The Real Santiago

Yesterday we went to La Legua, which is one of the many barrios in Santiago. It's called La Legua because it's one league (like the sea measurement) from the center of the city. It's Santiago's most infamous neighborhood because of it's immense poverty and large involvement in the drug trade in Chile. The trip was emotional, to say the least, and I'm frustrated, angry, sad, and confused all at the same time. Obviously, I'm sad because it's horrible to see people live in such poverty. We talked to several community leaders who run various youth centers and church groups, and they all mentioned that they were trying to do a little to help in the face of something so horrible. The women at the church were saying that they've lost several community members who were in the wrong place at the wrong time. I'm angry because it's unbelievable to me that the problems in this neighborhood, and the other neighborhoods like it in Santiago, aren't better known to the rest of the world. While La Legua is in the news constantly in Chile, I as a U.S. citizen had never heard anything specific about the community there. I also can't believe more isn't being done to help. The neighborhood was destroyed during the Pinochet dictatorship. There's a memorial to all the people of La Legua who disappeared in the the military attacks and raids. And the town lived in constant fear of being bombed, because the government threatened to attack it just like it did La Moneda during the actual military coup. It's amazing to me that a neighborhood that suffered so much wasn't offered more help when the Pinochet government ended. I'm frustrated because, while it was a great that the Tufts program allowed us to see this neighborhood, I believe they did it in an incredibly disrespectful way. We were bussed into the neighborhood on a giant tour bus, and were then shuttled around to the various community organizations in the same bus. The entire time it felt like we were on safari, gawking at the lives of these people. I also don't think we adequately discussed what we saw. As soon as we left, a bunch of people on the bus were making plans to see Harry Potter. While that's understandable, I think that if we were talked to more about the neighborhood, we would all have been a little more thoughtful when we left. I'm confused because I'm trying to figure out the best way to help. We went to go see the neighborhood with a company called ECO, which stands for Educación y Comunicación. It's lead by one of the foremost Chilean historians, Mario Garces. They offered us a chance to intern with them during the semester, and I think that would be an excellent opportunity to be more involved with the neighborhood. At the same time, I know one American helping for 5 months isn't actually going to make any huge impact on the area. Hopefully through the people I meet here and the time I spend, I'll get a better understanding of what I can actually do to help.

Today we're going to a memorial for "Los Desaparecidos," the disappeared. I think it will be incredibly interesting, but incredibly hard to deal with emotionally. Yesterday I realized that if my family had been Chilean, we would have been wiped out in the Pinochet government attacks. Given my family's rich history of being strongly involved in the political left, I know that had they been in the country during the coup, they would have continued to fight for everything they believe in. I have something in common, however small and removed it can be considering I didn't actually live through it, with the people the memorial is remembering. It's going to be an emotional day to say the least.

Then to continue the tradition of Tufts questionable handling of difficult situations, after the memorial we're going to a winery tour. I understand they're in the same neighborhood so it's convenient, but I still think it's taking away from a moving experience to put it right before a winery tour. Hopefully they'll handle it a little better than they did yesterday.

I've both loved and hated seeing this "other side" of Santiago. I think I now have a much better understanding of what the city's really like, and it'll keep getting better today. It's been incredibly hard to take, but I know it's a valuable experience to have and I just have to remember it always and try to do something so that the situation becomes easier to take for people in the future.

Everything otherwise is still good. Yesterday my friend and I felt sick, but we took it easy with a few other people on the trip and feel much better today. Last night the hostel put a random guy in my room because I'm only sharing it with one other girl. He came in when I was sleeping and my other roommate from the program was out. But one of my other friends here very nicely slept in the other free bed with me to make it a little more comfortable. I'm going to talk to the program director and maybe the hostel people today to try to sort it out. We (both Tufts girls in my room) feel like we would have no problem with a stranger who's a girl, or some boys we know. But considering that there's a room with two Tufts boys in it, we don't understand why they would have put a random man in with us. Last night I was a little more worried about it just because it woke me up and I was sick and tired. But today I realize it shouldn't be too hard to work out. Just another travel adventure in my life abroad!