Sept 11, 1973: In Chile, a military coup is staged to overthrow democratically-elected Socialist president Salvador Allende. From here, Gen. Augosto Pinochet takes over and leads a 17-year dictatorship in which thousands of people are tortured, killed, and made to "disappear."
Sept 11, 2001: In the United States, hijacked planes crashed into the Twin Towers in New York City. 3,000 people were killed.
Selection from "Cita con Angeles" by Silvio Rodríguez Domínguez
Septiembre aúlla todavía:
su doble saldo escalofriante.
Todo sucede un mismo día
gracias a un odio semejante.
Y el mismo ángel que allá en Chile
vió bombardear al Presidente
ve las dos torres con sus miles
cayendo inolvidablemente.
September still howls:
its double chilling casualties.
Everything happens on the same day
thanks to a similar hatefulness.
The same angel that there in Chile
saw the president being bombed
sees the two towers, with its thousands
falling unforgettably.
Today in classes we spent a lot of time reflecting on this day, this day that is so important to Chilean history. I don't know how many times I cried today - I'm still having a hard time getting my head around the fact that all of this happened: that soldiers took over the streets, entered anyone and everyone's house yelling "are you a communist?" Killing people in the streets, taking them to boats waiting in the harbor to torture them.
In Spanish class today we read Salvador Allende's last speeches- the radio transmissions from La Moneda (the Presidential Palace) as he knew he was being overthrown.
"La historia no se detiene ni con la represión ni con el crimen. Esta es una etapa que será superada. Este es un momento duro y difícil: es posible que nos aplasten. Pero el mañana será del pueblo, será de los trabajadores. La humanidad avanza para la conquista de una vida mejor."
(History cannot be stopped by repression nor crime. This is a stage that will be overcome. This is a hard and difficult moment: they may crush us. But tomorrow will be of the people, it will be of the workers. Humanity continues to fight for a better life.)
We talked about this a little bit at dinner with my host parents. My host father said that Allende died like a ship captain. All of his men had betrayed him- he knew the danger, but he didn't leave La Moneda- he went down with his ship.
A theme throughout his speeches that day was his "duty." His duty to the Chilean people to complete his term as President, just as the people had decided he should.
In the recording of his last speech he says "Viva Chile! Viva the people! Vivan the workers! These are my last words and I am certain that my sacrifice will not be vain, I am sure that, at least, there will be a moral lesson that punishes treachery, cowardice and betrayal." And then you hear the sound of bombs and crashing.
There is just so much to digest!
This was all so recent: we are now 35 years from the coup. After 1973, there were 17 years of dictatorship, and then the past 18 years have been democracy.
My host brother, now 24, was born during a dictatorship.
One of our directors asked us, "You were all about 12, 13 when the Twin Towers were hit? That's how old I was during the coup."
1 comment:
What a moving thing to read. There's so much being said today about this date and it's important to remember that today is not just about America. Thank you for this reflection, Jackie.
(Also, keep writing in Spanish! It's helping my resolve to learn it again!)
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