Another week, another presentation for DD2 to prepare for her very demanding nursery. As a matter of fact the Gabriela Mistral presentation didn't go at all badly; DD2 had greatly enjoyed cutting out the pictures and gluing them on to her poster along with the Chilean flag and one of Mistral's most famous poems. The only tiny snag was that at the moment of presenting her information to her audience DD2 pointed to her poster, opened her mouth though no words actually came out. Still she joined in enthusiastically with the group recitation of "Dame la mano, y danzaremos", thus proving her passion for and devotion to Chile's most famous female poet.
The following week we were required to produce a poster depicting how we might protect our planet. After some thought and consultation with materials on the subject we drew a picture of Planet Earth surrounded by ways in which people could look after their planet, all of which were then carefully coloured in by DD2 with the help of some wax crayons. The end result was certainly impressive and gained prime position in the nursery's outdoor display in honour of Earth Day at the end of last week. The same day a note appeared in the home-school diary requesting that DD2 bring in the following Monday (ie the next nursery day) a homemade book to celebrate Book Day (not ones to let the grass grow under their feet) so fortunately we took in one of DD1's creations, again to great public approval. Hardly had another day gone by when we received yet another request in the diary, this time politely asking for a marine animal to be created from recycled materials for next month's sea hanging display. I must say that while I completely applaud their energy and desire to stimulate their small charges, I am also at the stage when I am beginning to dread what may be required next, not being a Blue Peter natural by any stretch of the imagination... Meanwhile today was the annual Dia del Carabiñero (no English translation possible except "Policeman's Day") so we were urged to have freshly-laundered aprons ready for the well-rehearsed military march and dance. DD2 and her companions were absolutely delighted however to have such important guests plus their goody-bags of sweets and balloons at the end of course. All quite ironic when witnessed in the light of the Carabiñeros' day job of the liberal use of tear gas and water cannons not to mention truncheons and any other weaponry at hand to control or dispel any unruly mobs such as student protesters (see link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-17850339). Such are the contradictions of life in Chile...
DD1 has also been busy preparing her own more advanced materials for her presentation on an organ of the human body tomorrow for school. She has chosen the brain just to make it nice and easy so we have researched, printed, stuck on and written about this intriguing though complex organ, refreshing bits and pieces for all of us (a distinct advantage of having school-going children). Perhaps it is not just in Chile where children are encouraged to prepare and conduct presentations at a tender age and of course there is probably no harm, although there is an aspect of all this I feel a tad uneasy about. Is it simply to improve one's self-confidence and communication skills or are we all being primed for a life of exposition, exhibition and publicity? It has certainly kept us occupied at any rate and taken our minds off the rapidly advancing autumn/winter season of the southern hemisphere. Hats and scarves have been dusted off while both children have also been reacquainted with the pleasures of tights and polo-necks already...Temperatures have fallen sharply in the last few days making life a little bit more arduous as one struggles with the temptation to remain under the bedclothes on a cold dark morning without heating (yet)... The downside to living somewhere where central heating is considered a luxury.
Showing posts with label protests. Show all posts
Showing posts with label protests. Show all posts
Friday, 27 April 2012
Friday, 12 August 2011
Civil unrest and its responses
It has not been a great week.
A week ago today DH returned home from work to confess he had been crying. It hadn't been his reluctant, undergraduate students who are in the midst of what has become the longest student strike in Chilean history, nor his belligerent colleagues who seem intent on internal wrangling for power rather than standing together in a difficult time, to reduce him to tears. No, it had been the teargas released by the so-called forces of order, otherwise known as the Carabiñeros, onto the streets and underground of Santiago which had got him in the end. This had been in response to a wholly peaceful march on the part of university and secondary school students protesting against the lack of a free and fair education system here. Yet the government, in their short-sightedness, had not granted permission to the protesters to march, thus stepped in using whichever means of heavy-handed crowd-control they had at their disposal. This being Chile, water cannons and teargas are part of the natural landscape, the use of which hardly raises an eyebrow on either side of the political spectrum. Bizarre to those of us who come from different shores, as was the arrest and rather rough manhandling of almost 900 peaceful protesters out of a total of 5000, many of whom were secondary schoolchildren.
Dear oh dear, we thought, such things would be unimaginable back in the civilised world whence we came. Thank goodness we have that escape route, who knows when we might need it... though of course we were quick to reassure family and friends that things were not as bad as they seemed.
Still slightly disturbed by what we perceived as the infringements on basic human rights, we carried on our business, going into a cold, grey and rather bleak wintry weekend for Santiago, after which for the first time since arriving here we were actually pleased when Monday arrived to resume our normal routine and activities as opposed to being cooped up indoors with little to do.
The events of the past few days in London and other major cities in Britain have provoked much comment, column inches, television coverage and widespread shock. I for one was dumbstruck, appalled, terrified and depressed to hear, read about and watch scenes which I never thought I would see in 2011. But I, like so many others, was wrong... Obviously parallels have been drawn with the unrest in Santiago though there are stark and glaring contrasts too. Here young people have been protesting about their lack of something we Westerners not only have but also take for granted: a free and equal education system. Or at least we had one once... Also, here in Chile as I mentioned the use of force to control and dispel crowds is something most people have grown up with and certainly don't question. The Chileans must think our levels of freedom in the UK are foolish privilege given what the world has recently witnessed. And last but not least, the dichotomy between the haves and the have nots, though more apparently visible and polarised in Chile, is all too present back in the developed world too, yet better hidden.
Amid the gloom however (and it has been grim) there have been a couple of uplifting moments to restore one's faith in humankind. One of these has been the coming together of residents in London's ripped apart communities armed with brooms to clean up and rebuild their high streets. Another came last Thursday evening, after the disastrous march which resulted in around a fifth of its demonstrators behind bars. Slowly at first, then more quickly and more loudly, it sounded as if bells were ringing out in the streets below. It was the "cacerolazo" or pot-bangers, people of every age group and, in theory, political persuasion, banging on upturned saucepans and frying pans with spoons and ladles to show and sound their solidarity with the students. A very Latinamerican moment.
A week ago today DH returned home from work to confess he had been crying. It hadn't been his reluctant, undergraduate students who are in the midst of what has become the longest student strike in Chilean history, nor his belligerent colleagues who seem intent on internal wrangling for power rather than standing together in a difficult time, to reduce him to tears. No, it had been the teargas released by the so-called forces of order, otherwise known as the Carabiñeros, onto the streets and underground of Santiago which had got him in the end. This had been in response to a wholly peaceful march on the part of university and secondary school students protesting against the lack of a free and fair education system here. Yet the government, in their short-sightedness, had not granted permission to the protesters to march, thus stepped in using whichever means of heavy-handed crowd-control they had at their disposal. This being Chile, water cannons and teargas are part of the natural landscape, the use of which hardly raises an eyebrow on either side of the political spectrum. Bizarre to those of us who come from different shores, as was the arrest and rather rough manhandling of almost 900 peaceful protesters out of a total of 5000, many of whom were secondary schoolchildren.
Dear oh dear, we thought, such things would be unimaginable back in the civilised world whence we came. Thank goodness we have that escape route, who knows when we might need it... though of course we were quick to reassure family and friends that things were not as bad as they seemed.
Still slightly disturbed by what we perceived as the infringements on basic human rights, we carried on our business, going into a cold, grey and rather bleak wintry weekend for Santiago, after which for the first time since arriving here we were actually pleased when Monday arrived to resume our normal routine and activities as opposed to being cooped up indoors with little to do.
The events of the past few days in London and other major cities in Britain have provoked much comment, column inches, television coverage and widespread shock. I for one was dumbstruck, appalled, terrified and depressed to hear, read about and watch scenes which I never thought I would see in 2011. But I, like so many others, was wrong... Obviously parallels have been drawn with the unrest in Santiago though there are stark and glaring contrasts too. Here young people have been protesting about their lack of something we Westerners not only have but also take for granted: a free and equal education system. Or at least we had one once... Also, here in Chile as I mentioned the use of force to control and dispel crowds is something most people have grown up with and certainly don't question. The Chileans must think our levels of freedom in the UK are foolish privilege given what the world has recently witnessed. And last but not least, the dichotomy between the haves and the have nots, though more apparently visible and polarised in Chile, is all too present back in the developed world too, yet better hidden.
Amid the gloom however (and it has been grim) there have been a couple of uplifting moments to restore one's faith in humankind. One of these has been the coming together of residents in London's ripped apart communities armed with brooms to clean up and rebuild their high streets. Another came last Thursday evening, after the disastrous march which resulted in around a fifth of its demonstrators behind bars. Slowly at first, then more quickly and more loudly, it sounded as if bells were ringing out in the streets below. It was the "cacerolazo" or pot-bangers, people of every age group and, in theory, political persuasion, banging on upturned saucepans and frying pans with spoons and ladles to show and sound their solidarity with the students. A very Latinamerican moment.
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