AUTUMN OF A DICTATOR
I visited Chile two weeks after Dorfman. I saw a business district swarming with hard-working people bustling among small shops. Everything seemed in ample supply and demand. I visited the poorer areas of the town and saw clean streets, a proud people and decent houses surrounding tiny shops.
And yes, at 2 a.m. I saw the carabineros roughing up a young man while taking him to their armored car. As my Chilean hostess screamed “Asesino!” at the Uzi-toting police, my personal belief in freedom quickly wrestled with my need to survive.
The Chile I saw is strong enough to wrestle with the past, but the Chilean people I met have an irrepressible drive to succeed in the future through their own hard work.
WAYNE SOCHA
Monrovia
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