The ‘Weekly Report’, presented by Ana Blanco, opens its current page with a report on the earthquake that devastated Morocco, in addition to analyzing, 50 years later, the trace still seen in Chile from the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. The program will connect to Libya to report on the latest situation in the country, due to the devastating Hurricane Daniel.
‘Morocco, the cry of silence’
There was a deafening silence as you encountered in a Morocco cracked by one of the deadliest earthquakes it has suffered in the last century. ‘Weekly Report’ traveled to High Atlas to see, up close, what remains after the destruction of many villages. There, life stopped and, now, there is only crying, destruction and – as we say – silence. However, there are many voices crying out to the sky for life – at least, as they know it – to return as soon as possible. The numbers speak, this time, for themselves: 3,000 dead and more than 5,600 wounded.
In the town of mulay brahim, Mustafa Ichidi, coach of a children’s soccer team, says he lost two of his children. And what was once a place for play and recreation now serves as a dangerous abode for those who have nothing left. About 80% of the houses are uninhabitable.
on Talat N’ Yaqoub, Fátima survived: “all our neighbors died. There is no one left. Everyone is gone … the house is gone and, with it, everything. Even life is gone … “. He, like many others, turned to religion to cope with the pain. The roof fell on them, but she, her husband and daughter survived. Lahcen Boughroumt, a Mathematics teacher, arrived in this village more than a year ago and desperately showed what his new class was like. The school was badly damaged like more than 500 throughout the region: “I met with my students and I asked them about the others… Some told me that they died, others told me that they were injured and others. . . that they lost their parents.”
The earthquake hit the poorest. Carolina Garcia, from the ‘Alliance for Solidarity’, acknowledged that “the population is in shock”, although from the first time the Moroccans are devoting themselves to helping the victims. In the early days, the roads were clogged with cars full of food, clothing and medicine. Everyone appreciates this unity, even if it does not cover all needs and there are unknowns in the near future. The late reaction of Mohammed VI and the rejection of aid from countries such as France increased this uncertainty.
‘Chile, 50 years ago’
On September 11, 1973, Augusto Pinochet forcibly ended the democratic government of Salvador Allende, who chose to take his own life instead of surrendering to the military, but what traces remain of the dictatorship? The dictator ruled Chile for 17 years, but then – after the NO referendum – he remained on the political scene as a senator for life until his death. Now, according to the presidente Gabriel Boric, The atmosphere was “electric”. Looking back, even five decades ago, was very divisive. There was no consensus in condemning the coup. Gala Lizardi, niece of a politician who was killed at the time, said that “we will not tolerate fascist or denialist speeches.” Carolina Urrutia, On the contrary, he defended that he grew up under the military regime and that “it was a very good regime. There was order, there was peace, there was food…”.
The National Stadium was one of the largest detention and torture centers in the early months of the dictatorship. right there, Hector Valeria, former political prisoner, commented that “50 years have passed and there are still people who deny what happened.” Half a century later, almost 300 bullies have been convicted. And there are still cases. In fact, the Supreme Court convicted 7 soldiers for killing singer-songwriter VÃctor Jara, who was found tortured and dead on a street in Santiago 5 days after the uprising. The military regime has left thousands dead and missing, but only recently has the Chilean government taken the step of creating a National Search Plan. Luis Cordero, Minister of Justice and Human Rights of Chile, is clear: “if these crimes are committed by State officials or State officials who are in office, the State must lead the search.” but Alicia Juica, daughter of a missing person, convinced that the military will not cooperate: “They have an agreement of silence that they have not broken at any time.”
The second attempt to reform the Magna Carta, a Constitution that dates back to the year 80. In other words, was created during the Pinochet dictatorship. Beatriz Hevia, from the ranks of the extreme right and headed the Constitutional Council in charge. He insisted that “in the previous process we have realized how much of a mistake an overly ideological Constitution is.” We will see how this new opportunity develops because the opposition did not even participate in the commemorative events of this 50th anniversary. He also did not sign the Charter for Democracy. For example, the UDI, the party that supported the dictatorship, defended that what happened was inevitable. Maria Jose Hoffman, its Secretary General, assured that “without Salvador Allende there would have been no Pinochet.” Moreover, according to some surveys, half of Chileans are not even interested in remembering.
This is how 50 years later, Chile is still dealing with the past and the wounds have not been healed. For the senator Isabel Allende, daughter of the president, there is one thing that cannot be doubted: “memory is the first step to reach the truth.” And, for this reason, he believes that it is “bad” not to understand everything that happened before: “We are in the middle of the Cold War, the North American intervention began long before .. . All that is not there for the right.”
