We Are Scared, We Are Hopeful
On Chile’s protests, home, and the heartbreak of revolution
*This story contains slurs, sexual assault, and violence
It’s just turned gray outside in Oakland, one of my two home cities. The sort of gray that is socked-in, curving around the buildings and man-made lake, the cars as they wind through the redwoods, the people as they wind through small skyscrapers. It’s more of a cold and suffocating mood than actually cold and suffocating.
In my other city, Santiago, it is approaching summer. The city is typically emptying around now — like Paris in August, the citizens leave for the beach, or further up the mountains, where the air, which has turned black and sooty from industrial activities and heavy traffic, is cleaner and clearer.
But not this year.
The short reason for this prolonged protest is the government of Sebastián Piñera. The longer, more nuanced answer is: everything.
Media outlets everywhere (including this one) are attempting to condense, to try to explain how truly complicated what’s happening in Chile is — according to the BBC:
