{"id":408456,"date":"2010-03-09T16:40:39","date_gmt":"2010-03-09T21:40:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/globalvoicesonline.org\/?p=127226"},"modified":"2010-03-09T16:40:39","modified_gmt":"2010-03-09T21:40:39","slug":"chile-mapuche-communities-affected-by-earthquake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/408456","title":{"rendered":"Chile: Mapuche Communities Affected by Earthquake"},"content":{"rendered":"

After the massive earthquake that hit Chile on February 27<\/a>, the media and the government have faced strong criticism for their lack of coverage and support for the small communities closest to the epicenter. One of these communities is the Mapuche indigenous people<\/a>, whose territory can found in central and southern Chile.<\/p>\n

\"Mapuche<\/a><\/p>\n

Mapuche celebrating the Mapuche new year, We Tripant\u00fc. Photo uploaded by flickr user _p_ and used under a Creative Commons license<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The blog Kilapan [es]<\/em><\/a> posted a statement from Miguel Cheuqueman which reports the aftermath of the earthquake:<\/p>\n

\n

El terremoto que asol\u00f3 el territorio chileno ha afectado m\u00e1s gravemente a los pueblos mapuches cuyos territorios se ubican en tres de las cuatro regiones del sur de este pa\u00eds. Cientos de muertos y desaparecidos, desabastecimiento total, caminos y comunicaciones cortados, son parte del drama que viven nuestros hermanos lafkenches.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The earthquake that devastated the Chilean territory has affected the Mapuche people more severely, and whose territories are located in three of the four regions in the south of the country. Hundreds dead and disappeared, complete lack of supplies, roads and communication cut off, are all part of the drama that our lefkenches (a Mapuche community) brothers are going through.<\/div>\n

Pedro Vasquez produced the following video<\/a>, which shows the destruction in the locality of Tir\u00faa in the Arauco<\/a> Province in the B\u00edo B\u00edo Region.<\/p>\n

<\/param><\/param><\/param><\/embed><\/object><\/p>\n

In the blog Nativos del Sur [es]<\/em><\/a> (Natives from the South), Reynaldo Mariqueo writes about the lack of media coverage the Mapuche communities are receiving, and he defends the right of the Mapuche to ask for international aid.<\/p>\n

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Si observamos a la TV Chilena y los medios de comunicaci\u00f3n en general, parecieran concertarse en dar cuenta de la situaci\u00f3n que afecta a las regiones urbanas de Concepci\u00f3n al norte, pero se han olvidado de los pueblos ubicados al sur de Concepci\u00f3n, que como sabemos han sufrido un impacto similar de destrucci\u00f3n. Asimismo, la situaci\u00f3n ca\u00f3tica que enfrentan las comunidades rurales mapuche, como siempre, parecieran haber sido totalmente olvidadas. En consecuencia, opino que es perfectamente razonable que las organizaciones y comunidades mapuches hagan un llamado conjunto y urgente solicitando ayuda humanitaria internacional y la presencia de organizaciones no-gubernamentales, que est\u00e1n abocadas a ayudar a las v\u00edctimas de cat\u00e1strofe o desastres naturales.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

If we observe the Chilean TV and the media in general, it seems like they are concentrating their accounts of the situation of how it has been affecting the urban regions of Concepci\u00f3n and to the north, but they have forgotten the towns located south of Concepci\u00f3n, which we know have suffered an impact similar in destruction. Likewise, the chaotic situation that the rural Mapuche communities are facing, like always, seem to have been completely forgotten. As a consequence, I think it is perfectly reasonable that the organizations and Mapuche communities call out for urgent international humanitarian aid and for the presence of NGOs, that are meant to help the victims of catastrophes or natural disasters.<\/div>\n

Twitter users were quick to point out the lack of media attention given to the Mapuche. On February 28, the day after the earthquake, Twitter user Danny Micin Carvallo (@dmicin)<\/a> wrote:<\/p>\n

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hasta ahora no he visto ni una noticia acerca de comunidades mapuches y el terremoto<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

up to now I haven\u2019t seen one single piece of news about the Mapuche communities and the earthquake<\/div>\n

On March 8, more than a week after the earthquake, Nicol\u00e1s Herrera (@nicolas91)<\/a> referred to journalist Soledad Onetto on his Tweet and asked her:<\/p>\n

\n

@SoledadOnetto porque no se a mostrado en la prensa como quedo el pueblo mapuche con el terremoto ?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

@SoledadOnetto why hasn\u2019t the press shown how the Mapuche people are fairing after the earthquake?<\/div>\n

Other Twitter users showed their concern for the Mapuche, retwittering articles from Mapuche-focused blogs and websites asking other Twitter users about the Mapuche Community. On March 5 Conchu Arellano [es]<\/a> (@conchu) asked if someone knew how the Mapuche were doing after the quake. In addition, Samuel Bascur Molina used his Twitter account (@sambascur [es]<\/a>) to spread the word about the need for 180 beds, mattresses, and blankets for a Mapuche community in need.<\/p>\n

The media is not the only organization criticized for ignoring the Mapuche after the earthquake, the government has also been condemned for ignoring them by many bloggers and twitter users. A team of Mapuche communicators from the blog Comunidad Aut\u00f3noma Temucuicui [es]<\/em><\/a> -which focuses on the Mapuche community located in the Ercilla commune of the Araucan\u00eda region- denounced the government\u2019s lack of action as a sign of racism and discrimination:<\/p>\n

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Como una abierta y clara muestra de discriminaci\u00f3n y racismo han reflejado las Autoridades del Estado Chileno, producto a la nula preocupaci\u00f3n por las graves situaciones provocada por el Terremoto en comunidades Mapuche de Ercilla<\/p>\n

Al parecer para las diferentes Autoridades de Gobierno de este Estado Chileno, el fuerte Terremotos azot\u00f3 y devasto solamente a las grandes ciudades de este pa\u00eds [\u2026]<\/p>\n

Despu\u00e9s del fuerte sismo ocurrido en la madrugada del d\u00eda, este dejo graves da\u00f1os estructurales en las viviendas, poso de suministro de agua derrumbado, el r\u00edo que atraviesa la comunidad completamente contaminado producto del movimiento de la tierra no pudiendo ser utilizado para el consumo humano.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

The Chilean government has openly and clearly shown a clear demonstration of discrimination and racism, because of the complete lack of concern for the serious situations produced by the earthquake to the Mapuche communities of Ercilla […]<\/p>\n

Apparently for the different government authorities of Chile, the strong earthquake hit and devastated only the big cities of the country [\u2026]<\/p>\n

The strong quake which occurred at early in the morning left severe structural damage to houses, the collapse of the well which supplies water, and contaminated the river that runs through the community because of the earth\u2019s movement leaving it unusable for human consumption.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

In response to the devastation and the absence of media or government support, the Mapuche have called out for International aid. The news agency MapuExpress [es]<\/em> <\/a> put out a statement by a group of organizations under the name La Sociedad Civil (The Civil Society) specifying the measures they will be taking to ensure the Mapuche receive the much needed aid. The statement begins by introducing the aid group and assessing the situation:<\/p>\n

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Ante la situaci\u00f3n que vive nuestro pa\u00eds tras el terremoto, informamos que diversas redes de ONGs, organizaciones sociales, federaciones de estudiantes, medios de comunicaci\u00f3n comunitarios y organizaciones internacionales se han articulado y se encuentran movilizadas para seguir trabajando en conjunto con las comunidades afectadas y recoger sus necesidades de urgencia inmediata as\u00ed como las de reconstrucci\u00f3n de sus localidades.<\/p>\n

Las comunidades sufren en este desastre las consecuencias acumuladas de la desigualdad y la pobreza, de la privatizaci\u00f3n de los servicios b\u00e1sicos, de la desprotecci\u00f3n social y los procesos de individualizaci\u00f3n y mercantilizaci\u00f3n, de la centralizaci\u00f3n pol\u00edtica y administrativa, de la falta de probidad de un sector empresarial irresponsable y sin fiscalizaci\u00f3n suficiente por parte del Estado, de la falta de medios de comunicaci\u00f3n comunitarios y alternativos y por lo tanto de la vulnerabilidad del actual modelo de desarrollo.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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In the face of the situation that our country is experiencing after the earthquake, we inform that various NGO groups, social organizations, student federations, community media outlets, and international organizations have come together and are mobilizing to continue working together with the affected communities to address their immediate urgent necessities and help with the reconstruction of their localities.<\/p>\n

The communities that suffer the consequences accumulated in this disaster due to inequality and poverty, the privatization of basic services, the lack of social protection, and the processes of individualization and mercantilism, of the policy of centralization and administrative, of the lack of honesty from the irresponsible business sector without enough fiscal review from the government, the lack of community, and alternative media outlets which result in the vulnerability of the current development model.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The statement ends with optimism that new policies could help the Mapuche, but also with a warning that this catastrophe could make a severe inequality problem in Chile even worse:<\/p>\n

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Este desastre natural puede permitir el comienzo de un proceso de reconstrucci\u00f3n participativo e incluyente, basado en nuevas pol\u00edticas p\u00fablicas, que garanticen est\u00e1ndares de de seguridad y derechos, incluso en casos catastr\u00f3ficos como los que enfrentamos en esta situaci\u00f3n. Pero tambi\u00e9n puede ser un momento en que se agudice la profunda desigualdad e inequidad de Chile, que se ha mostrado con toda su brutalidad en esta coyuntura.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This natural disaster may allow for the beginning of a process of participative and inclusive reconstruction, based on new public policy, that guarantees security standards and rights, even during catastrophic events like the one we are facing now. However, it can also be a moment that can deepen the profound inequality in Chile, which has brutally come to light during this moment.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After the massive earthquake that hit Chile on February 27, the media and the government have faced strong criticism for their lack of coverage and support for the small communities closest to the epicenter. One of these communities is the Mapuche indigenous people, whose territory can found in central and southern Chile. Mapuche celebrating the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4355,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-408456","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408456","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4355"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=408456"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408456\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=408456"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=408456"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=408456"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}