September 11, 1973 - Santiago

Santiago – a song by David Rovics

As I looked out my window

At the clear blue sky

At the planes that flew so low

At the smoke that rose so high

The air filled up with dust

That blackened out the sun

And the politicians went on

About the new day that had begun

And when I looked at my calendar

Somehow I knew it would be so

It was on this day in Santiago

Less than thirty years had passed

And how clearly I remember

What the city had been like

Before that day in September

There were doctors on the sidewalks

Helping those in need

Students in the barrios

Teaching children how to read

There were milk trucks in the shanties

Driving to and fro

On this day in Santiago

I could tell you about the rallies

The whole city in the street

The President was speaking

And we all were on our feet

Allende was the future

Destitution was the past

The city was in motion

And things were changing fast

Just how fast they were changing

Only Kissinger could know

On this day in Santiago

We’d been striving for a world

Without a single cardboard shack

Where each woman, man and child

Could have the basic things they lack

It was socialism by demand

Elected free and fair

A society without need or greed

Where everybody got their share

And then came Uncle Sam

With dictatorship in tow

On this day in Santiago

Anaconda Copper

And Nixon got their dream

A country torn apart

Ruptured at the seam

A fascist coup was what they wanted

And that’s just what they’d get

When they sent down from Fort Benning

General Pinochet

Lady Liberty

Hung her head down low

On this day in Santiago

They dropped bombs on La Moneda

With jet planes from DC

They killed five thousand people

In our city by the sea

A reign of terror started

When they cut off Victor’s hands

The rivers clogged with bodies

And our blood drenched the sands

And I remember wondering

Which way future winds might blow

On this day in Santiago

Created November, 2005

ADDED:

*** Allende's Last Speech

My friends, Surely this will be the last opportunity for me to address you. The Air Force has bombed the antennas of Radio Magallanes.

My words do not have bitterness but disappointment. May they be a moral punishment for those who have betrayed their oath: soldiers of Chile, titular commanders in chief, Admiral Merino, who has designated himself Commander of the Navy, and Mr. Mendoza, the despicable general who only yesterday pledged his fidelity and loyalty to the Government, and who also has appointed himself Chief of the Carabineros [paramilitary police].

Given these facts, the only thing left for me is to say to workers: I am not going to resign! Placed in a historic transition, I will pay for loyalty to the people with my life. And I say to them that I am certain that the seeds which we have planted in the good conscience of thousands and thousands of Chileans will not be shriveled forever.

They have force and will be able to dominate us, but social processes can be arrested by neither crime nor force. History is ours, and people make history.

Workers of my country: I want to thank you for the loyalty that you always had, the confidence that you deposited in a man who was only an interpreter of great yearnings for justice, who gave his word that he would respect the Constitution and the law and did just that. At this definitive moment, the last moment when I can address you, I wish you to take advantage of the lesson: foreign capital, imperialism, together with the reaction, created the climate in which the Armed Forces broke their tradition, the tradition taught by General Schneider and reaffirmed by Commander Araya, victims of the same social sector who today are hoping, with foreign assistance, to re-conquer the power to continue defending their profits and their privileges.

I address you, above all, the modest woman of our land, the campesina who believed in us, the mother who knew our concern for children. I address professionals of Chile, patriotic professionals who continued working against the sedition that was supported by professional associations, classist associations that also defended the advantages of capitalist society. I address the youth, those who sang and gave us their joy and their spirit of struggle. I address the man of Chile, the worker, the farmer, the intellectual, those who will be persecuted, because in our country fascism has been already present for many hours -- in terrorist attacks, blowing up the bridges, cutting the railroad tracks, destroying the oil and gas pipelines, in the face of the silence of those who had the obligation to act. They were committed. History will judge them.

Surely Radio Magallanes will be silenced, and the calm metal instrument of my voice will no longer reach you. It does not matter. You will continue hearing it. I will always be next to you. At least my memory will be that of a man of dignity who was loyal to his country.

The people must defend themselves, but they must not sacrifice themselves. The people must not let themselves be destroyed or riddled with bullets, but they cannot be humiliated either.

Workers of my country, I have faith in Chile and its destiny. Other men will overcome this dark and bitter moment when treason seeks to prevail. Go forward knowing that, sooner rather than later, the great avenues will open again and free men will walk through them to construct a better society.

Long live Chile! Long live the people! Long live the workers!

These are my last words, and I am certain that my sacrifice will not be in vain, I am certain that, at the very least, it will be a moral lesson that will punish felony, cowardice, and treason.

Santiago de Chile, 11 September 1973