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Friends in Adversity Sara de Witt and Beatriz Miranda were both university students in Chile after General Augusto Pinochet’s military coup on September 11th 1973. They met in the detention centre in Santiago and became life-long friends. Both now live in Britain. Philippa Budgen caught up with them over tapas…....  A poster remembering those who disappearedA poster remembering those who disappeared |
Beatriz and Sara have been friends since they first met - in a Chilean Detention Centre. It was 1975, and the Chilean Secret Police under General Augusto Pinochet were notorious for 'disappearing' people. Sara was a student member of a trade union which the new government had banned. Beatriz, studying sciences, was involved in the opposition party. Both women were among the 'disappeared', and both were subjected to horrific torture, including electric shocks, injections, beatings and watching the guards beat a young man to death.
Sara remembers arriving at one particular detention centre and thinking it was a lunatic asylum. The women greeted her with cheers and hugs. In fact she'd arrived from a particularly notorious centre (Via Migraldi), and they were amazed to see her alive.
She remembers meeting Beatrix, 'a poor lanky woman in a mini skirt and socks up to her knees'. Beatrix greeted her with 'We'll look after you'.
Beatrix remembers Sara as 'always good for a laugh'. Having a sense of humour was a way of surviving. Food in the camps was grim. All they had was pulses. Beans, chick peas, lentils. But their families brought them vegetables. They were in an all-female camp. Some women who were married or who had a father or brother in the men's camp were allowed to see them. Otherwise the only way of communicating was singing. 200 woman singing at the top of their voices carries quite a distance! The lyrics they sang were words of comfort and solidarity:
You don't seem to have sorrows - but you have many
Your future is linked to mine - we're in this together.Beatriz was released before Sara. She missed her friends and felt tremendous guilt that she was the one freed when others 'deserved it more'.
Knowing that she gad no future in Chile since she'd been in detention for political reasons, she was grateful for the visa to Britain - which offered her a future.
Sara came out a year later. Even after she was released, secret police would stand outside her house, threatening her. She didn't want to leave Chile, but felt she had no other option. By the time she got to Britain, (about a year after Beatriz), Beatriz had married.
 Pinochet |
When Pinochet was arrested in London it was an extraordinary time for the Chilean community here. It strengthened Sara and Beatriz's friendship - they were on the phone all the time - remembering friends who had survived and those who hadn't.
They presented a law suit against Pinochet accusing him of kidnapping, persecution and the rest. It was a shock for their families to hear the full details of what had happened to them.
Neither have returned to Chile to live. Initial, the potential danger put them off. But now they've put down roots and Britain is home.
MORE INFORMATION
Sara de Witt BBC Report
The Joy of anti Pinochet Protestors
Human Rights Watch The Pinochet Prosecution
Pinochet and Chile A site dedicated to Pinochet's victims around the world
Third World Traveller Chile Declassified, discusses the role of the US in providing equipment and aid for the detention camps.
The Pinochet File BBC News Online records the twists and turns of the Pinochet case and unlocks the dark secrets of the general's past.  Sara de Witt during Pinochet's visit |
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