Statement on the death of Francisco Martínez Romero
From members of the Chilean community in Glasgow, Scotland
Yesterday 5 February 2021, in the main square of the town of Panguipulli in the south of Chile, a young juggler, Francisco Martínez Romero was shot and killed after an argument about showing ID.
A video released on social media shows Francisco running and turning away from a policeman who, apparently scared by the tin performance knives used by the juggler, shoots him in broad daylight and in the presence of families. It was then known that Francisco was in fact the uncle of Anthony, another recent victim of police brutality, a youth pushed over a bridge in Santiago on October 3 2020, in another widely disseminated video.
What came after was typical also of Chilean society, with social platforms and activists denouncing this across the country, and with immediate victim defamation and cover ups from police and local administration. In response, last night local protesters burned down the municipality and several government buildings in this particularly poor area of the south of Chile. When interviewed, authorities seemed more interested in these events than in Francisco's death, and only the mayor condemned the police’s actions and said that this situation could have been avoided had the police operated correctly in their treatment of the victim and had they actually protected those municipal buildings in the protests that followed instead of bunkering down in their police station..
This is not an isolated incident, nor is it unique to Chile and to the well known human rights violations from the Chilean police service, the Carabineros. Indeed police violence is empowered by scenes of more police violence elsewhere, and this is further fuelled by the silence of world leaders before these clear human rights violations, and by the investment of governments and the arms industry to back up this violence with the means to make it ever stronger.
We condemn the violent behaviour of the Carabineros de Chile and of Piñera’s extremist neo-liberal government, and call on the oppressed of the world in daily situations like that of Francisco, on civil society, governments and leaders alike to express their denouncement of the normalising of global police violence, and to express a strong wish to fund alternative services so that it should never get to the situation it got to yesterday.
We need funding for people and all the services and support they need, not to normalise repression.
On this #HumanRightDay2020 please read and sign this petition (link below to the spanish language original), by the women of Modatima, the movement for the defence of the earth and waters in Chile.
PUBLIC STATEMENT FROM MUJERES MODATIMA
DENOUNCING THE DEPORTATION OF NATALIA CARDONA
From MUJERES MODATIMA we denounce, once again, the political persecution by the government of Sebastian Piñera and the abuse of the Investigative Police of Chile, in the Arturo Merino Benitez Airport(Santiago) by detaining, incommunicating and deporting the Colombian Feminist and leader Natalia Cardona Rivillo.
Natalia Cardona Rivillo, is a Colombian citizen, social communicator, student of sociology at the University of Antioquia and worker of the Ecological and Cultural Corporation Penca de Sábila, an organization that belongs to the Life Network of Latin America.
She arrived at Santiago de Chile Airport on Tuesday 8 December at 16.15 on flight LATAM LA0531. Both her personal documents and the obligatory health documentation required due to covid-19, including the negative PCR test, which accredited her health status, and the 3 month stay insurance, were up to date and in order according to Chile's requirements.
Natalia was detained by the Investigations Officer Nibaldo André Donoso Espina, in charge of the Airport Investigation Police. She was interrogated for the reason of her trip and was forced to open her luggage. She was reprimanded for her books on feminism, especially for "Writings on Feminism and Philosophy" by Herbert Marcuse and one by Pedro Lemebel. She was intimidated and her social networks and a personal blog were checked. In addition, the official Donoso accused her of being an "agitator", after finding among her belongings a "Perro Matapacos" t-shirt and calls to mobilize for the demands of the Feminist Movements in Colombia on their social networks.
She was detained, incommunicado and disappeared, inside the airport, by officials of the Investigative Police, for 7 hours. Her partner, with whom she has had a relationship for more than three years, is a Chilean and a militant of MODATIMA Chile, and lives in the commune of La Granja, Metropolitan Region of Santiago.
Donoso also discriminated against her because she is of African descent, pointing out that she "does not have the characteristics to be a tourist," because of her economic capacity and her hotel reservations. When she argued that she would stay with "her boyfriend" and pointed out his place of residence, the commune of La Granja, they immediately proceeded with the protocol of review for drug possession without finding anything. Nor did they take into account that she was carrying credit cards to cover and support her stay.
Finally, Natalia Cardona Rivillas was deported by the Investigative Police, represented by the official Donoso, on a LATAM flight at 01.15 on 9 December. The official justified his action and decision by pointing to our compañera as an "agitator" of the social mobilisation in Chile. In circumstances that she came on a personal trip of three months. This situation is within the framework of the established legality in Chile and the basic principles of any democracy.
This situation was denounced by MODATIMA Chile to the National Institute of Human Rights (INDH). They managed to communicate with Natalia. Despite the INDH's clarifications and diligence with the officials, they forcibly put her on the plane and deported her to Colombia.
Not satisfied with this action, the official documents indicated that "she did not have a clear address in Chile" and "she did not have enough money". This was in order to cover up the persecution procedure of the officials of Investigations, who, on several occasions during the interrogation, singled her out for her activism and political position.
As MODATIMA WOMEN we denounce the humiliating, misogynist, racist and classist treatment in the procedure of the officials of Investigations, occurred in the framework of this situation, through the official NIBALDO ANDRE DONOSO ESPINA. This behaviour is due to the way in which the institutions of order and security that respond to the patriarchy operate, and which since the 18th has violated and brutally repressed feminist women defenders who have taken to the streets demanding their rights.
We call for a public statement by the government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, foreigners and the Chilean Investigation Police on this act of discrimination and political persecution of Natalia Cardona Rivillo by the regime of Sebastián Piñera, as she was deported for being a feminist and for having a relationship with our organisation.
Furthermore, we denounce that this arbitrary act committed against the comrade is part of the discrimination and political persecution experienced in Latin America. The false figure consigned by Investigations to deport Natalia has put the physical integrity and life of this leader at risk, considering that Colombia has the highest rate of persecution and death of Socio-Environmental Defenders.
We call on the Undersecretary Juan Francisco Galli Basilde, for his statements, in a press release, referring insultingly to the events, as he points out that Natalia "did not have support networks in Chile" and "did not have enough money". This situation is not real, since Natalia, as we have already explained, has had a relationship with a member of our organization for more than three years. These trips of the couple were interrupted by the pandemic and they were preparing to spend the end of the year festivities together.
As is public knowledge, our organisation has been a target of interest for Chilean repressive forces and the object of persecution and investigation by intelligence agencies. As stated in various media and studies. This is due to the simple fact that we defend human rights, common natural assets, especially water. For the same reason, we believe that this operation, experienced by Natalia, is part of the same actions that seek to condemn us.
We demand a review of the case of Natalia Cardona Rivillas so that she can enter Chile as a free and sovereign woman.
Please sign the following link, adding your name or organisation name, email and country, https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfgO9lJptep8S2qhjP1L6I6X--9-lWF2tuPgX70IDZlzu9XFw/viewform
Call for signatories against Chile’s new migration law
There have been various reports on the new migration law in Chile, aimed against migrants from poorer latin american countries, whose rights are already fragile and easily violated by the current system, making it harder for them to enter the country if poor and paperless, and that is only the start. This is a call for individuals and groups in English speaking countries to sign this declaration together with us. Your solidarity is immensely appreciated!
We reject racism in the Migration Law and in the policy of criminalisation of migrants
The migrant and human rights organizations that pronounce themselves with this declaration reiterate our rejection of the systematic and populist policy of criminalization of migrants and of the recently approved migration law, which ignores basic human rights principles, as has been pointed out by migrant organizations, academia, jurists and international human rights bodies such as UNICEF, the Committee of Migrant Workers and their Families and the OHCHR. It also includes articles that are contrary to the current constitution.
Above and beyond the evidence, the legal and human rights foundations provided, a law has been passed that ignores or renounces: international human rights standards, the principle of non-refoulement, the principle of due process, the principle of non-discrimination in access to social and civil rights, the guarantee of regularity; furthermore, it does not guarantee family reunification for all types of families, exposes unaccompanied children and adolescents to expulsion or rejection at the border, while for resident immigrants it will mean the violation of acquired rights and the perpetuation of their temporary residences. Among its most serious components, the approved law establishes as a main mechanism a system of consular visas, which in practice is the main barrier to granting residences, allowing arbitrariness in the approval or denial of visas, which will increase irregular income, smuggling and trafficking networks.
Therefore, the implementation of this law will institutionalise or strengthen discrimination in access to rights of children and adults, migratory irregularity, precarious access to the labour market for immigrants, segregation in its various aspects, exacerbating the violence and violation of rights already experienced especially by children and women. This is a norm that is more adverse than the questioned dictatorship regulations that were intended to be improved, and which will exacerbate the state racism inherited from the dictatorship.
What reinforces this instrument is also the stigma attached to migration, which attributes pejorative meanings to it, homogenizes communities, and feeds discourses of illegality that are widely promoted by government institutions and the mass media, forging openly anti-migrant opinion, and justifying the dehumanization of immigrants with the violations they suffer in order to criminalize them.
Along with the above, the refusal of a general extraordinary regularization, the actions of persecution of irregular migrants, the intensification of mass and even illegal expulsion procedures not only increase the criminalization of migrants, but also seek to normalize a police state over the bodies of migrants.
We will not accept this legislation as an instrument that will only exist to deepen the gaps of inequalities that already exist. We condemn the persecution and criminalisation of migrants, and for this reason we oppose this law and the practices of racist persecution, and we declare that together with civil society, social movements and organisations we will join our efforts to reveal the injustices that will occur after its enactment, and we will work together to repeal it and to defend the dignity of all people living in Chile.
No to the racist Immigration Law, No to State racism!
Please click here to sign (link with original text in spanish, where you can add your name and organisation)
https://forms.gle/394m7CMXTYGQVKn36
Signatories so far:
Comité migrante de la coordinadora feminista 8M
Secretaría de mujeres inmigrantes
Negrocéntricxs
Coordinadora Nacional de Inmigrantes en Chile
Corporación Colectivo Sin Fronteras.
Gracias por el 18, un mensaje al Chile que despertó
Este 18 Octubre quisiera contarles que pensaba que mi Chile había muerto en el 73, cuando tenía un año y poco después tuvimos que huir a Escocia.
Cuándo el año pasado nos dimos cuenta que las protestas que habían comenzado a verse por las redes ya habían llegado a escala nacional se mezclaron muchas emociones, sobretodo por el peligro que corría mi familia repartida por las regiones.
Aunque había podido volver al irse Pinocho, y en mi juventud, hasta entonces ya había pasado tantos años lejos del país, y de mis amigos y familia escuchaba siempre más describir del consumismo desenfrenado y la precariedad en que parecían vivir todes.
Era tan triste que no quería volver y ver esos lugares y su gente con todo vendido y privatizado y me daba mucha pena la idea de volver y me sentía parte de algo perdido. El 18 de Octubre 2019 por fin vi salir un nuevo carácter, una nueva actitud, una nueva actitud, desfasada de un mes y dosciento diez años del Chile de O'Higgins y sus amigos terratenientes y creoles.
Creía que ese mundo lo conservamos sólo los exiliados o migrantes. Pude ver, a través de mis amistades, familia y las redes, un lugar nacer, un lugar más digno y justo que estaba en el actuar de toda la gente que ha estado luchando contra brutalidad policial y para nuestros derechos, creando al mismo tiempo un país nuevo, pero que nace desde la certidumbre y las acciones de tanta gente de alguna manera sin líderes ni gurús, la lucha ha continuado en el espíritu del nuevo Chile que he visto nacer.
Ahora si quisiera tanto ver ese Chile, un lugar donde te cuidan les jóvenes, que desinfectan las calles y te protegen contra la violencia de la policía, poder ver a las brigadas médicas, los presos políticos y quienes luchan por elles, y tu vecino que cocina para ti si pasas hambre, donde la gente es consciente de nuestro pasado como colonizadores, migrantes pobres y pueblos originarios. Y todo eso al medio de la pandemia, las restricciones y represión desde el gobierno, la policía y los militares.
Durante este tiempo desde lejos entre todes intentamos ayudar como pudimos. Mucha gente no había participado en protestas o activismo en sus vidas, pero nos conocimos y pudimos ser el cabildo de Glasgow, y la comunidad Chilena de aquí y de Escocia, que se conocía otra vez finalmente. Pudimos ser parte de la red de cabildos que se formó en Inglaterra y más allá, y finalmente fuimos parte de una red internacional de cabildos, asambleas, organizaciones, activistas y comunidades.
Se que por el mundo seguimos con nuestros corazones lo que pasa en Chile aunque estemos lejos, listes para apoyar y para decidir entre todes sobre el futuro del país más allá de cualquier "Acuerdo por la Paz" impuesto por las elites, y listes para seguir apoyando la creación de ese Chile. No más un país cerrado, neo-liberal extractivista, pero un espacio abierto, despierto y respetuoso hacia nuestro entorno, y hacia las culturas y los pueblos que ahí y por el mundo viven.
Doy las gracias a toda la gente que ha ayudado a crear esta nueva realidad, y a darle la vuelta a quienes creían tener todo el poder mostrando la fuerza del pueblo unido que vuelve y es millones. Hasta que la dignidad se haga costumbre! Jallalla!! Marichiweu!!!
In these days of toppling of monuments, and reexamining of what we should be admiring in our squares or as our street names, I am reminded of our chilean awakening in October 2019 and how we renamed streets and squares so that we ended up with Plaza de la Dignidad, ex Plaza Italia, the spiritual heart of the movement, and tore down the statues of various vicious conquerors and colonists, before the lock-down and covid-19 sent protests indoors and physical spaces became virtual like everything else. The protests have only gained intensity again now that the lockdown has led to widespread hunger and lack of means to provide for families.
We had the energy during these 7 months, despite all these issues and police/state repression, to continue organising, fighting and raising awareness of the issues brought about by a fascist, colonialist and fundamentally racist government against its people - who are a lot more grown up than those who seek to treat them as consumers or as resources to extract.
So I really hope Black Lives Matter and what is now being called the uprising can only grow and become resilient, perhaps we will hear of how they begin to provide the services and support until now long desired or demanded from the government.
We fight alongside our brothers and sisters in the USA as we see so many parallels and common points with our struggles and I hope we can inform and improve their work while continuing with ours. The fascist dictators across the world who are becoming ever stronger now have a force that seems ever more united as we all recognise our past history and make amends by opening up and changing the world as George Floyd’s daughter wanted her father to do.
A while back I took a DNA test, and found out that of all things, I’m about 5% gaelic.I looked up “Scottish Chleans” on wikipedia and found out some terrible things my ancestors did when they arrived there both as settlers and as part of the British Empire, which dominated chile economically throughout the 18th century, until US colonialism took over in the 20th. I know my ancestors both Scottish and Chilean had good and bad sides, but how can I know more about it? Growing up in Scotland we were taught about Robert the Bruce and the spider, or about Sir Francis Drake being woken up by a loud spanish armada and saving the day. Not that Drake massacred Scottish and Irish people before pillaging and robbing across the world, or indeed about the clearances or who that Bobby Sands guy was who had his name and “will not die in vain” written all over the place.. In Chile this was the same or worse: people are taught only the history of the victors and the rest is hidden. The more I learnt about the ways Chile was involved in the slave trade and colonialism, and I found just how deep and far colonial domination went. We had indentured labour, forced labour, genocide and constant war lasting hundreds of years as well as slavery while the British would live in stately homes and preside over their empires, facilitated even more by Chile’s bourgeois “independence”. So it was a very different picture although no less horrific than what has happened elsewhere. All forms of suffering should be valid things to bring up at this point and give voice to. What do we know about Scotland then? There are so many things to discuss so here I’m focusing on one particular place and one particularly dark moment of our shared history: Patagonia, 1800s. It had rolling hills, abundant rain and windy plains, so similar to the british isles:
* Scottish people were emigrating en masse to south america after the union with England, so much so that to this day in places like the Falkland islands you can hear quite Scottish sounding accents and many household names are people of scottish descent. They also settled in southernmost provinces in Chilean and Argentinean Patagonia, initially due to the gold rush, then mostly as farmers or hunters seeking similar weather to back home. They weren’t the only ones arriving. There were also Irish, Welsh, German and other Northern European settlers among others.
* Unfortunately for them, the Selk’nam “indians” also hunted for the livestock these hunters and their employers in the new cities and towns further north now “owned”. But Selk’nam people didn’t believe in private property, so they kept hunting as they had always done. Soon a “scalp” system was made where hunters and farmers could bring in at first ears and hands, and then later on entire heads (as well meaning colonists might just remove it and leave the “savage” alive).
* The last Selk’nam survivor died in 1974. From a population of thousands. This was a genocide.
So what was the extent of Scottish involvement in this? It’s not slavery but we are not in presence of Selk’nam people to topple the corresponding monuments today. Likewise there are no pIcts left in Scotland to tell us what became of them, or any other of countless cultures and ways of life that have been lost, and in many ways the british isles were the first testing grounds for later horror perpetuated in the end by nationalism, authoritarianism, patriarchy etc. This shows once again the importance of maintaining a vivid and challenging history in our place names and monuments. Could one day the streets carry the names of those who suffered from losing an eye or their lives for changing things, for protesting or just for existing? Can we somehow bring out all that suffering that we shared in the past and finally discuss it and deal with it somehow? There is so much suffering in the past that we have not dealt with or internalised and are repeating.
Seven months after the Chilean awakening began in October 2019, people in its poorest areas and neighbourhoods are hungry, organising community kitchens (ollas comunes), lighting barricades in their streets to protest the state abandonment, and they urgently need PPE and medical equipment as covid cases continue to grow, but they keep on fighting and opposing the fascist legacy, which is a legacy in turn of colonialism that continues the extractive system that works across the global south to this day.
I found this nice list of documentaries about Chile, for you or friends who might be interested (in Spanish, I'm unaware if they have English subtitles or not) ...list below algunos documentales que explican la situación actual en Chile. 👇 🎬 Chicago Boys (2015) https://ok.ru/video/888949770999 🎬 El genocidio Selknam en la Tierra del Fuego (2019) https://youtu.be/gH9ugla2xMQ 🎬 Chile: Impresiones (1978) *Francia https://youtu.be/7aueEaGv6ok 🎬 El diario de Agustin (2008) https://youtu.be/anZc9axMSAw 🎬 Chile: Orden, Trabajo y Obediencia (1977) https://youtu.be/YX3rUF9oNjg 🎬 La Espirale (1976) *Francia https://youtu.be/nnZI4RX5Fh4 🎬 Calafate, Zoológicos Humanos (2011) https://youtu.be/-8MyDeDpGAs 🎬 Profetas del exceso (2013) https://youtu.be/2kVtDIJxlkE 🎬 Este año no hay cosecha (2000) https://youtu.be/iZNLNBaoNxQ 🎬 Raza Brava (2008) https://youtu.be/uQvdiiMRdAY 🎬 El Opus Dei en Chile: Una Cruzada Silenciosa (2006) https://youtu.be/Cjkb_rTRhYA 🎬 La educación prohibida (2012) https://youtu.be/-1Y9OqSJKCc 🎬 Gabriel Salazar : Padres y Madres de la patria (2010) https://youtu.be/8J2IHjm8muM 🎬 Actores secundarios (2004) https://youtu.be/e1UE__JBeTU 🎬 Freirina rebelde (2013) https://youtu.be/uT-JRriMEtE 🎬 Los montajes de la dictadura (2016) https://youtu.be/53gfn6qHlcE 🎬 Se robaron el cobre (2012) https://youtu.be/6RcEx6Y_oYo 🎬 Chile: ¿Hasta cuando? (1986) https://youtu.be/nqTdfz_8Lxw 🎬 Chile, la memoria obstinada (1997) https://youtu.be/mNH-9aAF_Fg 🎬 La batalla de Chile. Parte 1/3 (1975) https://youtu.be/NuQhPEmjUQQ 🎬 Newen Mapuche: la fuerza de la gente de la tierra (2011) https://youtu.be/ijz5NLllTvM 🎬 Mala Pesca: La depredación pesquera en Chile (2016) https://youtu.be/mMFt2rdKdog 🎬 Chao Pescao (2013) https://youtu.be/9Nowfn3Cf3M 🎬 Matapaco (2013) https://youtu.be/wiEFhAAWCiw 🎬 La nostalgia de la luz (2010) https://bit.ly/2JzeEvE 🎬 El botón de nácar (2015) https://bit.ly/2NlsOBW 🎬 La ciudad de los fotógrafos (2006) https://youtu.be/8CMldmuZi24 🎬 Huérfanos de la leche (2012) https://youtu.be/jszYceaoA8o 🎬 Territorio sagrado (2014) https://youtu.be/C__IxvJW2Bs 🎬 Plantar pobreza, el negocio forestal en Chile (2014) https://youtu.be/A42dHCxuJ1w 🎬 I love Pinochet (2001) https://youtu.be/4tiOHHQC9PE 🎬 Con el signo de la araña (1973) https://youtu.be/kk7xUD6D8tg 🎬 El aguacate - El lado oscuro del superalimento (2018) https://youtu.be/lWqUSGJg1eU 🎬 Las lágrimas secas de Chile (2019) https://youtu.be/BFXjtYosaLw 🎬 El gran robo de carabineros de Chile - PACOGATE (2017) https://youtu.be/xM0AgQuiHfk 🎬 Corrupción en el ejercito de Chile - MILICOGATE (2015) https://youtu.be/JQZc8Nj4_8o 🎬 21 días: Una vida rodeada de lujos (2013) https://youtu.be/KLDgCrr0mMA 🎬 Impuesto territorial en contribuciones: Ley pareja no es dura (2019) https://youtu.be/EHAilqlirmQ 🎬 La doctrina del Shock (2009) https://youtu.be/_H1YiG2Wj_8
A RAPIST IN YOUR PATH – 8th March 2020 – Press Release
In solidarity with women across Latin America and around the world, and on the occasion of the Global Women’s Strike of 8th March 2020, the group Feministas Hispanohablantes en Glasgow –Spanish-speaking, migrant feminists in Glasgow – will be performing the anthem A RAPIST IN YOUR PATH.
What is Feministas Hispanohablantes en Glasgow?
A feminist group in Glasgow that is open to all self-identifying women who are Spanish-speaking and whose lives have been shaped by the experience of migration.
What is A Rapist in Your Path?
This action was devised by the Chilean collective #LasTesis in response to the violent and repressive measures from the Chilean government against its citizens, as well as impunity for femicides and violence against women. Based on the work of feminist theorist Rita Segato, they wrote a feminist anthem that went viral and was performed all over the world, from Argentina to India, Colombia to Belgium, to Bolivia to Turkey, Paraguay to Canada, Nicaragua to Spain, Mexico to the UK, Dominican Republic to France, Ecuador to Kenya, Chile to Germany, Costa Rica to the US, and further afield.
Both men and women get murdered. Why do we need a special term for women?
FEMICIDE is the killing of a woman or girl, in particular by a man and on account of her gender. According to the Guardian, 76% of women who are murdered in the UK knew the killer, and in 46% percent of cases the killer was an intimate partner. In contrast, only 4% of men who are murdered are killed by their intimate partners. This is even more of a problem when we consider that the perpetrators are not proportionally punished, as excuses such as “a crime of passion” or “temporary loss of control” are often accepted, and victims are blamed for their own deaths.
But Latin American countries are more violent generally. Why do we need feminism here?
Structural sexism exists all over the world, not just countries that are “overtly violent”, but also in countries, like the UK, where a hostile environment is being actively fostered, and where more subtle forms of coercion and control continue to exist. Femicides and violence are just the tip of the iceberg of a system which creates the conditions for it. This is why we need to address all gender issues from domestic violence, the failures of the justice system, the gender gap, the pay gap, bullying and harassment in the workplace and by the press, and reproductive rights.
Is feminism just for (cis) women?
NO! We believe that cis men and women, as well as non-binary, intersex and trans people, all suffer unnecessarily under a patriarchal system, in ways that intersect with race, class, identity, and migration status. These issues will become more pressing as climate change worsens. Traditionally, men have been forced to repress their emotions while women have been forced to give up their power, and along with extractivist capitalist practices, this has led to violent, patriarchal systems that are traumatic to children of any gender. Feminists believe in a fairer society, with more equal opportunities, where everyone is allowed to flourish, regardless of their gender.
In the past 25 years, while wealth has grown worldwide, multiple, interconnected inequalities have obscenely deepened. That wealth has been in large parts created by women who do not get to share that wealth. We live within an economic order which is exploiting women and benefiting from the free or lowly paid care work that we do, from the low wages and precarious conditions of work. In addition, women are more deeply affected by the effects of climate change, and are more likely to be displaced.
FACTS
● In Britain, 76% of women who are murdered by men knew the killer, and in 46% percent of cases the killer was an intimate partner. In contrast, only 4% of men who are murdered are killed by their intimate partners. (source: The Guardian)
● While figures for many crimes in Scotland are going down, for sexual offences they continue to rise, and the number of convictions for rape and attempted rape per year has stayed roughly the same. (Source: Scottish Government’s National Statistics publication).
● Rape and attempted rape have the highest acquittal rates (not guilty and not proven) in Scotland: 55% or 136 people of the 247 proceeded against in 2018 were acquitted. The conviction rate for rape and attempted rape continues to be the lowest for any crime type. (Source: Scottish Government’s National Statistics publication)
● In at least 43% of the 10,273 sexual crimes by the police recorded in 2015-6, the victims were under the age of 18. (Scottish Government’s National Statistics publication)
● Sexual abuse occurs more often in the survivor’s home than in any other location (Source: Rape Crisis Scotland)
● About 1 in 3 (35%) of women worldwide have experienced either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetime. (Source: WHO Factsheet on Violence Against Women)
● Worldwide, almost one third (30%) of women who have been in a relationship report that they have experienced some form of physical and/or sexual violence by their intimate partner. (Source: WHO Factsheet on Violence Against Women (updated January 2016)
● A third of teenage girls in a relationship suffer an unwanted sexual act (Source: NSPCC)
● 80% of people displaced by climate change are women. Halton, Mark. BBC (2018) Climate change ‘impacts women more than men’. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-43294221
● One of the biggest barriers to gender equality is the economic inequality between women and men in Scotland. This exists in the formal economy where the gender pay gap and lack of access to sustainable jobs means that women earn less and have less influence than men. But there is also the additional problem of the invisible work that (predominantly) women do and which isn't recognised by traditional economic calculations. This includes caring, raising children and other unpaid work - all of which contribute to Scotland's economic wellbeing. (Source: Engender)
● In Britain, unpaid household work, such as looking after children, doing laundry and cooking, is worth £1.24tn per year – more than the value of the UK’s retail and manufacturing output combined, according to official figures. On average, men do 16 hours a week of such unpaid work [compared with] the 26 hours of unpaid work done by women a week. (Source: The Guardian)
Text of a talk at a protest organised by Glasgow university arms divestment coalition https://uofg.fail/
Glasgow University 26/02/2020
On the 18th of October, we started to see similar scenes to what had happened during the 1970s dictatorship in Chile, as people rose up against a neoliberalist state that had already impoverished most of the population creating huge disparity between a small powerful elite and the masses of precarious workers at the mercy of a fully privatised colonial state.
Since protests began, instead of making any serious changes, the government only increased it´s expenditure on arms to repress and control the population, who was now rising up en-masse. A curfew was imposed across all major cities and we started to see and hear reports of the most atrocious murders and killings of activists both during protests or in disappearances where people are taken from their homes.
There have been so far 4300 legal actions have been taken against the human rights abuses that have taken place. 23,449 people have been arrested, 268 people have been wounded by tear gas canisters fired directly at the upper body. 2114 have been wounded by rubber bullets and pellets, and 427 people have experienced ocular trauma, some of whom have total loss of vision. This is why when you see a protest to do with Chile, you will see eyes. Some of those who have died, died due to the police continuing to attack after people tried to stop them, and we have seen reports of a strange green and a yellow gas, of a strange white powder in the water cannon, which uses a huge amount of water itself during a national drought.
As history goes back, political relationships between the UK and Chile have black pages that had been dusted off fairly recently in the XXI Century. The Thatcherite-style policies were known on the other side of the ocean under the auspices of General Augusto Pinochet, who took power in a coup in September 1973. Margaret Thatcher was a strong supporter of the brutal dictator right up until his death on house arrest awaiting trial and Chile, under Pinochet’s dictatorship, looked up to the iron lady as it suffered from violently-implemented restructurings on the ashes of dismantled political institutions and thousands of victims.
Pinochet’s legacy is not that different from Thatcher’s. A strong anti-union bias, wage and welfare cutting, the privatisation of health, education and transport while at the same time strengthening the authority and power of the state and maintaining a fervent anti-leftism are just some of the similarities. But to observe even deeper, as sociologist Ralph Miliband, said: “Mrs Thatcher is the first British prime minister to convey the very strong impression that she could, in suitably fraught circumstances, very comfortably play the role of a Pinochet”.
It was reported in Chile that Britain sent over US$160 million worth of weapons to Chile after 1980 when Britain lifted its arms embargo with Chile that had been put in place since the Pinochet-led military coup d’état against the civilian government. Weapons received by Chile, even before the blockage, included missiles and jet fighters, such as the British Hawker Hunter jets that bombarded La Moneda, the government palace. The relationship between Thatcher and Pinochet was strengthened during the Falklands War of 1982. Even though the military regimes in Chile and Argentina were close allies during the infamous Operation Condor, the Pinochet regime would send Britain intelligence information regarding Argentina.
And not so long ago, in 2013, Chile and Britain aggressively refreshed their ties on defence with a busy schedule of visits, discussions and “study tours” by delegations of military and civilian security and defence officials held in Chile and organised by Britain’s Royal College of Defence Studies with the support of the UK Embassy in Santiago. There’s no secret to Britain’s current ties to Chile’s military: the British government has advertised these visits on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website, stating that counterinsurgency training “was organised as part of the ongoing efforts to reinforce and strengthen the close ties between the British and Chilean Ministries of Defence”. These “training tours” have called the attention of Human Rights specialists because Santiago’s law-and-order establishment have been criticised for heavy-handed repression against student protesters, and for using anti-terror legislation to permit violence against the indigenous community of Mapuches.
In Santiago on July 30, 2013, British academics from the UK’s Army Officer School presented a counterinsurgency course to participants drawn from Chile’s military. By coincidence, also on July 30 in the capital, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Counter-Terrorism expressed concern over the “confused and arbitrary … misuse” of Chile’s counter-terrorism legislation that had “resulted in real injustice” against the country’s Mapuche indigenous people.
Of course we are suffering a media blockade like many protests across the world. if you look on the BBC, the Chilean press, most international mainstream newspapers, you won’t hear that we recently passed our fourth month of protests, which will only intensify in the coming months, that even now during the annual music festival in Viña del Mar is witnessing burning cars and crowds of protesters forcing heavily militarised police to back up along streets. Now violent right wing groups are going to their own protests armed and ready to beat up any opposing marches, with police protection and advice, So any statement or show of solidarity from the UK would have a huge on the consciences of people who would like to appear not to be so violent and stop this flow of weapons from being a normal occurrence.
https://antropologiaparatodos.wordpress.com/2018/03/09/la-compania-explotadora-de-isla-de-pascua-patrimonio-memoria-e-identidad-en-rapa-nui/ Scottish involvement in colonisation & extraction in easter island
When the protests began to take on a huge scale, on October 18th 2019, the Chilean community in Glasgow had hardly met. We organised our first protests and from there we have done lots of activities and “cabildos” or town hall meetings to discuss how we can help and improve the situation in Chile, improve our rights in Scotland and as citizens abroad, and show our solidarity allowing Scottish people to show their solidarity too, with the protests there. However we do see ourselves as a community also, and we hope that one day things will improve and we can become simply a community group. You are welcome to participate even if you can’t or don’t want to take part in these activities but just like Chilean culture or would like to get to know us.
Al comenzar el estallido social en Chile, se organizaron varias manifestaciones en solidaridad con las protestas, y desde ahi nos conocimos y hemos organizado muchisimas actividades, protestas y cabildos. Estan bienvenidas todas las personas que quieran participar en esto, o simplemente que quieran conocernos y formar parte de la comunidad Chilena en Glasgow.
Si estas en Glasgow, Escocia, nos puedes encontrar a traves de los siguientes enlaces en las redes sociales, para que te contemos cuando hay actividades o cabildos y como puedes conocernos.
Comunicado sobre la irresponsabilidad periodística chilena
Las actividades organizadas en Glasgow (y llevadas a cabo en Glasgow) son prueba de nuestro apoyo a nuestros compatriotas y no de injerencia extranjera en el país!
Aclaración pública:
EL día Sábado 21 de diciembre de 2019, el diario la Tercera publicó un reportaje sobre el informe que el gobierno entregó a la fiscalía para alimentar su teoría de injerencia extranjera en las manifestaciones en Chile. (https://www.latercera.com/la-tercera- domingo/noticia/big-data-del-gobierno-los-detalles-del-informe-estallido-social-entrego-la- fiscalia/947967/). El artículo destaca que “… [en el informe del gobierno] se alzan teorías de la injerencia extranjeras en disturbios.” (cita textual). Y al finalizar el texto dice lo siguiente
“…varios de los grupos en Facebook en que se organizan manifestaciones están creados desde el extranjero, como el evento “Protesta por Chile en Londres” y “Support Chile from Glasgow”.
Como comunidad Chilena en Glasgow queremos aclarar los siguiente:
- “Support Chile from Glasgow” no es un grupo de facebook sino que una actividad organizada por y para chilenos en Glasgow en la que nos reunimos a mostrar nuestro apoyo a las protestas en Chile.
- Ninguna de las actividades que hemos organizado han sido llevadas a cabo en Chile. Todas nuestras actividades han sido llevadas a cabo en Glasgow.
- Somos un grupo pacífico que tenemos en común el deseo de construir un Chile más justo y digno. Libre de abusos y violaciones a los derechos humanos.
- Rechazamos categóricamente que las actividades pacíficas que organizamos en Glasgow sean usadas como prueba de injerencia del extranjero en las
manifestaciones.
Con las fiestas de fin de año ya era hora para los regalitos de navidad entre estado y pueblo Chileno. El pueblo salió para recibir su cuota navideña de gases pimienta, lacrimógenos y represión en general. Después de sus rutinarios atropellos, matanzas, y destrucción de patrimonio cultural, tenemos que admitir que el gobierno de Chile al dejarnos su “tolerancia cero” justo a tiempo para la pascua, también dejó a los internets doblados por la risa al hacerse ver como los payasos globales del big data.
Por un rato por las redes y en familia nos reímos, porque había mil maneras de crear memes sobre las estupideces que ahora se ha visto que vienen de la empresa Española “Alto Data Analytics” que hicieron correr su aplicación de análisis IA de las redes sociales. El estudio que pronto desmintieron fuera pagado con dinero del estado atribuía el origen de las demostraciones entre otras a un k-pop revolucionario. Hubiera hecho aquí un photoshop con las caritas de todos ellos como grupo k-pop pero en el fondo no me hace reír.
Además de tantas estupideces que habrían podido averiguar preguntando a cualquier adolescente con cuenta en twitter, también acusaron de injerencia extranjera a la asamblea de Londres y a la comunidad Chilena y Mapuche en Glasgow, por haber organizado protestas y acciones al exterior. Esto nos demuestra solo lo que ya sabíamos: el gobierno heredó el sistema de seguridad y espionaje que con grandes recursos organizó Pinochet. Ese mismo servicio de inteligencia se dedicó y está todavía dedicado a la eliminación de vídeos y artículos que denuncian violaciones de los derechos humanos o que apoyan las protestas. Pero en eso han sido derrotados porque los videos y toda la información que borran igual circula. Al mismo tiempo en que el gobierno dijo hacer acuerdos por la paz y parecía moverse para considerar algunas demandas, ha ido reforzando un sistema de censura y vigilancia para prevenir cualquier difusión de información desde solidaridades internacionales.
Orlando Letelier, al perder la nacionalidad Chilena dijo sentirse mas chileno que nunca “Porque somos los verdaderos Chilenos, en la tradición de O’Higgins, Balmaceda, Allende, Neruda, Gabriela Mistral, Claudio Arrau y Victor Jara, y ellos – los fascistas – son los enemigos de Chile, los traidores que venden nuestro país a las inversiones extranjeras”.
El asesinato de Letelier fue hecho en parte para darle miedo a los exiliados, opositores al régimen de Pinochet y quienes fueran solidarios, para que no se movieran, no hubiera solidaridad y no se tomara acción concreta en contra de los crímenes de la dictadura. Como fui exiliado desde el 1974 creo que tomamos nuestro poder para nuestra “injerencia extranjera” de esa misma semilla de miedo que los fascistas de entonces nos querian inculcar.
Al encontrarnos aquí al frío, transformamos ese miedo en canciones, en afiches, conciertos, empanadas, en marchas, eventos y en solidaridad, luego en tristeza por nuestras tierras poco a poco destruidas como el ánimo de la gente.
Transformamos el miedo en olvido, en intentar integrarnos en nuestras nuevas culturas adquiridas, pero aún quedaba el mal sabor a muerte.
¿Porqué cuando chico me daban miedo los policías sin saber porqué? Cuando bajaba mi cabeza a la almohada sentía mi corazón latir pero eran para mi pasos, pasos de algún soldado loco caminando hacia mi cada noche desde el sur del mundo para matarme por haber sido libre. ¿Porqué un niño tenía que soñar con esas cosas? Cómete la comida, me decían. Porque cuando estaban en el campo de concentración los prisioneros tenían que comer hasta la cáscara y las pepas o les iban a pillar y matar.
Y así fue que miembros de mi familia fueron torturados, tuvieron que vivir años escondidos en tierra chilena o en el exilio. Los familiares y amiges de esa pequeña familia que fuimos, que nos habían dado nuestros nombres a nosotros los hijos, murieron y toda la sociedad de entonces cayó en esas matanzas y desapariciones. Los pacos y milicos de entonces, liderados por payasos como ahora, nutridos de dinero y poder extranjero fueron siempre la causa, la injerencia extranjera.
Quizá se me ocurre el tipo de información que se podría querer ocultar. Quizá el hecho de que ya hay dos cosas que se pueden llamar Chile que difieren de solo un mes en su fiesta de la independencia: el pueblo chileno y el estado. Es un sistema anticuado que no nos sirve para llegar a adaptarnos para el cambio climático. Puedo decir porqué, no es solo por ser aymara que creo que los ayllu fueron muy buena idea.
Entonces la injerencia hacia el pueblo Chileno nos viene desde la CIA, AT&T y los Chicago Boys, desde la minería, el dinero de paraísos fiscales, gastado por Piñera para poder entregar territorio ancestral a empresas de explotación forestal. Porque cree que se puede comprar la valle, el río y todo lo que es natural hasta que no quede mas nada. No creo que esa intrusión venga solamente de los payasos mismos que se instalaron en la moneda desde que la bombardearon, y que habían ya estado mucho antes. Entre gobiernos de izquierda y derecha, o desde los primeros cabildos burgueses del tiempo colonial, ya estaban ahí.
En cada migración por el planeta hemos traído semillas de odio y miedo junto a las de respeto y revitalización por la tierra y sociedad desde el principio de los tiempos. Creo que este ha siempre sido una batalla humana. El problema es que se ha intensificado el poder del ser humano para formar estructuras que extraen, distruyen y matan, al mismo tiempo que ha crecido nuestra capacidad y potencial de ser cuidadores del mundo y de las vidas y sistemas naturales o sociales que se han formado y habitan aquí.
Al formarse lo que ahora se conoce como España no solo se “descubrió” américa, pero también se expulsó el último Califato de Al-Andalus y se impuso la religión cristiana en el país entero, exiliando o matando entre otros a toda la gente Judía y Musulmana. Ahora España era Cristiana. Un solo rey y una sola fe. En esa última batalla estaba Cristobal Colón mismo. Un primer endeudado buscando riquezas, que estableció con su llegada el sistema de extracción para mandar todo de país pobre a rico, y la idea de que se vive en un sistema autoritario, piramidal, y no entre iguales compartiendo la tierra.
Al rebelarse contra el rey de ese nuevo concepto, el “país” prototipo que fue el imperio español, la burguesía Chilena de los tiempos de O’Higgins optó por formar simplemente otro país estado, otro estado autoritario circundado por fronteras y nacionalismos muy similar a lo que era España, o el nuevo modelo de esos tiempos, los estados unidos. Y así todos los demás estados coloniales en el mundo, y los mismos reinos y imperios, quedaron con un parlamento ,una republica, partidos, elecciones y un nuevo sistema para algunos mas justos, pero mucho mas capaces también de perpetuar esa sed infinita para mas recursos y lujos típicos de la fin de un imperio. En pocos años, los monocultivos ya habían llevado el centro de la economía desde la agricultura a la minería, al gastar en casi 70 años la capa de tierra fértil donde plantaron tanto trigo que la tierra ya estaba completamente extraída.
Ahora en vez de un rey lejano los estados se han ramificado por el mundo, como un bicho con muchas cabezas de payasos diferentes, que viene del mismo monstruoso cuerpo imperialista, destructor de montañas y mares, hambriento de lujo y riqueza propia para las élite. El cristianismo ha dado lugar a un pensamiento supuestamente “científico” y por lo tanto igualmente puro y distinto de las falsedades de los pueblos indígenas, que el sistema mediático de cada encarnación de los países estado ha intentado calificar de tontos o salvajes.
No hablo solamente de mi descendencia Aymara y el hecho de sentirme tal, pero de los mismos escoceses, catalanes, y personas de cultura local de todos los lugares donde he vivido hasta hoy, y que ven cada dia su cultura reprimida. En Arica cuando alguien habla Aymara se le decía Boliviano como insulto. Al igual los Mapuche como los habitantes del Reino de las Dos Sicilias se les impuso una cultura dominante a la fuerza convenciendoles a elles o al mundo al mismo tiempo de ser flojos y tontos. Aquí en Escocia cuando alguien habla escocés, se le dice que hable bien y deje de usar jergos. Y la idioma correcta es el inglés. De esa misma manera todos los estados del mundo desde el estado Chileno, Estadounidense, y Español a todos los demás estados corruptos y patriarcales donde vemos hoy en día protestas callejeras al igual que en Chile, se pueden ver ahora como algo muy limitante para poder realmente proteger el mundo, su gente y el resto de los seres vivos y los sistemas que lo hacen posíble.
Creo que es posible crear un sistema mas local, mas participativo, una red de grupos que cada uno quiere recuperar y revitalizar la tierra donde vive. Creo que dentro de los próximos 10 años vamos a crear entre todas las luchas y personas despiertas del mundo, un post-pais. Un sistema que viene después del viejo sistema de los países que se pelean entre ellos para destruir la tierra. Creo que el sentirme Chileno desde el otro lado del mundo, y parte de la lucha, reconozco mi cultura y se que si lucho por esto, lucho también por el mundo entero.
Pero esto no es el único poder que tenemos quienes nos encontramos fuera de Chile: al formarse el grupo en Glasgow por lo menos, las primeras protestas ,como la que fue nombrada en el “estudio” de Alto Data Analytics, sirvieron mas para unirnos entre Chilenos y simpatizantes de todo tipo: estudiantes, gente llegada hace años con parejas o trabajos ingleses, con los que nos habíamos conocido viviendo aquí el exilio. En la protesta nombrada en el estudio tocaron músicos escoceses, se bailó cueca, y por un rato nos conocimos entre gente de Chile apenas llegada, residentes mas largo plazo y gente exiliada de toda la vida como yo. Las mismas organizaciones que nos apoyaban estaban ahí listas para acogernos otra vez. Como se cuenta en el bellísimo documental Nae Pasarán cuyo director conocimos ese día, fue desde el barrio de East Kilbride en Glasgow que los obreros consiguieron parar todos los vuelos de los Hawker Hunter de la dictadura y poner en duda el hecho mismo de involucrarse en fabricar armas para regímenes como este, y esto fue efecto del esfuerzo de los obreros de la Rolls Royce de oponerse a reparar esos aviones de guerra que habían bombardeado la moneda. El movimiento obrero ahora es muy diferente. Se ha unido a las luchas del mundo a través del movimiento ecológico y en nuestros cabildos de Glasgow hemos podido conocer gente que lucha ya sea en Escocia como el resto del mundo en situaciones muy similares al “estallido”. Quizá lograremos entender cómo unir fuerzas activamente para crear una oposición o alternativa no solo al sistema de estado nación asesino y su payaso de turno, pero dar a conocer a quienes invierten en ello para que eso deje de suceder. Asi como hicieron los trabajadores de East Kilbride en el 74.
Ser informático y hijo de historiadores circundado de libros toda mi vida me ha permitido navegar por la historia de mis antepasados, conocer la historia oficial y popular de los lugares donde he vivido y compartir los logros de la sociedad Chilena entre otras, conocer los movimientos cooperativistas del mundo y la autoorganización como ha sucedido en todas sus formas desde el G8 a los movimientos de las plazas de Occupy y 15-M español.
Ahora he podido llorar de felicidad al ver tanta gente cantando el Pueblo Unido en una fiesta de año nuevo rebelde y autogestionada. No solo tenemos ahora ese contacto directo con Chile a través de quienes acaban de llegar o vuelven dentro de poco, y de las redes que nos unen con nuestras familias y amigos, ahora podemos decir que volvemos a ser comunidad. No somos solo el recuerdo de lo que habría podido ser, pero también lo que podría ser. Esa es fuerza y poder también del pueblo. Está claro para mi que el Pueblo Unido del mundo entero es lo que en esta nueva década se tendrá que oponer siempre mas al sistema totalitario de las naciones estado. No necesariamente en lucha callejera con los peones de esos estados, pero convirtiendo el miedo y odio en creatividad, y creando sistemas que hacen obsoletos a las naciones que chupan recursos de la madre tierra para sostener sus elites positivistas.
Puede que la gente deje de organizarse, que despidan para siempre sus valles y ríos, sus pueblos originarios y olviden el terror y la miseria, y vuelvan a la sucia normalidad neoliberal, pero creo que solo al reunirnos hemos adquirido el poder de la sinergia entre todas estas posibilidades.
Al reunirnos, al organizarnos podemos entender poco a poco, quizá no hoy pero un día, que el gobierno de Chile no es realmente la gente de Chile, tal como no lo és ningún gobierno. Son solo una construcción hecha para separarnos y dividirnos, para dar razón a las leyes y decir que al final todo tiene que volver a lo que se conoce.
Por esto los lugares que logran un nivel de autonomía libre de estado como puede ser Chiapas o Rojava, se les silencia, porque lo que le da mas miedo a las elites es que el pueblo se de cuenta que es posible vivir sin estado. Como las tomas hechas por pobladores Mapuche en el territorio araucano, las mismas que llevaron al asesinato de Matías Catrileo y Camilo Catrillanca, cuando el gobierno muestra sus dientes muestra también lo que le falta para podernos realmente sostener y cuidar – el respeto profundo por nuestras vidas y la tierra misma. Esto muestra también que al faltar el cojín del gobierno, la gente tiene que proveer.
Los estados mientras tanto, existen solo para nacionalismos y elitismos si se les deja andar sin participación. Se convierten en jaulas, y el punto clave es que esa participación a veces es la protesta pacífica, la barricada, el cabildo, la olla popular y la defensa continua del lugar donde un compañero murió electrocutado. Es la hora de las tomas, de la acción directa, de la participación política fuera de las elecciones y otros circos que solo existen para distraer o para creer mas en lo payaso que en lo asesino.
Como nos recuerda Greta, el tiempo se acaba. Hay que defender nuestra tierra para acabar con estos sistemas que se repiten en cientos de otros países alrededor del mundo. En cada lugar podemos crear contrapoderes, que con el tiempo espero quedarán encargados de la tierra y sociedad que defienden.
Quienes siembran miedo y odio, muchas veces lo han recibido a su vez. Siguen perpetuando las mismas acciones porque al hacerlas obtienen reacción. No dejemos espacio para esto: rompamos el círculo. Dejen que Piñera se suba a los mas altos bancos para contar sus mentiras. Que grite y se esfuerce junto a Trump y los demás sin que la gente les oiga. No le demos poder al payaso asesino. #chilenoserinde
Alejandro Fernandez, Glasgow UK
Enero 2020
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