J oseph Miguel Cares and his days in jail
"I was happy when he returned to democracy"
That Tuesday September 11, 1973, José Miguel and Rodrigo went to the School Cares Francisco Andres Olea, on Avenida Matta, as usual. Before 11, life went on between the scarcity and instability that had been installed in the lives of many of the Chileans at the time. When you were lucky, a neighbor invited them receiving merchandise to choose some extra parts, what they meant, a couple of times, starting out driving a car with the doors just closed, an angry crowd that demanded behind .
At age eleven, José Miguel played with a ball gutted and shared a pair of slippers with Rodrigo, his brother four years younger; addition of a bicycle and memories of childhood a department of the whereabouts of Santa Rosa, place they called "the people." Sometimes José Miguel returns to the streets, sometimes. Sometimes talking with friends who stayed there on other occasions visit to Claudio, who climbed mountains and Toño, who returned from exile with a gringo accent, long hair loose, and a curious look of modern hippie.
That September 11 José Miguel felt noise. I saw people running from one place to another, puzzled. Vicente, his father went looking for the brothers to school, to hide in your home. Meeting, the two children and his father climbed the roof of the building. Along with the neighbors, would how steamed the Currency, while in the sky passing aircraft and helicopters, firing.
Fear, then, was a constant. Some neighbors were missing. Other anonymous, were discovered on Santa Rosa Avenue tomorrow, his body open, scattered through the streets without order or direction. José Miguel grew to escape the bullets that crossed the departments, neighborhood and its people.
The years at the State Technical University
1981, Lorraine and Claudia had been integrated into the family. The latter, daughter Teresa Vicente, the maid of the house where he lived with Sonia until 1985, when she left him and moved to the Department of Avenida Portales, with their three children in tow and a marriage to be left in oblivion .
José Miguel, seventeen years, first joined the State Technical University to study civil engineering. "The thing was so polarized because many people had left. FUAN existed, which was infiltrated in the UTE group, which had blows. The day of the coup killed many people, but then calmed down. There was tension, but at that time what they did was to expel, suspend. " A year later know for sure what Balbontín Jorge O `Ryan, president-designate, was able to do for the country and the safety of the university.
In this hostile climate, José Miguel he managed to meet with Gina, her partner then and current wife, in your spare time. The hours passed in the University or in the Quinta Normal, where it is located - until now - the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Chile, where he studied Gina Medical Technology. They met in the summer of `Quisco 79 by the vicissitudes of life and, except for sporadic events, not further separated.
Seventeen days
Pancho worked as an administrator of a local fruit in the Central Vega. Thanks to that work, managed to buy a car, a Daihatsu Cuore. He delivered on September 10, 1982. Feliz, left for people to show it to your friends and invite them to eat chickens Manina, in Portugal Avenida Matta. Despite the warnings, José Miguel, Claudio, Toño, Alexis and two friends went out that night Pancho. "We took a few drinks, we ate, we were like at 11. We were singing some songs from the radio, when we saw that a car started following us and shoot us. Pancho where he turned, stopped and began to argue with the guys who got out of cars. "
Once down, they saw the men - can not remember how many - were shooting into the sky, the ground also. They made them lie on the street, beat them. Against the wall, they applied current. They checked the car and then taken to the police station. They put them next to boxes pamphlets and Molotov cocktails. Had been loaded. "We were seven people in that car. The boxes that we were accused of carrying not fit in the car, even without us inside, "he recalls with a laugh. With several charges against the detainees brought to the Public Jail Santiago. One of them, that even today amazes Jose Miguel, was the charge of attempting to overthrow the military government.
passed by the First and Fifth station. Then they arrived at the jail that was located in Pedro Montt and was demolished in the early 90's, for its dilapidated state and the narrowness of its facilities. Eight years before the final closing of the prison, Jose Miguel and his six friends spent seventeen days of uncertainty behind bars.
Terrorists
"I do not know how, but when you get to jail everyone knows why you're there. The terrorists told us, and that I have never taken a gun in my life, "he says, while Gina takes a cup of tea to the table.
At the entrance of the first police found a pair of prostitutes who were leaving. Through the window threw papers with phone numbers and asked them warning. That's how the seven families and the entire population, they learned the fate of the boys. Sonia told Gina to José Miguel was asleep, had left or was studying. Until Gina went to look and saw with his own eyes that José Miguel took days without coming home. Cried thereafter, including his birthday, Sept. 24, until he saw it back, almost at the end of the month.
were taken to verify injury. Bruised, as they were, were ignored by the doctor who told them "you do not have anything" and returned to his cell, the number seven, where they had taken a rifle butt to tip of its former inhabitants.
in jail respected them as "terrorists." The desirability were prevented and managed to deny the release custody of one of the most feared criminals flag. With several dead behind him, "The Comb", as he was called, spent his life sentence prisoners watching and earning some money in the kitchen that had been implemented and that few had access. Jose Miguel and his friends paid for food and shelter.
installed in the civilian population fixed point. Meanwhile, the family of José Miguel went to visit him. Gina never wanted to go see him. "It was too terrible," he says while sipping tea at his side. The families contacted several attorneys. They went to the Vicariate of Solidarity and all other instances they had to reach.
in prison, seven "terrorists" attended a subpoena. "It was pure drunken said who were the ones who took us prisoners and reaffirming that we were making attacks. I knew they were not. The seeing them would have recognized. " The days passed and, except visits, did not know of anything else. The blame of serious charges, the sentence could be pronounced against them easily. One night in the cell, talked of the future. Recalled one of the first night, when there came a new arrest, accused of raping his nine year old daughter. The welcome of the cell's had his eyes open all night listening to the groans and cries of the new inmate. "If we let prisoners were going to have relations with us, to get you` Creek . We were going to get well and it was better to be prepared. So choose. " Her face changes when he recalls. His children, from twenty to twenty-one were unaware of this detail and looked at him in shock when he told of it over lunch, as if it were unimportant.
After seventeen days, and without knowing why, were taken to individual cells and kept incommunicado for twelve hours. No light and just a little stale food and water, José Miguel stood still and cried, like other times during his stay in prison. Once removed from the cells saw with joy that their families and the entire population came to look. They had a party when they returned home. Toño soon left for Australia, from where it returned a few years ago.
Back at the State Technical University - the following year changed its name to University of Santiago de Chile - was found with the suspension for one semester. George O `Ryan Balbontín, known for his cruelty, did not allow young people back immediately processed. Also removed the scholarships.
In late 1988 he graduated as Chemical Engineer in Execution, race that was changed after the birth of her first child, three years earlier. The urge to finish school and start work, caused the change. The following year, the expected referendum returned to the country, ending seventeen years of military dictatorship. "I do not care. Return to democracy did not make me happy, the damage was done. "
During a family meal, José Miguel wished he had declared in the Valech commission. Her eldest daughter reminded her that she herself had called and he had rejected the idea to avoid the pain of hard memories bring all your memory again. Gina said that the commission may reopen. José Miguel believes that it might be good to tell her story.
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