Throughout the spring and summer, students staged protests rallying against Chile’s lack of free college education. Nearby nations, including Argentina and Brazil, give away knowledge, so kids in Chile have become increasingly indignant in recent years about the large sums they must pay to acquire something they regard as a right.
On September 5, one such protest in the capital city of Santiago caught me by surprise. I had a swell little day planned: a morning walk snapping photos of the city, lunch with a childhood friend who lives in Santiago, and an afternoon at the Museum of the Memory learning more about the horrors inflicted on the country by Augusto Pinochet during his 17-year reign as dictator.
Early on, while taking pictures, it became obvious that there was a massive police presence downtown.
Santiago’s cops, the Carabineros, look a bit menacing. They wear an army-green uniform and routinely walk around in bulletproof vests. But soon after arriving in the country, I learned that they are generally viewed as the least-corrupt police force on the continent. Unlike in many other South American countries officers don’t rob gringos, and under no circumstances should you offer them a bribe to get out of trouble.
Still, on that morning, many were decked out in riot gear complete with helmets, batons and plastic shields. Something was up.
Then, at lunch, a television showed images from a protest that was occurring unbeknownst to me. Kids tore down street signs, students lobbed Molotov cocktails, and one fool tried to kick at cop’s shield. What I saw in the news reels looked more like kids being uber-rowdy kids than some Arab Spring revolt, but it certainly explained the riot gear.
After we ate, my friend returned to work while I walked around with a video camera. I watched as some kids blocked all westbound traffic on the city’s main thoroughfare. The Carabineros showed up quickly thereafter on their motorbikes. Then came the teargas.
I managed to shoot some footage while sneezing and crying. And an hour later, wouldn’t you know it, I was lucky enough to film myself getting teargassed again on the opposite side of town.
Good times all around.
This video short depicts the “highlights” of my day.
