This article was published in the EMU WeatherVane, a student newspaper.
Carol Snell-Feikema, EMU professor, led the year’s first Flash Seminar last Thursday, Sept. 18.
The seminar focused on the Chilean coup d’etat that occurred on Sept. 11, 1973 and the resulting years of tyranny and injustice under Augusto Pinochet’s rule.
Snell-Feikema explains that the idea of participating in EMU’s seminar program is what initially piqued her interest. However, she states that, “It wasn’t difficult to come up with a theme that mattered deeply to me.”
Looking further back, Snell-Feikema notes that her exploration of Chile’s coup began simply: with a song by Chilean artist Victor Jara. The song, Manifiesto, was released prior to Jara’s abduction
and murder, and has continued to be crucial to Snell-Feikema’s comprehension of these events.
She adds, “I am still very moved by it, even though I’ve heard it so many times at this point. The fact that they killed him, and tortured him as they did, astonishes me with its brutality, its negation
of the human subject, of the human soul.”
In addition to Manifiesto, Snell-Feikema incorporated other Chilean songs into her lecture. One such song is Hay Una Mujer Desaparecida, which calls out the names of several women who went missing during the time of Pinochet’s rule.
Anna Messer, a first-year who attended the lecture, states, “I was very impressed with the song. Listening to the names of the women who were taken made it real for me.”
The realness of Snell-Feikema’s lecture stems from the thousands of Chilean citizens who disappeared, as well as the fact that these events went unreported to the international world for so long. This fact contributed to Snell-Feikema’s desire to become concientized of the tragedy, a sentiment Messer echoes.
Messer notes that the lecture made her think of her own family, and that, as a Peacebuilding and Development major, the lecture has helped her to develop a sense of purpose. Messer notes, “I feel more inclined to take action in the injustices around the world.”
The major theme of Snell-Feikema’s message lies within this notion. She contends that, while there is great evil in the world, there is also good. Snell-Feikema continues with this idea, stating that people “are capable of astonishing brutality and hatred, but they are also capable of great and astonishing beauty and bravery.”
This belief wove throughout Snell-Feikema’s presentation. While she spoke about the terrors of Pinochet’s rule—such as the bombing of the Presidential palace or the torture of Victor Jara—Snell-Feikema also maintained a sense of hope that awareness may prevent similar injustices in the future.
Her example of this is simple and profound. In the years following Pinochet’s rise to power, it was the grandmothers and mothers of those missing who began to raise awareness. These women, who began simply by speaking to one another, would eventually lead protests, asking where their loved ones were.
Snell-Feikema explains that it is this courage that can lead to awareness. She adds, “I believe we are called to hear the blood crying from the ground, and to cross the road to help those suffering from violence, injustice, poverty.”
This statement is one that Messer agrees with, stating that, “it was a transforming experience learning about the injustices of our world and how we can act against them in hopes for peace.”
While there is much work to be done in the realm of human rights, Carol’s seminar is encapsulated in one idea: “Love is stronger than hate, life is stronger than death, and God is there with us to fight for those things.”
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