A Different Take

Stateside September 11th is a sad day of remembrance. It's a sad day of remembrance in Chile as well, but it has a different sentiment here. Forty years ago today Agusto Pinochet came into power in what Chileans call the Golpe del Estado. Pinochet ruled from 1973 to 1990. During that time thousands of people mysteriously disappeared (the desaparecidos) and many were tortured. Every year since 1973 people protest on September 11. Since Pinochet left office the protests have continued. People want justice for the desaparecidos. While many treat the 11th as a day to remember those lost to the Pinochet regime, others take a more violent approach. I have been talking to as many Chileans as possible to understand why the protests become so violent. I know I cannot begin to understand the pain of losing family members to a dictatorship, but I am still confused about this phenomenon. It seems so weird to me that once per year each year everyone gets violent and crazy and then it subsides without achieving any change.

Anyways, despite my confusion about the reason for the violence (to be clear: I'm confused about the violent nature of the protests, not the fact that there are protests) I know that I'm supposed to expect violence today. Now I don't know how crazy it will actually be. This is the 40th anniversary of the day Pinochet came into power so people are eager to commemorate the day. One rumor is that people plan to set 40 buses on fire. Another is that all of the power will go out (this apparently happens every year). Yesterday I was taking the metro home around 8pm--the same time I always ride the metro on Tuesdays--and it was crazy. Basically everyone in Santiago was frantically trying to get home. I've never seen so many people on the metro at that hour. I had to wait for 4 trains to pass before I could get into one. One man couldn't get in and angrily punched the door of the train and ran off. People were totally panicking! I was with another gringo and we were large enough to push our way onto a car, but it was pretty insane.

Last night my two Chilean roommates decided to make a sign that we will hang in our window tonight. I kind of helped (but mostly just sat on the floor and watched them). The sign says "¿dónde están?" which means "where are they?" It's a reference to the desaparecidos.

I don't know what's coming today but I will keep you guys updated.

It somehow makes me sad that people are so violent on this day when at home it's such a sad day of loss. It feels wrong to me, as an American, to be violent on the anniversary of the death of so many innocent Americans. Of course the violence here is prompted by similar feelings to those felt in the states. I suppose it's just a consequence of living abroad.

Cuidense.

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