On the 50th anniversary of the Chilean coup, let’s follow Pinochet resisters’ example of solidarity in repressive times.
Sitting on concrete slabs in a large, open room, we met political prisoners during specially designated visiting hours. Soto introduced me to his former cellmate, Luis Torres, a former member of the Chilean Air Force. He joined after his father died, to support his mother and brother and to get an education, and like a number of other enlisted men and officers, he supported Allende’s Popular Unity government.
Political prisoners maintained contact with their comrades on the outside through conversations with visitors and written communications, which were shared with prisoners inside the cellblock and with party contacts on the outside. Many of the visitors entered and left the prison with messages, written in tiny script and carefully folded to be as small as possible, hidden in their clothes or bags.
Melinda and I also worked with various human rights groups in Chile. Most of them worked under the auspices of the Catholic Church, since it was the only institution that had some measure of protection from the military. Specifically, we met with women who were members of different human rights committees, such as The Association of Families of the Detained-Disappeared, which met in Santiago’s main cathedral.
When I have spoken about these experiences, people often ask me if I was scared. The answer is that I was — especially after the Chilean secret police came to the house Melinda and I were staying at, looking for us. Luckily, we were away at the time and for whatever reason, they didn’t come back.
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