In 1973, Ariel Dorfman was a peaceful follower of Salvador Allende’s democratic government in Chile. After a military junta toppled the government he went into hiding, not knowing whether he was at risk. Over 50 years later, he got a chance find out by visiting Santiago to review the secret dossier compiled about his activism.
I have often wished that I could access at least one of the many police files that have undoubtedly been compiled about me since September 11, 1973, the day a military junta toppled Salvador Allende’s democratic government in Chile and started hounding those of us who had been his peaceful followers. What did they really know about my activism, the men who could decide whether I lived or died? Last year my wish came true. To commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the coup, the Comisión Provincial por la Memoria—an organization that investigates and memorializes human rights violations in Argentina—combed secret police files for information about the refugees saved by the Argentine embassy in Chile after the coup. On a recent trip to Santiago, a city I have visited frequently since democracy was restored in 1990, I was able to read an extensive dossier collected by a secret security agency, allowing me to revisit—from the perspective of the censor, the spy, the stalker—a period of my life when I constantly felt at risk.
from Longreads https://ift.tt/aQTqEtf
Check out my bookbox memberships! 3, 7, or 15 vintage books a month sent to organization of your choice, or to yourself!
https://ift.tt/Gy8IDOF
