Memory and Absence

by Anna McRay

This afternoon, our group visited El Museo de la Memoria y los Derechos Humanos (The Museum of Memory and Human Rights) as part of our Cross Cultural Experience class. This museum creatively and effectively depicts what happened in Chile during the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet between 1973 and 1990. On September 11th, 1973, General Pinochet led an attack on the Presidential Palace in Santiago which resulted in the death of the president Salvador Allende. That day forever changed the fate of Chile and the lives of thousands of her people. What followed were 17 years of an oppressive military regime characterized by persecution, propaganda, violence, secrets, and the disappearance of over 3,000 Chilean citizens. 

General Pinochet was the commander-in-chief of the Chilean army, and he garnered the support of each branch of the military. With these great powers behind him, Pinochet was able to arrest and detain anyone who seemed suspicious of opposing or disagreeing with his rule. With no explanation, thousands of people, sometimes even children, were picked up off the street, taken to one of the 1,132 detention centers throughout Chile at the time, and questioned and tortured for several months. Many of those victims were never seen or heard from again. 

This is recent history in Chile. Some of the victims are still alive. Others remember watching the events take place on the news. However, this part of history is not included in the curriculum of the local schools. A fellow Chilean student at our university told us that we probably know more about what happened than she does as a citizen. People do not want to talk about it. Those involved in the regime have tried to destroy all evidence and erase all memories of what they did. In 2008, president Michelle Bachelet decided that she could not let this happen. She refused to allow her country to forget. She commissioned the construction of this museum to tell the story and honor those who disappeared. She said, "No podemos cambiar nuestro pasado. Sólo nos queda aprender de lo vivido. Esta es nuestra responsibilidad y nuestro desafío": We cannot change our past. We can only learn from the experience. This is our responsibility and our challenge.

This museum is a beautiful testament to the spirit of this country. The Chilean people are meeting this challenge with courage and grace. It was a blessing to witness this and to have the privilege to learn about this momentous part of Chile's history.