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Our goal on the Alto
BioBío was to interview some of the families that still remain.
Unfortunately we had little success in that area. One of the fascinating
things about this struggle is that the resistance has been led almost exclusively
by women. Ralco, the second dam site, has proceeded in spite of numerous
required social and environmental impact studies that have suggested that
the project be abandoned. Ralco will displace more than one-hundred Pehuenche
families, as well as inundate an ancient burial ground. Mito, who along
with Sara helped us in the search for interview subjects suggested we spend
the first night on his mother's land. His mother, Irma Jara, is the last
remaining Pehuenche that remains on the shores of what is now called Laguna
Pangue. It is actually more of a stagnant green reservoir choked with algae
than a lake. Local fisherman say that fishing here is futile. For a people
whose lives were so closely attached to the running waters of the river
the place is a source of great heartbreak. Although Irma welcomed us in
her home, she declined to be interviewed. She rarely smiles, yet she is
a warm and lovely person. She suffers from constant depression. The doctors
tell her it is nerves brought on by the noise of the constant flow of heavy
trucks that carry mountains of material to and from the dam site. Sara
believes it is a disease of the soul. Whatever the cause, her sadness
is palpable. It is overwhelming. She posed for this family photo with her
son Mito, and daughters Jenny and Hilda.
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