Tremor- Earthquake

This entry will not be as nearly as profound as reflecting on feminism, political parties and government but rather the reality of living in a beautiful country that lays on a fault line. Since my arrival there have been reports that there were two very mild tremor (earthquakes). I did not feel these at all. Today however is another story.

During a meeting today the women we were meeting with looked at Cherelle and I and asked us if we could feel "it". I said "what". The answered "the earth".  Once I concentrated a bit you could feel a sensation like a vibration and for you lady friends of mine, think of the massage chairs when you get a pedicure and there is the mild vibration. So at first I was like wow cool I am in Chile experiencing my first earthquake. Then my heart sank into my stomach because the vibration became a short shake followed by another stronger shake and returned to a vibration and then ended. Cherelle and I held hands and the women we were meeting with were calm and told us not to worry. 

To put in perspective it all lasted no more then one minute. There were many feelings and reactions one can have in one minute. After that minute it was business as usual.  I was struck by the very matter of a fact way that everyone handle "it". To them it was a very mid tremor to me it was an earthquake. I was like does anyone else need a moment here or was I the only dramatic one that saw her life flash before her eyes in Santiago (okay a little dramatic but trying to share the craziness of my emotions at the time).

Interestingly enough it was totally a calm reaction there were no alarms, no leaving the building, just wait till it is over and return to business as usual.  I thought about the over reaction we would have in the states: once it was safe- everyone would need to evacuate the building, engineers, firefighters would need to determine it safe to return inside. People rushing to their children's school etc.

Well let's just say that it is not an experience I would like repeat- but an experience to remember none the less.

We have talked quite a bit with those everyone about the earthquake in February. It occurred at approximately 3:30am- so many folks were in bed at the time. The strength and duration of the earthquake was what folks share with you.  many explain not being able to move because every time you tried to stand up you just feel down and it felt like it was never going to end.

With the earthquake, the miners, a history of building a democracy from a dictatorship the Chilean people are incredibly resilient and strong.

MEMCH Movimento Pro-Emancipation de la Mujer Chilena

Today I had the most amazing and inspiring meeting with the co directors if MEMCH. Both have been co-directors since 1983 and are keepers of the organizational history.  Both women were exiled during the Pinochet regime (12-13 years) but returned prior to the end of his regime and participated at great personal risk in civil disobedience.

The organizations roots and history began in 1935 in the midst of an economic crisis. The group was formed by women to address equal rights, women in the work force and reproductive rights (consider that the discussion of reproductive rights occurred prior to much of the common contraception we use today). At the time it was a national organization and represented women of all classes.

The organization has a well respected and known history in Chile, as it was famous for forging the leadership and advocacy for women’s right to vote.  In 1947 women received the right to vote in local elections and subsequently in 1949 they received the right to vote in national elections. We saw photos in the Congressional building of MEMCH’s marches and protest.

The organization in its wisdom took a tremendous shift in acknowledging that the right to vote would not be enough and that once democracy and voting was a right for women they did not want women’s rights to be forgotten. Their motto was Democracy in the Country, Democracy in the Home. I shared with the leaders the sign that I have hung in my office since I received it as a gift in 1999 Sin Mujeres no hay Democracia (Without Women there is no Democracy). Now isn’t that the truth.

I must share the public and often secretive acts of civil disobedience they would perform during the Pinochet regime. Both women were arrested multiple times during these years. They would dress in all black and have signs with the names of individuals and colleagues killed by Pinochet’s regime. The would also create banners with the names of those who had died and they would hang the banners in the main square and throw red dye into the fountains so they would flow red like blood. They marched to one of Pinochet’s military bases and demanded his resignation. Finally, in the dark of night they renamed a street from Calle Septiembre Once (September

11^th Street

) to

Salvador Allende Street

. So little history lesson for context of what this means. Salvador Allende was a socialist President elected in 1970 and on September 11, 1973 there was a military coup lead by Augusto Pinchet where La Monda (equivalent to the White House) was bombed and Allende died.

What was amazing about these women is that they are still doing this work and are passionate as ever.  They have been very clear in their resolve that the emancipation of women is focused on empowerment and that they are not fighting against man but rather the systems. They both spoke of being immensely proud of being women.

Today their focus is women’s rights and reproductive health with an emphasis on access to abortion- still completely illegal but common. They also are fighting to ensure that with the new Presidential administration that is very far right that women do not lose too much ground. The new administration has already repealed the ability of midwives to prescribe the morning after pill to women.

These were living legends and lived through this country's most trying times and fought for women along the way.  They are a tremendous inspiration. They were so pleased to see us younger women taking up the torch and they value the necessity of mentoring and humility. I could go on and on about these two women and the tremendous stories they shared.  In the end they provide us with great counsel about moving the work forward and balancing our lives, our love, our passion and our feminism.

I left energized and blessed by the independence and strength that was taught to me by my mother and father and shared with my sisters. Most clearly these lessons were taught by example and a clear direction to ensure that we were always to be respected and we should hold ourselves with tremendous dignity. I carry that now with a husband who is a true partner and supportive of my independence and drive.  We now are attempting to impart these lessons to LOLA- the next generation feminist!

En La Lucha,

Mapuche: Chile's largest Indigenous Community

Chile has a rich indigenous community comprised of nine communities (tribes). They do not refer to them as tribes but rather communities.  The largest of the nine is the Mapuche people. They along with the eight other communities are the original inhabitants of this area of South America and have survived the conquistadors, colonization and westernization.

The Mapuche as with similar indigenous groups have suffered conflict with the government over land rights and the ability to self govern. Mapuche do not consider themselves Chilean (as reported by them). During our time here there has been a small number of Mapuche that were imprisoned for crimes and being tried as terrorist. The imprisoned Mapuche are on a hunger strike as they do not want to be judge under this law. The new government administration has called for Mesas de dialogo (dialogue tables/round tables)

Over the last several days we have met with the Mapuche people in the Cities of Temuco, Chochol, Pucon and a far rural section of Temuco. This included a very formal government meetings and visits and an unexpected rare excursion to a rural Mapuche community. The Government has a Presidential Office that manages all Indigenous affairs it is called CONADI. The Director of CONADI and other staff members are Mapuche. During our visit with CONADI we met a wonderful staff member who agreed to take us to a community who is fighting to regain rights to their land that was taken from them.

The visit to the rural community was extraordinary. We met with about 20 community members (men and women equally represented) who were attending a community meeting to discuss their next steps in reclaiming their land.  They were incredibly gracious host. Almost all of them had never met anyone outside of Chile and had never met an American. They were very surprised that we made it all the way there to see them. The are remote off of a long strech of direct roads in the mountains. They gave us a tour of their land and showed where private farm owners divided the land. Those who took the land away put a line right through their cemetery. When they harvested the land they had taken from the Mapuche and they reached the cemetery they threw bodies over the fence. The fight for the land is fraught with bureaucracy and the power of the private businesses. Agriculture is the leading business in Chile and they export to all over the world.

This particular community meeting was being run by a woman in the community who is leading the charge.  Woman play a critical role in this community and only a woman can be the Mache: spiritual leader of the community. We also broke bread with both communities we met with. The traditional food for these meetings include sopapillas (fried bread very yummy), hard boiled eggs, mate (herbal bitter tea) that they drop fresh eucalyptuses leaves into, and on special occasions pieces of meat (not always beef: goat, horse, and sheep). I ate one piece of the meat and hoped for the best.

Other interesting dynamics to mention: over the last two weeks in meetings with government officials when we asked about Mapuche people in their systems they reported very low numbers. When we met with the Mapuche people they report very different estimates. The head of the federal police force said their were none and the Director of CONADI stated that the police had 32%. The Director of CONADI agreed there is much education needed in all parts of Chile including the government. The majority of Mapuche people now live in Santiago to try to gain employment as their rural homelands offer very little economic opportunity. A large number of the elders still speak the language and pass it down to their children. I was humbled by their grace and the connection to the world around them.

Finally one of the theories as to why the nine indigenous tribes survived in Chile is that they were communities and not empires. Unlike the Incas, Mayas, Aztecs there was not one leader but rather multiple leaders and the communities were greatly dispersed. Makes you think. It was an honor to meet and share with the Mapuche people.

The Coast of Chile

We celebrated the bicentennial on the coastal town of Cachagua and Zappallar and made it to a very local"s only fair (reminded me of our summer excursions to the Wyalusing State Fair in PA). The traditional part of the celebrations is rodeo with very specific rules for herding calves. The Guasos (Chilean cowboys) ride with these beautiful colorful ponchos that are square shaped and there is much pride in wearing the.  The stirrups that put their boots into are made of carved wood and are very elaborate, the boots they wear crest over their knees and the spurs on the back of their boots are huge.

Aside from the rodeo there is arts and crafts, petty zoo and many food vendors. One of the very yummy thing to eat was called churripan, this is short for chorizo (sausage) in pan (bread), delicious!!!! At the fair the people were so interested in us. Again, this was a very small town. The vendors who served us approached us and talked to us and were surprised by the kind of positions we held in the US that we were so accessible to the public. They talked about the class separation in Chile and how the discussion at the community level is stifled. Also they were in love with Cherelle and her husband (one of the Fellows traveling with me), both of whom are African American.  Most of the people there had not seen an African American person and they believe it is good luck.  Everyone was so wonderful and greeted all of us.  Many told Cherelle and her husband that they made the celebration even more special since they were in their town.

We returned to Chile for a few meetings and headed out to Valparaiso on the central coast to see the National Congress and meet with a new State Representative as well as the Mayor of Valparaiso. It is a gorgeous coastal town.  There are miles of coastal towns and it is so lively. I had the most amazing seafood right from the water.

After our visit with a very right leaning state representative we had a nice encounter with the Mayor and then headed to the Open Community. To digress about the Right sided Representative meeting was nuts. The scary part is that he is very young and very handsome so an up an coming politician. He has serious view about the institution of marriage the role of women in the formative years of children etc.  I almost came out of my skin.  He was not apologetic but very clear and honest about his positions.  It was a very unique experience to engage a conservative about the role of women and women leaders.  It was not an argument but and discussion and clearly we were on opposing sides.

Okay back to Open Community.  Which by the way you can google as Open Community, Valparasion. This is a highly progressive, intentional community developed by artist and acrchitechs.  This place is so difficult to describe and needs to bee seen in person. We met with the couple who are among the founders. It is an enormous piece of land on the ocean, there are 12 homes, an out door amphitheatre, out door chapel, tons of sculptures and an extraordinary cemetery.  It has been operating for close to 40 years and the founders have lived there since the beginning.  No one member owns any private property, all decision and constructions are made by consensus. They created an architectural university. The designs for the houses are extraordinary. It is constantly toured now by people from all over the world. The founders Eugenia and Jose are extraordinary and Jose is a famous sculptor.

Unfortunately I can not upload my photos on this lap top, but I promise a great slide show when I return.

Fiestas de Padres/ Celebration of Founding Fathers (Independence Day)

The 18th and 19th Chile celebrates 200 years of independence unlike other years this is the bicentennial and the City is completely decorated.  A large number of folks flee to the coast to celebrate. This year all business are shut down Friday to Monday. I went to the grocery store yesterday and it was a mob scene- carts full of meat.   It is a total meat and seafood fest here.Chileans are know for their pork products and seafood- some stuff I have never seen before.

When I say shut down I mean a ghost town.  I woke up this morning to go for a short run.  I must digress for a moment to describe the tranquility and calm of my run this morning it really was a gift.  It was about 67F so perfect running weather. It is just the start of spring and all the flowers were in bloom there was a lot of dew for the early crisp air and the smell of gardenias and juniper were so fragrant. I felt like I was running through a perfume commercial. While my apartment is in a commerical district it only takes about 5 blocks to get into the residential areas with the gardens.

So back to the ghost town-There was no one on the street. Occassionally I came across an elder watering their yard and would get an odd look. I have not seen another runner since I have arrived- that may explain the looks.

Just the other day on the same run The traffic was at a snails pace and the sidewalks in the commerical district were shoulder to shoulder. Today no cars- a few buses and not one business open.  I mean it not a one. I thought I was on a movie set and showed up for the wrong day of production.  I could not believe it- even the restaurant at the Radisson Hotel across the street was closed. It reminded me of when I was very little in Florida on Christmas day where nothing would be open.  Here not even the equivalent to WAWA is open.  Can you imagine???

We leave in one hour to Zappallar on the coast about 2 hours away from Santiago. Will tell you all about it when I sign back on, on Monday.

Abrazos,

Women Leaders in Male Dominated Fields

Met today with two associate sub secretaries for the Ministry of Defense.  This is the equivalent of Deputy Secretariess for the Secretary of Defense in the US.  The Sub Secretary is responsible for the Police, army, navy and all military branches.  They have only one police force that is centralized through the Federal government.
The new leader for the Ministry of Defense is a women, in her early 30's and the two associate sub secretaries we met with today were in their 20's. It was really incredible to meet these young women in Executive level positions.  They spoke about the difficulty of being taken seriously in a male dominated environment and the challenges for women in all areas of defense. They did say that Bachelet helped them think differently about their career path and focus on being recognized for their skills and not looks.
Since Bachelet women have been highly successful in gaining elected positions. Most women who run for office win.
Finally we took a tour of the office and above the desk of the sub secretary was the original note sent by the Miners on September 17th indicating that they were safe and in the shelter.  It gave me chills to see and read it knowing the government is work to rescue them.  They say having it up is an inspiration to work harder. The note in red ink was so profound and so simple. (took a photo to share but not working right now)

Llego/Arrived

Landed 8:30am in Chile- thankfully no time change, just horribly tired from the long flight.  I spent two nights in a hotel that unfortunately did not have Internet access so I felt completely disconnected.  But now I am live. I have had three days of really wonderful meetings. Plus I did a wee bit of shopping- it is freezing here, had to!

Chile is such an interesting country that is a true blend of my experiences in Central America and Spain.  Some areas are very colonial and where I am staying is very similar to Madrid with many high rises, trendy restaurants, shops for your every need. The contrast is significant from neighborhood to neighborhood.

I am already struck by how well the NGO's are connected to the Government and how thoughtful they are in the creation of programs. Oddly enough while they consider themselves a conservative country, mostly from social and moral aspect (Abortion is completely illegal in all cases) they have so many structures in place that blow us away.  Example the pill (oral contraception) is completely free with your public benefits and a sliding scale for all women.  Sex education is common place in schools. The big debate currently is whether or not the morning after pill should be available free.  Also while abortions are completely illegal there are a large network of doctors who perform abortions and if they are caught the penalty is minor.

They also recently passed a juvenile law that ensure that 14-17 years are not tried as adults.  Again in the instances of adolescents the NGO's we met with work closely with the government to receive the referrals directly from Juvenile court to work with the adolescents. They consider the work with adolescents as a responsibility of social inclusion and social responsibility.

There is an amazing organizations (SERNAM) that is a part of the Federal government and there role is to promote the equality of women.  The current sub secretary reports to the Presidential Executive Cabinet level.  The current sub secretary was named by the president himself. Can you imagine a federal office with a budget to promote equality! They describe Chile's women movement as before Bachalet and after Bachelet.

I also met with clients at an intensive (9am-5pm) outpatient treatment facility.  This was an amazing place.  The clients are 100% part of the planning and operations of the center and the staff share in all that happens.  they prepare meals together and eat with the women.  The love and support this staff had for the women brought me to tears.  In Chile women are highly stigmatized for using drugs and are completely cast out of their communities.  I could go on and on about this program.  It was a true integration of client centered approach and teaching women to return the environments that influenced their use.  The founder is the wife of a Senator who we met and 100% committed to these women and raising funds for services.

Finally this weekend is Chile's independence day.  Not just any independence day- the bicenntenial.  With a year that has included an earthquake and the miners it is an especially special time here in this courty.  There are flags every where and wonderful signs of unity.  The symbol of the flag to them at this time they feel represents strength and unity to carry on, en la lucha!

I miss Lola and Robert terribly but have find even the short time I have been here very humbling.

besos y abrazos

I'm leaving on a jet plane.....

Woke up to rain and overcast skies in Philly, after a few glorious days. Thought the weather was a perfect reflection of my mental state.  The rain is so needed with the heat and drought we have been experiencing and the rain made it quite mellow and little melancholly. So  like the weather I am excited about this needed adventure and anxious about my pending departure only a few hours away. I have all the essentials, I think. Electronics, books, itinerary, underwear and not nearly enough shoes on purpose.

Last night Lola asked me who is staying with me? I explained again the series of adults who are at her beck and call.  This first round is her Papi, Jessica (the best au pair ever), and Aya (Lola's grandmother). After running through the list of caregiver, to this Lola responded "bueno". And I as I write this Lola just ran over to give me kiss.

My next entry will be from Santiago. I arrive Monday morning at 8:00am and have my first meeting at 11:00am at a recovery program from adults who are struggling with addictions. After a meeting with the director we are having lunch with the residents.

Hasta lluego,