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| Port of Call - Valparaiso, Chile |
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| Team SPACE perform in front of the Palacio de
la Moneda, Parliament House, Santiago |
Peace Boat docked in Valparaiso, the oldest city
according to Chile's European history books, for a two-day visit.
Many participants took part in an educational study tour about Chile's
political history, while 80 younger participants enjoyed a cultural
exchange with students from Santiago de Chile University. Peace Boat's
various project teams were extremely active in this port of call.
Peace Ball organised a soccer exchange in Santiago, while our aid
project group, United People's Alliance (UPA) provided computers to
international NGO, Committee for the Democratization of Information
Technology (CDI) and visited community organization 'Hogar de Cristo'
(Christ's Place). Peace Boat's performing arts group, Team SPACE put
on a colourful show in front of the Parliament House in Santiago to
help draw attention to the Peace Boat - CODEFF campaign promoting
eco-tourism, and opposing the construction of an aluminium refinery
in Patagonia. Also on offer, was the chance for participants to join
a tour to Chile's famous wineries as well as trek in El Morado National
Park, or relax at the Corazon hot spring resort. |
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| Vice President of AFDD Chile, Mireya Garcia
talks to Peace Boat about current AFDD campaigns |
One can't fully understand the social and political
issues in Chile today without learning about the recent history of
oppression and human rights violations during the years of military
rule between 1973 and 1990. The issue of impunity regarding the 'disappearance',
extrajudicial execution or death under torture of 3197 people during
this period remains unresolved. Gabriela Zuniga, a guest speaker from
the Association of Relatives of Disappeared Political Prisoners (AFDD)
shared with Peace Boat participants stories about life under the dictatorship
government, as well as information about AFDD campaigns, in the two
weeks before Peace Boat's arrival in Valparaiso. We learnt that time
has not lessened the anguish of the relatives and friends of those
who 'disappeared', who continue to campaign for the fate of their
loved ones to be clarified and for those accountable to be brought
to justice. This was strongly reaffirmed when a group of thirty participants
visited the AFDD office in Santiago and spent several hours talking
and sharing a meal with AFDD members. Listening to the personal testimonies
of women who have lost husbands, sons or other family, made real the
continued human suffering brought about under the Augusto Pinochet-led
junta. 'Everyone's situation is different however, everyone has lost
someone and so the pain is the same', said AFDD Vice President Mireya
Garcia, whose brother 'disappeared' 29 years ago. |
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| Candles lit up against personalised memorial
banners 'Donde estan?' or 'Where are they?' referring to the
disappeared persons during the Pinochet dictatorship |
AFDD members sang a song in Spanish remembering
their loved ones and one member performed the usually two person 'Cuenta'
folk dance alone, symbolising the loss of her partner. In return,
Peace Boat sang the Okinawan folk song 'Shima no Uta' and explained
that the lyrics were about the loss of loved ones due to war. Together,
as a mixture of young and old, Latin and Asian people, we enjoyed
eating traditional Chilean food and wine, and communicating our feelings
and ideas. Over the course of the evening, we were able to convey
our compassion and support for AFDD members, especially through speeches
made by Cruise Director Daini Nakahara, Korean peace activist Kang
Je-Suk and Global University student Akemi Okuyama. Peace Boat affirmed
its continued solidarity and committed itself to pressuring the Japanese
government to work harder on an international level to advocate for
justice for human rights violations. Peace Boat was able to present
a video camera and three cassette recorders to ADFF, so that they
may continue their important work documenting people's testimonies
in the quest for truth and justice. Outside on the street we lit candles
to remember those whose lives were cut short and held hands and sang
in a large ceremonial circle. It was a deeply moving experience and
as a result, those who participated from Peace Boat will carry with
them knowledge and feelings about Chile's troubled history to spread
to the international community. |
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| The grave of legendary Chilean folk singer,
Victor Jara, who was murdered by the military government in
1973 |
At the 'Cementario General', the Peace Boat group
stood before the memorial to the thousands of 'disappeared' and executed
political prisoners and listened as Gabriela Zuniga explained the
symbolism and history of the commemorative monument. On the right
side, were the names of those whose families know with certainty that
their loved ones died. On the left side, were the names of those 'disappeared'
people whose bodies were never located. The civilian government funded
the memorial, and artists and designers from all over Chile contributed
to this place, which holds so much significance, particularly for
the members of AFDD. Gabriela stressed the importance of teaching
future generations about what happened and the value of the memorial
in helping to convey the historical events. We also visited the grave
of Salvador Allende, Communist party President from 1970 until the
military coup in 1973, and arguably the leader of the first government
that was truly democratic, national, popular and revolutionary. In
addition to touring the vast cemetery and observing the architectural
and historical importance of various tombstones, we visited the modest
grave of the legendary Chilean folksinger Victor Jara, who was murdered
by the military in 1973 for supporting the Allende government. The
last part of the study tour was spent at the Victor Jara Foundation,
learning about Victor Jara's life and his powerful legacy that lives
on three decades after his death. |
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| Using the new computers donated by Peace Boat
at the Centre for the Democratization of Information Technology
(CDI) |
Members of UPA brought 140 computers with them
from Japan to donate to CDI, an international NGO that seeks to make
the world of information technology accessible to more people throughout
Latin America. Founded in 1995, it targets underprivileged people
who ordinarily would not have access to computers, and empowers them
by providing skill-training workshops on using the Internet, word
processing and data entry. During the half-day visit, UPA members
also met with young people who are connected to the church based organization
called 'Hogar de Cristo'. These young people aged between 12 and 18
years are undergoing drug rehabilitation and live for five days a
week in Hogar de Cristo dormitories in the outskirts of Santiago.
They will be able to attend computer workshops at CDI and use the
equipment provided by Peace Boat. For nearly all UPA participants,
this meeting was the first opportunity for them to communicate with
young people with a drug-related background. Yoko Saito commented
that she was surprised at how healthy and cheerful everyone looked
and so for her, the exposure helped break down the stereotype that
people who have used drugs look or behave in a certain way.
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| Peace Ball and the youth team from the Santiago
Wanderers Football Club play in a full size stadium |
A group of twenty Peace Ball enthusiasts ranging
from age 13 to 45 met up with the premier youth team from the Santiago
Wanderers. The mostly mid-teen players belong to the fourth oldest
club in Chile, and were happily able to tell Peace Ball about the
Wanderers' first grade premiership victory in the national league
competition. For the soccer playing part of the exchange, the teams
were, amazingly, able to arrange to play in a professional football
stadium with 20 000 seat capacity! But that's not to say that more
than 50 of those seats were full with spectators. Regardless, the
atmosphere was great and full of energy! The first match was a full
field game adhering to conventional rules, during which Peace Ball
struggled somewhat to keep pace with the talented Chilean side. The
second match was light-hearted and casual, and teams swapped players
and reduced the field to half size. Following the sports action, Peace
Ball players pulled out some cultural goodies including calligraphy
and songs from Okinawa, which were met with enthusiasm by the young
Chilean guys. The Wanderers team presented Peace Boat with their club
banner, uniform and a plaque, and we returned the gesture with some
Peace Ball goods. This was Peace Ball's final football exchange for
the voyage and everyone thought it capped off an excellent cruise
season of international friendship-making through sport. |
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| Peace Boat's
40th Voyage index |
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PEACE BOAT is an NGO in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. |
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