Some Musing on the Frailty of Life

Hello Everyone,

During the last two weeks or so, there's been a much larger world spotlight centered on Chile than usual, and it hasn't been for a positive reason. You all heard about the earthquake, tsunami, and aftershocks that rocked (no pun intended) Iquique about a week and a half ago (and thank you all who checked in to make sure I wasn't dead), but now central Chile, and Valparaíso in particular, is facing something too. Fire.

Courtesy of BBC Latin America

Over the past 24-48 hours, what was first a forest fire has spread to the far cerros of Valparaíso. Helped by the wind, this fire has burned over 500 homes to the ground, killed (as of now) 11 people, and caused more than 5000 men, women, and children to be forced out of their homes into shelters across the city. The President has declared Valparaíso a disaster zone. This is the worst fire in 60 years. Living in Viña, I'm fine. I'm lucky. And I know that. Over the next week I'll be volunteering at some shelters around the city, and there's even an event on Thursday specifically aimed at helping the children affected (which sounds super cute and I'm very excited about). But this post isn't about how great of a person I am for volunteering and helping and doing what decent people should do. It's about stuff.

Last weekend, our IFSA group went on a four-day excursion to two Mapuche villages in the south of Chile. We spent the first two days in an area around Lago Budi, learning from the people there about their community, their struggles as Native People against a government that will not recognize their right to their lands, and how they as people believe in supporting the Earth they live on. Translated, their name means "People of the Earth", and it is reflected in the way they interact with the world around them.

Lago Budi

Our Mapuche history lesson

Our third day was spent visiting one specific family (in a different Mapuche community) near the town of Pucón, a little further south. There, we had a remarkably interesting conversation with the cultural leader of the community and his son, who is trying to begin a tourism project in order to have Chileans and Argentinians come and learn about who the Mapuche are and about their struggle to survive as a people.

That experience, added to the earthquake scare and now the fire that has still not burned out really made me think about the way in which I live my life and what I place my value on. And while it might to some seem like the superficial thoughts of a "little white girl who has never had to fight for anything a day in her life", that's exactly the point. I have never struggled to be heard because of my race (sometimes gender, but that is not nearly as demeaning), my socioeconomic status has never limited me from having opportunities, and my way of life has never been threatened by anything, neither government nor natural disaster.

I feel like I don't say thank you enough. That sometimes I take from granted what I have, just because there has never been a risk of it being taken from me. That maybe I need to be a little less complacent.

So thank you. To all of you. To my friends, to my family, to everyone who has ever had anything to do with my life, good or bad. Thank you. I really am so grateful to know all of you.