Weekly Photo Challenge: Relic

“Relic” is the theme of this week’s photo challenge, as suggested by The Daily Post. Kudos to you all, guys, it is a very good theme indeed.

The Oxford Dictionary defines “Relic” as “An object surviving from an earlier time, especially one of historical or sentimental interest.” I’d like to highlight those two specific values, Historical or Sentimental.

There’s a quote on History I particularly like: “Those who don’t know history are destined to repeat it” -Edmund Burke, Irish Statesman (1729-1797). I’d argue this is an old quote. So I think it tells a lot about how we [Humans] are as a specie, the fact that someone articulated so clearly this notion, so long ago, and we still seem not to grasp the meaning.

Loncoche, Chile, December 2011

This house is in the town of Loncoche, in Chile. It can be considered a relic. The local story tells that it used to be the residence of a doctor and his daughters. This doctor wasn’t very well regarded by the folks, because rumors circulated claiming that he sometimes agreed to engage in the illegal practice of his trade -meaning he dared to operate on women who wanted to terminate pregnancy. To the very Catholic Chilean society, this is still a source of conflict. I can only imagine how was it decades ago.

As the story goes, one day there was a fire. The house was abandoned. The version I heard did not mention whether there were fatal casualties due to the fire or the doctor decided to leave town and never came back. But up to this day the legend says it is a haunted house by the souls and spirits of all the “babies” the “evil” doctor “killed”. Indeed, it is easy to realize the very conservative taste of the story.

With the debate around Hobby Lobby and the Supreme Court’s decision still very relevant and engaging, I thought it was a good story to share. Oh! Not that I believe in ghost, anyway. It’s rather about how we still don’t learn to look at History to make better decisions. Or how we’re still allowing the wrong people to make them.

My second relic draws on its sentimental value.

Cuban notebook where quotas for basic needs products are set

In fact, that notebook may well be a Historic relic within a few years. Or not. It is known in Cuba as “Libreta de Racionamiento”. It is basically the document that Cubans take to the stores and markets to purchase basic needs products in specific quotas.

I’m not even sure if this is an updated version of it. Though, if it still exists, it must look the same, because it looked that way for the 27 years I lived in the island.

¿Chile se vuelve imán?

Hace un par de días, estuve buscando datos sobre la inmigración cubana en EE.UU, y tratando de entenderlos en su contexto. Me llevé al hacerlo más de una sorpresa.

Hoy los números me vuelven a demostrar que la evidencia es lo que más fuertemente confirma una percepción, o la desmiente absolutamente. Para este post estuve mirando las cifras de residencias permanentes dadas en Chile a extranjeros, entre los años 2010 a 2012.

Los chilenos son organizados. Como tal, no me sorprende que sus bases de datos migratorios sean sencillos de encontrar y muy fáciles de entender. En la página del Departamento de Extranjería y Migración chileno está toda la información que un extranjero puede necesitar, y las estadísticas.

Inmigración de países latinoamericanos a Chile (2010-2012)

Mientras viví en Santiago, mis colegas y amigos chilenos me repetían que son parte de una sociedad cerrada, todavía no adaptada a la presencia o convivencia con extranjeros, sobre todo si provienen de culturas muy distintas.

Las estadísticas sugieren que la realidad les está imponiendo un cambio, porque lo cierto es que sólo en esos tres años un total de 63.194 permisos de residencia permanentes fueron concedidos a personas nacidas en otros países del mundo.

El resto de la tabla registra únicamente a estados de América Latina. España está incluida como detalle interesante de referencia, y porque llama la atención ver que los españoles están tomando rumbo a donde sea que los llama el trabajo, incluso en la otra esquina del mundo.

Eso implica que no incluyo a Belice, ni a las Guyanas, ni al Caribe anglófono y francófono. Sí a Brasil. Implica también que no digo nada de los latinos que recibieron un permiso de residencia temporal, o de las personas del resto del mundo.

Esto significa que por cada 100 mil habitantes que se cuentan en Chile, unos 158 tienen residencia permanente pero nacieron fuera del país.

Si bien los 23.553 latinoamericanos que recibieron residencia permanente en 2012 representan la mayoría (86,23%), todavía muchas nacionalidades están representadas en los inmigrantes que se establecen en Chile. Por ejemplo, el documento registra en 2012 a 1 afgano, un armenio, uno de Arabia Saudita que recibieron el estatus en Chile, por solo mencionar países que comienzan con A.

Otra curiosidad es que las cifras en sí mismas pueden ser arbitrarias fuera de contexto. Mientras de Argentina llegaron 1642 personas en 2012 y de Cuba fueron 317, las tasas reales indican que el flujo de inmigrantes es bastante semejante por parte de los dos países: Argentina (3,85); Cuba (2,83). Luego, quizás dice más de la persistencia de los emigrantes el pensar que a Argentina y a Chile los separa sólo una cordillera, en tanto los cubanos tienen mucho mar, tierra y montañas de por medio.

De Perú llega el número de lejos más grande de inmigrantes latinos. En segundo lugar está Bolivia. Estos son números oficiales. Deja mucho para reflexionar los inmigrantes indocumentados. Ambos países comparten fronteras terrestres con Chile, y entre los tres aún están querellando el legado de la Guerra del Pacífico, la cual aconteció hace más de 130 años.

¿Tendencia al futuro?

Sea cual sea el carácter pretendido de los chilenos y su mirada como sociedad a la presencia de forasteros, la tendencia demuestra que a menos que cambios drásticos ocurran, la llegada de extranjeros continuará, cada vez más abundante.

No casualty after tsunami hits the coast… with updates

Update 3:

There were casualties, after all. At least six were reported during the night. The tsunami of almost 2 meters wasn’t nearly as big or damaging as the wave that caused all the damage in 2010.

The Atlantic provided a very complete report including an animation.

………….

Update 2:

There may have been casualties after all. Emol reports that the Mayor of Alto Hospicio about two fatalities after earthquake.

……

Update 1:

It’s Chile, it’s Latin America, it’s the land where “Magic Realism” was born. The news breaks just now about 300 female inmates had escaped from prison in Iquique, during the earthquake or in the aftermath. So there’s now a manhunt to report. Crazy night for journalists.

…..

According RT, there’s no casualty to regret after the tsunami hit Chilean coasts. According the Chilean Emol, where information is released way more carefully and not as definitive, it is said that there’s no death to mourn so far.

http://www.emol.com/noticias/nacional/2014/04/01/653122/mapa-las-intensidades-del-terremoto-en-distintos-puntos-del-norte-del-pais.html

The earthquake on February 2010 was so horrific and the memory is still so alive that Chilean authorities announced a total evacuation from any place near the coast line throughout Chile. Kilometers and kilometers of sea shore. The effects of the 2010 tsunami were so painful, and the action to prevent such damage were so poor, so disconnected, that this time everything seems to have worked out just like a clock.

Meanwhile, the Internet is already noticing the fact that Bachelet was at the final stage of her presidency when the earthquake in 2010. She recently was elected again…

Sirens are ringing in northern Chile

I just read the headline on Twitter: Al Jazeera: “Major earthquake, estimated at magnitude 8.0, recorded 83 kilometers northwest of Iquique, Chile-@USGS”

USGS

As I write, there are sirens in Chile ringing, warning citizens and tourist to evacuate the coast. A new tsunami is expected.

Then I felt the chill. I lived in Chile, in Santiago, between September 2011 and October 2012. I found out there that tremors and earthquakes are my limit. My personal, mental, limit.

RT: “MORE: Landslides blocking some roads after #quake – #Chile emergency office http://on.rt.com/lf63qy”

However, I did felt the chill, again, for a moment. That wave of coldness that runs through the spine, and spreads in the stomach. I have friends in Chile. I have friends in Peru. As soon as I read the headline, very specific faces came to my mind. I have heard from some friends and felt relief for them. I’m still worried for some others.

Somehow, it’s difficult to completely abandon places. Some part of us will always stay behind.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Abandoned

In Chile, railways were introduced back in the XIX century, reaching a peak of development by the 1890s. However, today there are a lot of abandoned parts. This a perfect theme for this week’s photo challenge: “Abandoned“.

This picture was taken by the end of 2011. It is the local train station in Loncoche, a town located between Temuco and Valdivia, very close to great lakes and volcanoes such as Villarrica, Pucón and Llaima.

(c) Gustavo Torres: Abandoned Railway in Loncoche, Chile.