September 11th has a completely different meaning here in Chile. 9/11/1973 is the day that a junta forced a military coup and placed General Pinochet in power. This dictatorship lasted almost 20 years and affected every aspect of Chilean society. During Pinochet's reign there were many human rights crimes committed and hundreds of thousands of people were detained or tortured under the excuse of 'state security', or for no apparent reason at all. Because of this long history during which they were denied a voice Chileans now remember Sept. 11 with human rights demonstrations and other forms of protest. It was very interesting to learn about and experience a completely different tragedy that just happened to occur on the same day. It made me realize how different experiences and events can effect our perceptions of the world and what we consider to be important.
On Friday to remember the coup we watched a really good movie about the friendship of two boys during the last months of Allende's reign and the coup. It was called Machuca and I definitely recommend it if you can find it!
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