Dictator's alleged abuses recounted

Though much of the international community has tried to forget about the Chilean dictator who instilled sheer terror in his country for 13 years, Rosemary Barbera reminded her listeners that the legend of Augusto Pinochet still lives in Chile today. Barbera, a faculty member in Social Work at West Chester University, discussed the human rights issues surrounding Pinochet -- currently imprisoned in Great Britain pending extradition to Spain, where a magistrate wants to try him for crimes committed by his government -- last Wednesday in a talk entitled "Tea for Two: The Pinochet Case and Justice." From 1987 though 1991 -- during which she experienced the last three years of the Pinochet regime -- Barbera lived in La Pincoya, a shantytown near the capital city of Santiago. She began her talk by emphasizing that Chile was the longest-standing democracy in Latin America, which fostered a sense of trust between its military and government. The people believed that the military "would always honor the political process of democracy," Barbera said. But that trust was destroyed in September 1973, Barbera said, when General Pinochet seized power after a military coup. Within days of his takeover, over 300 people were executed and over 13,000 people were arrested, tortured or "disappeared." Another million people -- 10 percent of Chile's population -- fled into exile. Barbera conveyed the reality of this terror by sharing the story of her friend's daughter, who was brutally raped in front of her own son. It's important, Barbera said, for people to have a collective memory of the regime, even though people may want to repress the memories because of their traumatic nature. "Many people until this day choose to deny the event," Barbera said. While there are people that wish to forget, however, Barbera also focused on those who cannot forget due to the long-lasting effects of Pinochet's human rights abuses. She explained that many Chilean people suffer from the post-traumatic stress of the Pinochet regime even today. Survivor's guilt also contributes to the inability of many Chileans to recover from Pinochet's rule, Barbera added. Pinochet was arrested in England in October 1998 and is currently under house arrest. While some Chileans and other world leaders -- including Pope John Paul II and former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher -- have asked for his release on humanitarian reasons, Pinochet's fate remains uncertain. Regardless of the outcome, however, Barbera said Pinochet's arrest will ensure that the abuses of his regime are not forgotten, and serve as a wake up call to dictators who think they can act above the law. During her time in Chile, Barbera worked with human rights organization she continues to be involved with today. Besides teaching Social Work at West Chester, she is studying for her doctoral degree at Bryn Mawr College. Barbera's talks are the first of a new series sponsored by Civic House and organized by College freshman Adrian O'Connor, a Daily Pennsylvanian staff writer.