The long wait for justice to be done, the lack of psychological support and the delay in aid have plunged many of the mutilated eyes of the Chilean social outbreak into a feeling of abandonment, which has led to the suicide of four victims and set off all the alarms .
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The Coordinator of Victims of Ocular Trauma, one of the organizations that brings together some of the more than 400 eye injuries from bullets or tear gas in the 2019 protests, reported at the end of June the death of one of its members “after fighting for more than 3 years for justice and comprehensive reparation without obtaining results”.
“Jorge did not have timely justice or the professional accompaniment and containment that he required, like most of the survivors of police violence, who also see how impunity has deepened in the country,” the association said on its social networks.
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‘The State is in debt’
Jorge, 27, was shot by an agent of the Carabineros police force from less than 25 meters away in January 2020, when Chile had been immersed for three months in the worst wave of protests since the end of the dictatorship (1973-1990). ).
The attack took place in Plaza Italia, the roundabout in Santiago, the epicenter of the massive demonstrations, very close to where Gerardo Van der Meer, 23, was also injured.
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We went out together (to the streets) for the common good and to stop injustice in this country and what happened to me and my colleagues could happen to anyone.
“We went out together (to the streets) for a common good and to stop injustice in this country and what happened to me and my colleagues could happen to anyone,” Van der Meer told EFE.
The protests, which began after the increase in the price of the metro ticket and led to a popular clamor for better basic services, left some thirty dead and thousands injured, in addition to episodes of extreme violence and accusations against the security forces for human rights violations.
Of the almost 11,000 open cases, as of December 2022 “only 0.15% have convictions”, which shows “a panorama of great impunity”, according to Amnesty International.
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In a statement sent to EFE, the NGO explained that One of the main problems in the investigations is that “Carabineros agents, in numerous cases, have been reluctant to provide all the information”.
“Many of the people who were injured in their eyes, beaten or victims of sexual violence, saw their life projects completely truncated. However, the State continues to be in debt,” he added.
‘How many more must die?’
The government of former President Sebastián Piñera (2018-2022) launched a reparation program for the eye mutilated, which was “precarious” and “was only created to launder that government,” lamented Marta Valdés, spokesperson for the Victims Coordinator and Familiares de Trauma Ocular, another association that brings together victims.
In August of last year, shortly after coming to power, President Gabriel Boric, a former student leader who also marched during the outbreak, launched the Accompaniment and Care Plan for Survivors of Ocular Trauma (PACTO), which includes monetary aid and care in mental health.
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The victims, however, continue to denounce that it is insufficient: “We must not forget that this mutilation is for life, and that is how our colleagues must be insured”Valdes said.
“Jorge lived in debt, he could not find work, he had to pay rent, meet his daughter’s expenses and that benefit (the one he received from the Government) was not enough for him. He got tired of waiting,” lamented Van der Meer.
The Ministry of Health, in charge of the program, was consulted repeatedly by EFE, but refused to collaborate on this article.
For Natalia Avera, an eye injury, one of the program’s failures is that it is too centralized in Santiago, which forces victims from regions to move constantly in a country where distances are not short.
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Avera, in addition, has had to pay for medical expenses herself because the plan, in her opinion, is not as comprehensive as it claims to be: “If the tear gas, for example, fractured my teeth, it also has to be included dental care.”
“These suicides have been caused by the aggression of a State agent (…) How many more people have to die for the government to take action?”he asked himself.
Van der Meer has another issue that is eating away at him: the citizen “amnesia” about what happened in the explosion and the change of opinion of many people, who previously empathized with the eye injuries and now “criminalize” them. Faced with this, he asks to be well informed so as not to fall into “denial, forgetfulness and abandonment.”
EFE
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