Domestic Terrorism in Chile

As it turns out, the US isn't the only country with emotional and historical ties to the date September 11th. 

Ready for a quick history lesson?

In 1970, a politician named Salvador Allende was democratically elected to the presidency of Chile. Allende, however was a socialist. For those of you that paid attention during my lessons about Cuba when we studied the Caribbean, you'll remember that, politically, the US has not welcomed socialist and communist politics. 

As Allende moved Chile closer to socialism (via various policy changes in the government), the US CIA, under guidance of then US President Richard Nixon, organized and carried out a coup d'etat of the Chilean government. (For my former students wondering what a coup d'etat is, look it up.) 

On September 11th, 1973, before completing his term, Allende was forced out of office, and US-backed Augusto Pinochet was put in charge of the government. (Did you know the US could do that? Sometimes, and in fact oftentimes, the history of the US is quite dark, especially regarding its dealings with Latin America.)

Pinochet's regime was fascist and cruel. From 1973-1990, Chile was under authoritarian military rule. What did this mean for the daily lives of people living in Chile? Human rights were ignored, for one.  All other political parties were suppressed. Thousands of leftists, who were against this new regime, went "missing," never to be returned to their friends and families. (In other words, those people were permanently imprisoned or flat-out killed by government forces, simply because they disagreed.) 

Between 10,000 and 30,000 people went missing during the regime. If you're wondering why the people didn't revolt, well, they couldn't. Many tried, but they were quickly quashed by a massive and brutal police force, and public meetings were officially outlawed. (In order to protest in unison, but technically individually, people would sometimes stand in their front yards, loudly and incessantly banging pots and pans in order to express their discontent. Entire neighborhoods would become raucous and loud, showing solidarity with one another by sound, if not by physical unity.)

The Chilean dictatorship is truly a terrible time in both Chile's history and in the US'. While we don't talk about it much (or, at all) in the US, it is still present in many Chileans' minds, as many people lived through it. I was alive while it was happening - so it wasn't that long ago. 

What does that have to do with today? Well...

Very rarely, September 11th in Chile is ironically marked for small but significant acts of domestic terrorism. (Domestic terrorism, for my former students who might not know, means that the terrorists are from the country they're terrorizing.)

For example, on September 11th, 2012, riots occurred, and one police officer was killed. Assaults sometimes happen, and action on the street can turn violent. The anger of these people is understandable, but their actions are absolutely reprehensible and unacceptable.

I have been quietly worried about this Thursday (September 11th) since I heard about what kinds of things could happen. I worry about myself and of course about Matt, among many other people I care about here in Santiago. I also worry about strangers, innocent people I don't know but see on the train or pass on the street. I wouldn't want anything to happen to any one of us.

Today was a bit of a wakeup call. A bomb exploded at the metro station that I take to get to work. Click this CNN Chile link for videos (they're in Spanish, but you don't need to understand the speech to understand the significance). 

The metro station is quite big, with several shops and restaurants within the structure. The bomb went off in the area near the shops, not the area near the trains. No one was killed but eight people have been hospitalized, and are presently receiving personal visits from the current Chilean president, Michelle Bachelet.

I did not take the following photos, as I was luckily not present when the bomb exploded. I borrowed these photos from latercera.com. 

You can see how smoky the building is. That is a Doggi's hot dog restaurant inside the metro station. From what I've been reading, the bomb was planted and exploded around this area.

The metro station had been decorated for the Chilean independence holidays, which are September 18th and 19th. 

As someone who was at this metro hours before the bomb exploded, this is extremely scary. As a general citizen of the world, this is just awful. People should never do this to one another. No one should have to live in fear, and that's just what terrorism is, terrorizing people and thus spreading fear. 

From the reports and tweets I've read, the police have been all over scene, working hard to track down who the exact culprits are. I expect that this metro station and others will have a heavy police presence tomorrow. There are very strong antiterrorism laws in Chile, and I have a feeling that those responsible will be found swiftly. 

I am a little afraid of September 11th. That day is Thursday, and some people have said I could/should stay home that day, but if I call out for work, some other teacher will have to take my place. Is it fair to make another person go instead of me?