If only we had the power to turn back time and retain our knowledge…at the memorial museum that reconstructs quite brilliantly the story of how Chilean human rights were abused by the military junta that seized power led by General Pinochet and his cronies and backed by USA back in 1970’s, what would we do with that time machine and then with the knowledge we had would we have the courage to change and prevent the atrocities that were committed?

Well it was probably the only Democratically elected Marxist Government in the world at the time (and ever) and not that Chile was leading the world with their economy, not that it was broken, it was stifled and not being a sceptic, possibly the USA had some secret embargo in place preventing Chilean Marxism from being successful, just to back one of the USA’s closer allies in South America, hmm Argentina’s Junta Government perhaps. What no one could have foreseen was how the Chilean junta would change the constitution, run election campaigns with no electoral register, imprison anyone who had opposing political views, imprison anyone who posed any threat whatsoever, control the media, conduct air strikes on their own capital, implement secret prisons nationwide, conduct mass levels of torturing, disappear people, kill innocent children. I have run out now and missed a whole host of things that happened at the behest of the junta for over 17 years during

What no one could have foreseen was how the Chilean junta would change the constitution, run election campaigns with no electoral register, imprison anyone who had opposing political views, imprison anyone who posed any threat whatsoever, control the media, conduct air strikes on their own capital, implement secret prisons nationwide, conduct mass levels of torturing, execute people in the national stadium, disappear people, kill innocent children. I have run out now and missed a whole host of things that happened at the behest of the junta for over 17 years during 1970s and 1980s, gee that is in my lifetime!

General Pinochet amassed huge wealth in this period and he and his family were never punished for their crimes, as he died when under house arrest at the age of 91 or some other great age.

Unfortunately, it’s another sad story for mankind that has impacted a nation that has such wonderfully friendly and helpful people. The museum has been quite marvellously created and is tasteful with how they have told this tragic story, no more so than listening and watching the survivors of torture share their stories.