In the June issue of The Far East this year we published a story from Chile on "The Great Fire of Valparaiso" which in April had destroyed thousands of homes of the poor, many of whom live in illegal squatter camps like "El Vergel." Jorge Paredes, a journalist who works for the Columbans in Chile, wrote the following article on the Columban response to this disaster.
Today Diana stops at the entrance of what could be called her site in El Vergel, an illegally occupied camp in the hills high above Valparaiso, Chile. Here on the edge of the city, Porteños (the inhabitants of Valparaiso) level out hill tops and cut out land from the forest in order to live and dream of a better life for themselves and their families.
Diana is a Peruvian citizen who has lived for the past 10 years in El Vergel. She lost everything in the fire. The day after the fire all that was left was ashes. What was even more terrible for Diana was that the authorities will not allow her to rebuild in the area where she previously lived because it has been declared a danger zone.
Today however is different for Diana who now looks towards the future with a little more hope. She has been relocated to another area of the camp where little by little she is reorganizing her new site.
Diana, her husband and three children, are one of three immigrant families who have received new prefabricated homes that were put together over a recent weekend.
Working together in this action of solidarity with the victims of the fire were Columban seminarians, trade unionists who work at the Chilean Steel Company and the staff of a Medical Centre in a poor area of Santiago. They began putting the homes together on the Friday morning and by Saturday afternoon the three families received their new homes.
"This suffering is ours, we cannot walk away from it. Nothing human is alien to me." - St Alberto Hurtado
Fr Alvaro Martínez, the Columban Regional Director in Chile, present at the site of the new homes, explained how this initiative came about.
"The Columban Fathers have donated several homes to the fire victims through the local Diocese. The gift of these homes arose out of a conversation with the local parish priest, who put us in contact with three immigrant families who had lost everything in the April fire. They had permission to build on new sites. Today Columban seminarians and other volunteers have put these homes up in the spirit of our Columban Charism of Justice, Peace, the Integrity of Creation and brother and sisterhood.
"We did not choose this place by chance. We deliberately chose it because it is an illegal squatter camp. As Columbans we try to reach out to those on the periphery of society. El Vergel is on the edge of Valparaiso, where the poor illegally occupy land. Today we helped three immigrant families who have come to our country looking for a better future."
Ricardo is one of those to receive a new home. He is a circus performer who has travelled to different parts of the world in the circus. He becomes emotional when he was asked why he wishes to live in Valparaiso. He replies, "I could live in Colombia or the United States, but the Lord has said to me, 'Here you stay' and here I am. The first weeks after the fire were very difficult. I lost everything. Thanks be to God, we have received a lot of help. University students arrived the other day to clean up the place and put up some homes. Later we received mattresses, clothing, food and much more. In this way, one begins to regain some hope and can say to the Lord, 'Thank You.'"
"Everything that diminishes others tears me apart as well." - St Albert Hurtado
It was very meaningful for the Columban seminarians to return to El Vergel. Along with thousands of other volunteers, they had arrived soon after the fire to remove the rubble. It was particularly gratifying for Peruvian Columban Seminarian, Jorge Luis Vargas. To be able to help his fellow countrymen in their time of great need in a foreign country he felt was truly a gift from God.
Chilean Columban Seminarian, Rafael Ramírez, says that it really hit him deeply when he spoke with the families soon after the fire when they had just lost everything and were in deep mourning. "It's wonderful to be able to return and do something concrete to help these families have a better life. In fact, reaching out to these people is an important part of my formation to be a priest. It shows me I would like to be a priest close to the people, to share in their suffering and happiness and to help them a little to live with more dignity. This is what we have been able to do here."
Pedro Navarrete, the Trade Union leader for the union of workers from the Chilean Steel Company, said that when he first came after the fire with his fellow unionist to El Vergel, "it had such an impact on me, that I began to cry. Through the Union we immediately began organizing all kinds of help for the victims. To be able to help these families with new homes will affect me for the rest of my life. It is very emotional. All of us are children of God".
"Today the only things believed are the living witness of life, the loving witness of love, the strong witness of fortitude and the hopeful witness of hope." - St Albert Hurtado
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LISTEN TO: Columbans respond to fire victims (Duration: 6.13mins, MP3, 2.84MB) |
Read more from The Far East, October 2014