Christmas Hate Attack: Memorial for Human Rights Victims in San Joaquín Again Vandalized

Original article: Ataque con odio en Navidad: vuelven a destrozar memorial de víctimas de DD.HH. en San Joaquín

In the early hours of December 24, while many families were preparing for Christmas Eve, the memorial for human rights victims in San Joaquín was once again targeted. The incident is regarded as a deliberate act, with leaders from the 3 and 4 Álamos Corporation stating, «It wasn’t just vandalism. It was fueled by hatred and premeditation.» This organization comprises survivors of the civil-military dictatorship and individuals dedicated to preserving memory.

This attack comes on the heels of a recent incident: just three weeks ago, three of the four doves from the sculpture «El Vuelo»—located at the intersection of Sebastopol and Santa Rosa—were stolen. That time, «the classic sculpture of four intertwined doves… was brutally severed and shattered without regard for the memory of the 78 victims of the dictatorship it represents.» Following that theft, only one dove remained on the plinth, but in this latest incident, it was precisely that piece that was damaged.

Memorial for Human Rights Victims in San Joaquín: A Place Marked by Disappearance

The memorial is not merely a piece of urban decor; it stands in a location associated with abductions and disappearances. Here, the case of Ana González‘s husband, Manuel Recabarren Rojas, is remembered, along with their sons Luis Emilio and Manuel Guillermo, and their daughter-in-law Nalvia Rosa Mena, who was pregnant at the time of their detention by the secret police of the dictatorship. For many individuals and communities, this is much more than stone or metal; it embodies a story of absence, a quest for justice, and an unhealed wound.

Thus, the Christmas Eve attack is interpreted as a direct symbolic aggression. The remaining dove, they say, was «lonely yet steadfast in its mission and purpose: human rights.» Nonetheless, someone chose to destroy it.

A Series of Attacks on Memorial Sites

The 3 and 4 Álamos Corporation indicates that this incident adds to a recent string of attacks against memorials and sites of memory: they mention harassment at the Casa de Memoria José Domingo Cañas, the former Santa Lucía Clinic, and the Providencia Memory Site in Antofagasta. In colloquial Chilean terms: this is not an isolated event but a worrying sign of intolerance aimed at intimidating memory practices.

In response to this, the call is to neither normalize nor downplay these occurrences. “As the 3 and 4 Álamos Corporation… we demand not only respect for the memory of the 78 human rights victims from San Joaquín, but also prompt police investigation and the justice that has been denied to us for many years,” they assert.

The conclusion of their message serves as an ethical warning: “We know well that without memory, there is no justice, and without justice, there is no social peace.” Because when a memorial is attacked, what is being targeted is not merely a structure but the community’s right to remember, to seek truth, and to live without fear.