Armed with a half-full cart in Líder, Walmart’s Chilean chain, my host father and I were on the hunt for cranberry sauce. We asked more than four blue-shirted, slightly confused Líder employees where to find the Thanksgiving staple. After being shown fruit-flavored frozen waffles, I gave up on the hunt.

We ate outside to enjoy the sunny spring day. We went around the table a few times to toast to what we are thankful for. Because I’m wrapping up my sixth month in South America, I’m thankful for a lot. On Dec. 10, I start my journey back to the United States. I appreciate all the friends, acquaintances and guides that have made this experience so exciting.

I think I’m most thankful for what I’ve learned about the world and about myself during this study abroad experience. Learning about Chile’s former military dictatorship really rattled my perceptions of the world. Between 1973 and 1990, the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet controlled the country.

The state executed or made disappear about 3,500 people and around 38,000 people survived political imprisonment and torture, according to Amnesty International. To put those numbers into perspective, Chile’s population was about 11 million in 1980.

Here’s the kicker: the CIA instigated a coup climate to provoke the overthrow of the democratically elected socialist president Salvador Allende in 1973. According to declassified documents my class studied, the U.S. government funded anti-Allende newspapers, protests and political parties, among other things. The U.S. also supported the first part of the dictatorship by turning a blind eye to human rights concerns and developing strategic communication plans to help the image of the dictatorship.

I’m thankful for the opportunity to hear stories from those who lived under the dictatorship. Hearing my professor and a guest lecturer — both former political prisoners — describe the torture that they went through made my eyes well up and my skin crawl.

My Syracuse group and I went to a former center for kidnapping, torture and execution called Villa Grimaldi last Friday. Thanks to the Villa Grimaldi Park for the Peace Corporation, the former torture center is now a memorial to educate about the human rights violations.

A former political prisoner and current human rights activist gave us a tour. Our guide was imprisoned for 13 months and spent a period of time at the very place we were touring. It’s one thing to hear that political prisoners were stripped naked, beaten, electrically shocked and worse. Hearing these stories being told from such nice and respectful people gave another level of horror to the human rights violations.

I’m thankful that people were brave enough to take a stand against the dictatorship when they knew the risk of getting caught. Moreover, I’m thankful that survivors of the torture of the Pinochet regime are, once again, valiant enough to speak about their experiences, human rights and the history of the dictatorship.

Speaking about the dictatorship is still a controversial topic. Being in Chile now is like Germany 20 years after World War II. The dictatorship still politically polarizes the country.

We need to discuss this period of history, in Chile and in the U.S. This isn’t just a chapter in Chile’s history — it’s intertwined with U.S. foreign policy as well. The U.S. supported the Pinochet regime until the mid to late 1970s. My grandmother’s tax dollars supported the dictatorship that killed my host father’s mentor, tortured my professor and ruined the lives of countless more individuals.

Chile has grown from this experience and now is an economic powerhouse in South America. This country has the some of the most beautiful mountains, deserts and forests in the world. I’m thankful to have had this experience and I appreciate all those who have made this into such a life changing experience. ¡Chao!

Danielle Roth is a junior majoring in magazine journalism and international relations. She is following her desires for good food and adventure in Santiago, Chile. Email her at dlroth@syr.edu or tweet at her @danielleroth_.

Published on December 2, 2014 at 12:01 am