do not know how to fight. The Haitians defend themselves with their hands, with fists. However, Chileans only fight with knives, with weapons. At one point, they stabbed my husband. The knife did not go in, we just had to stitch him up. Finally we were able to get electricity”. With her excellent Spanish, which she learned in school in Haiti, Louna explains that praying constantly saved her husband. "I am part of the Body of Jesus Christ Church, a Christian church we brought from Haiti." Of course, her fluency of the local language does not come for free. "Because I speak and understand Spanish, if a neighbor has a problem with a family from Haiti, they come to me. I am the one they complain to” The conversation is interrupted because the gas vendor passes by and makes himself heard with his loudspeaker. The "A New Dawn" toma is a mini-city, with butcher shops, hairdressers, clothing and household goods, churches, restaurants and even discotheques. Of course, gas can be bought, but electricity and water cannot. "Water is the same as electricity, under the toma there is a pasture with a water supply matrix. Those of us who arrived first at the toma were connected to that matrix. The connection was made by a Chilean who lived right there, everyone paid him and he connected you. Those who arrived later got water from a nearby park," says Louna. How is the sewerage issue resolved? "Each family has a pit. We pay for someone to come in from the outside and clean it”. Louna, her husband, brother and sister, came to Chile looking for a better life. One with future prospects. "When we arrived in Santiago, the best thing we had in comparison to Haiti was that we had work. The worst thing was that here we lived in one room and in Haiti, we had a nice big house. Besides, we had to put up with the way some Chileans looked at us and the things they said. They shouted at us about everything. After a while living in Lo Espejo, they already knew us and started to treat us a little better. However, now, in the toma , the Chileans are disrespectful to us. Those inside and outside the toma . They call us dirty, everything. In social networks they also say very ugly things about me. They are always waging war against me”. Life is not easy for Louna. However, that does not prevent her from always having a kind and cheerful look on her face. "I thought I was going to get to Chile and be able to study right away. I wanted to study nursing. However, it wasn't easy. Our education is not recognized in Chile. We had to start working”.
La conversación se interrumpe porque pasa el vendedor de gas y se hace sentir con su parlante. La toma “Un nuevo amanecer” es una miniciudad, con carnicerías, peluquerías, tiendas de ropa y de artículos para el hogar, iglesias, restaurantes y hasta discotecas. Claro, el gas se puede comprar, pero la luz y el agua, no. “Con el agua es igual que la luz, abajo de la toma hay un potrero y con una matriz de agua. Los que llegamos primero a la toma nos conectamos a esa matriz. La conexión la hacía un chileno que vivía ahí mismo, cada uno le pagó y él te daba una conexión. Los que llegaron después sacan agua de un parque que está cerca”, cuenta Louna. ¿Y cómo se resuelve el tema del alcantarillado? “Cada familia tiene un pozo. Pagamos para que venga alguien de afuera y haga la limpieza”. Louna, su marido, su hermano y su hermana, vinieron a Chile buscando un mejor futuro. Uno con proyección. “Cuando llegamos a Santiago, lo mejor en comparación con Haití era que teníamos trabajo. Lo peor era que aquí vivíamos en una pieza y en Haití teníamos una casa grande y linda. Además, teníamos que aguantar la manera en que nos miraban algunos chilenos y las cosas que nos decían. Nos gritaban de todo. Después de un tiempo largo viviendo en Lo Espejo, ya nos conocían y mejoró un poco el trato. Pero ahora, en la toma, los chilenos nos faltan el respeto. Los de adentro (de la toma) y los de afuera. Nos tratan de sucios, de todo. En redes sociales también me dicen cosas muy feas. Siempre me están haciendo guerra”. No es fácil la vida para Louna. Pero eso no impide que siempre haya un gesto amable y alegre en su rostro. “Yo
↥ Mapa de la toma "Un nuevo amanecer".
Map of the "A New Dawn" housing project.
↗ Esta toma cuenta con servicios como
peluquerías, restoranes, carnicería y discotecas, entre otros. This housing development has services such as hairdressers, restaurants, butcher shops and discotheques, among others.
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Reportaje / Feature Article
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