La Marcha

Last Thursday, 4 August, Santiago university students took to the streets in protest without permission from the government. For several weeks now, university students from mostly Santiago but also from other cities in Chile, as well as high school students, have been protesting for free and better quality tertiary education.

As the police took to the streets with tear gas, arresting people as they went, the students retreated to their houses. In the evening a strange thunder began to roar from the neighbouring houses. An act oh-so-familiar to the Pinochet era, people had actually begun to bang on their pots and pans in protest from the safety of their houses. I had never heard anything like it before. The thunder went on well into the night, as cars frequently passed by honking their horns. Thursday has become the day of protest for the students and their sympathisers.

Having worked at a university at the beginning of the year, I know how bad the quality of tertiary education can be and how expensive the classes are. My students were young, immature and badly disciplined which meant that they were failing. The policy at the private university was if a student failed a subject and the student intended to re-take the class in order to gain their degree, they had to pay the full semester of classes again. This was a university that hosted students from the lower socio-economical areas of the city. Their parents painstakingly saved the money for their education because in Chile, just having done a degree of 5 years means getting a better job.

If the duration of your degree was less than 5 years, then it is consider a practical degree, not a ‘proper’ degree. There is no government support to students unless they can prove they are poor enough to receive help. This means all fees must be paid up front. The only universities that have a highschool grades emission policy are rare and are mostly public with few positions on offer. This means all other universities are private. There is an absolute abundance of them. They are businesses that prey on the poor who seek to escape the shackles of poverty but end up wasting their money on so-called institutions that barely educate their children.

So the protest for better education seems only too appropriate but unfortunately, it isn't as black and white as this. In a corrupt system so far advanced, it is almost impossible to make education free for the protestors, none of which come from affluent backgrounds. The situation is becoming more and more complicated as students refuse to accept any negotiations and will not stop until they get exactly what they are asking for, right to the full stop.

And to make the situation worse, delinquents looking to sabotage constantly shadow the protests. Santiago centro has become their target area, where shops have began to close up early on Thursday afternoons to avoid vandalism. Last Thursday, during the surprise protests, herds of youth broke into a clothing store and having stolen the merchandise, they then set it on fire. With thugs like this taking to the streets every week now, will the protests even be able to stop?

(Image by Roberto Candia )

Un Soplo de Aire Marino

Viña del Mar is a breath of sea air for those living in Santiago. Head to the buss terminal early in the morning and buy a ticket on the spot for one of the multiple 2 hour bus trips to this famous seaport. My lovely Chilean and I jumped at the opportunity to take an Australian friend to visit the place.

Its sleepy atmosphere for a large town is a nice parallel to the rough sticks of the sailor's town, Valparaíso, the town with which it merges. The wide streets, several of which are boarded by palm trees, turn into narrow, calles with dark shadows. Our favourite Italian restaurant, Panzoni, can also be found in Viña del Mar. We made sure to stop at the quintessential picada for comida buena, bonita y borata (good, beautiful and cheap food). Its charming decor is very reminiscent of old Italian grandmother's country home, with the walls covered with retro Italian memorabilia and the tables covered with cute chequered-print table clothes, which perfectly suit the painted red and green retro chairs. The menu mostly offers homemade pasta with basic homemade sauces, which is only too fitting for a restaurant that is actually the front room of someone's house.

Viña del Mar was founded by the native Changos tribe who originally inhabited the coast of Peru down to the coast of the Atacama in Chile. The Spanish then decided to develop the land into a town separate to that of Valparaíso and it became a tourist attraction after the construction of the casino as well as a number of beachside hotels. The town was also one of the four cities to host the 1962 Football World Cup. As Valparaíso is enchanting in its heritage appeal, Viña del Mar is relaxing with its beach town vibes, although the water is always too cold to swim in unless you're brave.

The three of us walked down the main strip of shops and cafés, past the plaza where horses and carriages wait to take you for a ride, through to the garden clock and along the coast to sit on the sand and watch the huge, grey battleships sail off into the distance. When the waves began to lap up the shore and we had seen all the artisan market stalls, we took the bus back to Santiago.