history lesson

once upon a time, say september 11 (ironic?) 1973, a man named Augusto Pinochet stormed the chilean government, killing existing president Salvador (also ironic) Allende and taking power of the country. with the ´´help´´ of the united states government, of course. what followed was 17 years of dictatorship at the hands of pinochet, in which over 27,000 members of the liberal youth opposition were kidnapped, tortured, and usually killed, although many of the bodies were never seen again. there are many chileans who will debate the horrors of this time with you, especially members of the upper class who benefited from the economic gains of the time. there are also many who choose to believe that the human rights abuses never occurred.

recently the members of the michigan-wisconsin program were treated to a tour headed by a former prisoner of the regime. before-hand, some students familiar with more conservative chileans were warned about the ´´brainwashing´´ they were about to recieve. we were taken to one of the earliest detention centers, where our guide described, sometimes with too much detail, the atrocities that had happened to him and others at the center. afterwards, we went to the santiago general cemetery, where lie the bodies of over 6.5 million people, including salvador allende.

the trip to the cemetery was quite interesting, as the richer family tombs, ornately carved and impressively expensive, gave way to smaller, simpler structures. these bled into plots of land covered with flowers, and then those less cared for, and finally ´´rentable´´ and common graves. the contrast between the economically distinct sectors was breathtaking, as is the chilean relationship with the dead. the cemetery was full of people caring for tombs and graves, hanging out by the family site.

although at some points i felt as though the tour might have been a bit over the top (as a frequent tour guide, i cynically doubted the legitimacy of his tears), it is impossible, for me at least, to ignore the reality of the dictatorship. people left their houses each day not knowing if they were going to disappear during the day. and it wasnt that long ago. the contrast between that time and now is incredible, but this world is a crazy crazy place

rented graves mean they move your body to the common grave after your family stops paying