, and though our parent's generation may know well the recent history of Chile, our generation were not yet born or just children when it happened.

It begins with an issue that is still very apparent in Chilean society today - the inequality of wealth. In 1970, socialist Salvador Allende was elected to power by a small margin. He began to slowly redistribute income, but it wasn't fast enough for some, and strikes and uprisings made the country very unstable.

Opposition to Allende's Government eventually assumed control of the police and military, and famously took power on September 11th 1973 in a bid to regain order. They bombed the Government headquarters in Santiago with Allende standing proud inside, and his supporters powerless to help. Before shooting himself dead, he gave an incredibly calm and inspired final speech which I urge all to read here. http://www.marxists.org/archive/allende/1973/september/11.htm

What took place next makes for difficult reading. The new Junta Government with General Pinochet at its helm maintained their power with fear and force. Thousands of people who supported or sympathised with Allende were tortured, executed, exiled or simply disappeared. TV and media was controlled, curfews inflicted and the streets patrolled by heavy military presence. The country was divided. Although we will never know the true figures, over half the population of Chile allegedly supported Pinochet, and so it was that he remained in power for 16 long years.

In 1989, the "seeds planted in the good consience of the Chilean people" that Allende alluded to in his final speech began to flower, and the people shouted a resounding NO to the dictatorship. Following years of protests in the 80's and re-organisation of the opposition, a vote was held which put an end to the Pinochet regime. Since this, Chile has re-united, and although far from perfect, it has grown in strength as a nation.

To this day, families of those who went missing during the dictatorship have still not received answers, and Pinochet was never held to account for the crimes against human rights committed under his regime....Maggie Thatcher even let him hang out in London for a while to escape the backlash.

I have tried to write this history with an unbiased view. During our time in Ovalle we have met many different people, from Pinochet supporters to those detained by his regime, rich and poor, young and old. And many not so bothered about voting I should add.
All were "de piel" and united in hoping for a peaceful future for Chile. And yes, we should all look firmly forward. But I am also pleased and relieved to see that Chile is no longer forgetting its past and instead beginning to show the respect and remembrance that each of those who suffered deserve.

So what now then? Well, the upcoming elections will see Michelle Bachelat (the daughter of a loyal socialist who died at the hands of Pinochet's regime) and Evelyn Matthei (the daughter of the leader of the Military school where Bachelat was tortured to death) battle it out for President. You can read about it here if you're interested. http://www.sacbee.com/2013/07/27/5601436/women-with-bitter-past-run-for.html

Uh oh, I hear you think. History repeating itself? Well, only time will tell I suppose....