Lagrimas Para Patagonia

I don't know if this has made the international news but recently the Chilean government passed a bill which will allow hydroelectric dams to be built in the Patagonian wilderness in the south of Chile.  They passed it despite the fact that over 60% of Chileans opposed it and now people are mad.  And if there's one thing Chileans know how to do, it's let everyone know just how mad they are by protesting.  Last night, this happened:
Movilización Nacional NO A HIDROSAYÉN (The website is run by a friend of mine)

For those of you who can't read Spanish this was basically a call to people all over Chile to mobilize and march.  There were designated meeting areas in a number of cities throughout the country.  Everyone was told to wear something green and carry a candle.  Here in Santiago they marched through the center of the town to La Moneda, which is the Chilean equivalent of the White House.  My friend, Jenna, lives right on one of the streets they were marching down so we came down during the fifth or sixth wave of the march to get in on it a little.  We walked with them a bit until we hit a row of carabineros (policemen).  The march pushed passed them but we had to run to the grocery store.  After we finished shopping we came out to find that we were caged into the store because the protest had gotten out of hand.  People were running to escape the water cannons and tear gas.  They opened the gates to let some people in to get away from the police.  We stayed in there for a few minutes until they let us out.  We should have waited longer.

Even though the tear gas wasn't visible anymore it was lingering in the air.  And even though Jenna's apartment was less than a block away, a block full of tear gas is a painful one to pass through.  As we walked I could feel it stinging my eyes and we started coughing.  Just when we entered her building I caught a huge cloud of it in my face.  It was so painful I couldn't open my eyes.  The tears were streaming down my face and I felt sick to my stomach.  That stuff is no joke! 

We got back up to her apartment where a Chilean friend told us not to put water on it because it makes it worse.  I just pressed a dry towel against my face for about five minutes until the stinging subsided.  It was a painful experience but I was proud to be tear-gassed to save the Patagonian wilderness.  The hydroelectric dams will RUIN that area of the world without even providing that much energy.  The protests are going to continue.  The Chilean government should be scared.

Jami and me, post tear gas