Bread and Roses

(This blog finishes up the blog entry “Give us a sample…”")

Our last stop for the day was Parque por la Paz—Villa Grimaldi (Park for Peace—Villa Grimaldi).

It’s also the Auschwitz of Chile.

It was one of the main torture centers and headquarters for the DINA (Secret Police) during the Pinochet era.

Before this, it belonged to a wealthy liberal family. It had a restaurant. A pool. A beautiful rose garden. It became a place where liberals would meet to talk about making Chile a more just country.

The wealthy family’s daughter was captured by the DINA. In return for their daughter, the family handed over the property to Pinochet.

It was in use from 1974-1978. Almost 4,000 people were brought through here. Almost 300 people were killed here or “disappeared.”

At this point in the day, I’m not really talking much. I just don’t know what to say at this point. 

We start the tour. To be honest, I’m not really sure how much of the tour I heard. The guide spoke fast and there were a lot of words in Spanish that I did not know. I was able to ask some of the SIT staff some questions to clarify things.

First we saw a model of the place. DINA bulldozed much of the land after they closed the place down in 1978 to destroy their evidence.

Next to some of the model homes…there were sketches of what the “inside” of this particular building looked like. I couldn’t help but be reminded of the pictures of the Holocaust, where bodies are huddling close together.

Then we went to the gate that remains lock. Symbolically showing “nunca más” (never again).

Out from the gate is a beautiful mosaic image (sort of looks like the roots of a tree).

Some of the tiles are from the original buildings where the individuals were kept during their time a Villa Grimaldi. The blue and green tiles on the edge mirror the shape of tears.

And we kept going…

There are plaques to show where the male and female holding cells where. The guide talked about the importance of solidarity…the importance of singing, story telling, togetherness during these moments. How these “prisoners" would maintain that—even with the screams of those being tortured coming from the room next door. 

They had a replica of one of the rooms to give a sense of the size. Rossana, a SIT staff member, said, 4 people stayed in here and each person would take turns sleeping on the ground for a bit at a time.

We went to the wall where the names of those who died here are listed. There are black spaces under each year Grimaldi was open for any more bodies they still find or for those bodies they are not able to put a name to. When this was designed they wanted to make it more accessible. Unlike the other Memorial, individuals are touch this wall. Take the steps down and feel each name on the wall.

Then we entered the Rose Garden. During the years of operation, “prisoners” would imagine the smell of roses that used to exist when the family owned the property. The gargen is a memorial to the 30+ women who were killed here. Each bed of flowers has the name of one of the women who died here. There are four unnamed beds where the names of the four other women who died is unknown.

 

Then we moved to the once water tower. During the take-over it was the torture chamber—the one where someone would enter and not leave. There are only a few who survived this—the shocking, the water dunking. Most of the people tortured excessively in this building and then thrown into the ocean.

And then there was a pool.

It served many purposes. When the Red Cross came, DINA had the detainees hide in here so the Red Cross could inspect. Some guards used the pool for recreational activities. And a few times it was used for the children of the DINA members. They played in the pool while individuals were screaming as they were tortured. Those being tortured can remember hearing the voices of those playing in the pool.

The center of the park where a majority of the torturing happened is turned into a mosaic design.

The tour ended soon after. We saw the DINA “headquarters” which was turned into a museum to showcase a few individuals who died here. A number of memorials to the political organizations that were sought out during the dictatorship. 

And then it ended.

I’m surprised I didn’t leave feeling discouraged. I left in awe of the people who work to create a better world. Of the people who know, in their gut of guts, that what they are writing or singing or performing or sharing or saying is what needs to be done. I’m in awe of the people who continue to do that—knowing that this is possible. That torture and death and leaving it all is possible. But these people keep going.

Just as those in Grimaldi would close their eyes and imagine the smell of roses, these people, too, are fighting for the bread and roses for all people. The right to put food and roses on the table. And working so that never again…is never again…in Rwanda, Chile, in Iraq, in U.S. Prisons, in the Middle East, in Darfur…never again.

And may I continue to build a world where when I travel…I am not visiting memorial after memorial dedicated to governments that tortured their people with the help of my government, where I am not witness U.S. capitalism infiltrate their economy.

Instead I witness their culture. I speak to their people who speak their language. I eat their food from their country. And I learn their history. Not my history in their country. I learn their history.