The ThunderBlogs

The Vancouver Art Gallery steps on Robson and Howe are a teeming centre of life in downtown Vancouver. On any sunny afternoon, one is likely to see groups of street punks smoking pot, elderly men in suits playing chess and a variety of international vendors selling handmade art wares. Protest abounds in this location and it is frequently home to more than one demonstration a day.

On Friday afternoon, a small crowd of Latin American men and women attempted to grab the attention of this busy area with a hand-painted banner that read, “Support Hunger Strikers in Chile”. Many pedestrians simply ignored them, swatting away the pamphlet being offered and clutching their shopping bags instead. Yet, reassuringly, some accepted the leaflet and buried their faces in it while trudging through the busy Robson street foot traffic.

The protest was led by Waldo Fernandez, a Chilean immigrant who has been living in Canada for three years. He explained that the demonstration was on behalf of the over 30 indigenous Mapuche prisoners in Chile who have been on hunger strike since mid-July. The prisoners are demanding full repeal of the anti-terrorist laws under which they were sentenced. A remnant of the Pinochet dictatorship, the laws allow for lengthy detainments, restriction of defence access to evidence and masked witnesses.

Surrounded by throngs of people rushing by with their headphones in and lining up to try the newest food carts on the sidewalk, Fernandez’s persistence was impressive. “Help the Mapuche people,” he repeated to every passing pedestrian. When asked if Vancouverites were responsive to his cause, he shrugged and said, “To some extent… But the most valuable thing about Vancouver is that we are allowed to protest here.” He emphasized the importance of educating Canadians about Latin American issues, since “they receive everything from the main media.”

The Mapuche prisoners became an international news story when four Chilean opposition MPs joined the hunger strike on Thursday. BBC and Reuters have covered the issue, but it has yet to be picked up by a major Canadian news outlet. “There are so many Latin Americans here, but the main media doesn’t show it,” Fernandez said.

Fernandez lamented the lack of Canadian coverage, as he sees similarities between the Mapuche and First Nations people. His group, the Mapuche Solidarity Collective, identify their location as “Unceded Coast Salish Territory”, rather than Vancouver. “The same thing happens with the indigenous people here,” he said. “It’s about the land. The same thing happens all across America.”

For more information, visit http://mapuche.info (and use Google Translator if you don’t speak Spanish).