SANTIAGO, Chile – A huge photo on display at the Museum of Memory and Human Rights in Santiago reminds Vicky Bown of what her life was like in Austria. Seeing herself again with her doll and her friends fills her with emotion. There were not a few years (1973-1988) when his family was forced to leave Chile due to the political situation and face the challenge of rearmament and starting from scratch.

According to him, the image “represents something very typical of exile, which is that we all gathered in the houses, we lived in community. “We were all family.” It was in this large group that they learned the history of Chile and traditional Chilean dances, such as the cueca, in order to maintain the much-desired customs of their native country.

Vicky’s portrait is one of 30 photos that are part of the exhibition “50 years after the coup: the relevance of international solidarity, exile and the reconstruction of life away from Chile”. His story is one of the testimonies of the painful process experienced by 73,000 Chileans who obtained recognition of refugee status in various countries between 1974 and 1990.

“It’s very hard to leave your family, your home, your country and start all over again. It was very difficult for my parents, honestly I didn’t see much because I was little, I was almost born and raised in Austria as if it was my country, but Chilean customs were maintained at home”, remembers Vicky. Today, back in Chile, he works at the Austrian embassy.

Equally clear is the memory of Juan Parra, who was forced to leave Chile for Argentina, managing to obtain an identity card from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). However, he soon had to leave this country due to a new political scenario of persecution. This is where the UNHCR interceded for his arrival in Canada.

“Canada welcomed us with open arms, gave us the opportunity to live, study, work, get married, have children, now grandchildren, and come back. I returned to Chile, also missing some of what I had left in Canada. Exile doesn’t end, it’s a shame, exile is always experienced by someone. Those of us who were refugees will remain refugees for the rest of our lives. This is why I stand in solidarity with the refugees arriving in this country today,” says Juan.

International solidarity

The exhibition seeks to relieve the pain of forced departure, but, at the same time, the hope brought by a chain of solidarity and the support networks that are formed. How Chilean refugees integrated into the countries that welcomed them and contributed to their new communities from a human, social, cultural and professional point of view.

“With this exhibition we sought to find and converge the great relevance of the countries by opening the doors of the communities that welcomed them, not only in the countries, by offering a second opportunity to people who arrived there in search of protection, but also how these people have actively contributed to the development of the countries,” underlined Rebeca Cenalmor-Rejas, head of the UNHCR office in Chile.

Meanwhile, for María José Torres, resident coordinator of the United Nations system in Chile, “the exhibition symbolizes what it means from a personal point of view, this moment when they had to leave, but also the emotion to rediscover this history which is “so relevant for us to continue to build just and democratic societies which respect memory, but which also build towards the future.”

For his part, the Undersecretary for Human Rights, Xavier Altamirano, declared that “in the Chilean case, international solidarity was fundamental. We know of embassies who have received people in their offices, who have saved lives, we know of people who have helped transfer people, we know of political declarations coming from international organizations such as the United Nations, etc. Solidarity is an essential element of what was this great tragic chapter in our history. This is one of many bright chapters where humanity could find itself.

The exhibition, organized by the UNHCR office in Chile, the United Nations system and the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Culture, Arts and Heritage, also benefits from the support of the embassies of Argentina, Austria, Canada, Mexico and Sweden, who helped identify people in photographs of Chilean refugees in their respective countries.

“Mexico has a very strong tradition of asylum and refuge and this year, which is a very special year in Chile, we want to be very active in commemorating the solidarity that Mexico has expressed towards the Chilean people who had to seek in other countries to survive and develop. . “in various fields, and it has also contributed to greatly enriching the cultural, academic and social life in general of my country,” said Enrique Romero, political affairs officer at the Mexican Embassy in Chile.

Fernanda García, director of the Museum, invites you to visit the exhibition, which will be open free to the public until the end of September. “It is a great honor to host this exhibition, also at the Museum of Memory and Human Rights, which is like the house where the memories of exile and refuge are found. On these walls which make them very visible and which are visible to those who visit the museum (…) I hope that the reception from people is very good, (…) it is very symbolic that it is in our museum, open to all students, adults and families who visit us.