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Corporación Parque por la Paz Villa Grimaldi
Avenida José Arrieta 8401
Peñalolen, Santiago
Chile
Tel: +56-2-273-6543
South American Sites of Conscience Community
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Dialogues for Democracy
The Challenge
Although torture and repression are not state policies in Chile today, the legacies of the former dictatorship still reverberate in the practices of the police force, which hamper student and youth mobilizations. Corporación Parque por la Paz Villa Grimaldi is also dismayed by an overall lack of respect for political and cultural differences, lack of respect for ethnic minority groups, and poor reparation policies for the victims of human rights violations on the part of the state and society.
The Dialogues for Democracy Questions
- Why do people use torture?
- Who is capable of committing torture today?
- How can we avoid future human rights violations?
- How can we understand that respect for the lives of others is an inherent value of human nature?
- What can I do to contribute to peace?
The Program
Visitors to Parque por la Paz Villa Grimaldi are taken on guided tours by ex-detainees, who use their own stories to tell the history of the Site. Guided tours are available in Spanish, French and English, and are especially oriented to young people. Tours begin with an overview of the history of the house and property around a small re-created architectural model of the Terranova Barracks and surrounding landscape.
Visitors then retrace the steps that prisoners took when they first arrived at Parque por la Paz Villa Grimaldi, witnessing recreated structures as well as locations where cells once stood as ex-prisoners explain what took place on these grounds. Particular emphasis is placed on the contrast between the natural beauty of the surrounding landscape and the violent and cruel torture that once occured there. Throughout the tours, visitors are encouraged to ask questions and engage in open dialogue and reflection, whether in individual conversations or in small groups. Corporación Parque por la Paz Villa Grimaldi emphasizes dialogue that neither avoids nor distorts the facts of the past, but provides clear parameters with which to open discussion and inspire questions, allowing young people to draw their own conclusions. Guests are also invited to record any thoughts or feelings that have arisen during the course of the tour in a visitors’ book and on the Corporación Parque por la Paz Villa Grimaldi web site. A special invitation is extended to youth to express their feelings after their visits through written or visual activities.
Impact
Corporación Parque por la Paz Villa Grimaldi hopes to help its young visitors develop within an environment of democracy and respect, to be aware of the history of human rights violations in an effort to support the NUNCA MÁS (Never Again) movement against military dictatorships and authoritarianism in Chile and around the world.