Open letter sent to the President of Chile:

“New York, 14th.February  2013

Mr. Sebastián Piñera, President of Chile:

We are individuals of different nationalities, cultures, and races. We are religious and nonreligious people, political and non-political. We are a good sample of the 99% of the population. We are ordinary people who are directly affected by the rapid, widespread changes that are taking place here in our city but also globally; changes that demand the best of everyone to invoke positive results and a better future.

There are times when people’s paths intersect, when their particular sensibilities are touched by a single event or course of events. These moments often crystallize for us images of what we want and what we reject for ourselves and for others. These moments also help to better define a shared vision of a desired future, the vision that unfailingly assists humanity’s constant process of evolution. We welcome these times!

Mr. President, we have come together to denounce in the most outspoken and severe terms the abuse directed at the Mapuche people in Chile. The Mapuche are our ancestors and the people to whom we owe many of our most notable traits–our courage, our dignity, our respect for the laws of nature, our faithfulness and our profundity. Mr. President, what is done to the Mapuche is done to all of us. We can experience it in our bodies and our souls. 

We are all too aware that humanity is outgrowing the outmoded model that is crumbling throughout the world, and obviously in Chile. The sensitivity of the common people is increasing but not those who continue to guide us down paths that are exhausted, dangerous, and destructive. With each new show of myopic stupidity we witness, our resolve becomes clearer. Hear us loud and clear: we want no violence, discrimination, greed, prejudice or hate inflicted on the Mapuche on our behalf, because it torments us, because it breaks our heart, and because it disgusts us!

Mr. Piñera, we understand that this issue did not arise yesterday nor did it begin with your government. This is an unresolved historical issue. But it is also a new day and your opportunity to apply your finest qualities to help overcome this painful situation, which wounds us all, and to create a future of brotherhood and respect with our ancestors. Please consider how such an act might serve as an example to other countries that are in comparable circumstances. Heed our words sir, but do not stop there! Strive to understand and embrace this new sensibility that seeks brotherhood and equality among all human beings, because with it you will have started to catch up with the times!

Sincerely,

Patricia Ríos (NY, NY)  “

Supporting more than 400 signatures: Deidre Finn (Queens, NY)-Debra Thimmesch (Harlem, NY) – Benjamin Cheek (NY, NY) – Mark Lesseraux (Brooklyn, NY)-Kurt Heyl , (Brooklyn, NY)-Fernando Pantoja (Winchester, Virginia) –Trudi Lee Richards Community of Silo’s Message  (Davis, California) –Kathy Beck (San Francisco, California)  – Jorge van Schowen (Toronto, Canada) – Micky Hirsch (Santiago, Chile)- Juan Guillermo Ossa ( Santiago de Chile) – Alejandro Valenzuela (Chile)–  Ivone Samano (Mexico D.F., Mexico) -Pablo Galdos (Peru)-Gina Peña-Campodonico (Ecuador) – Eliana Godoy (La Paz, Bolivia) – Gemma Suzara (Makati, Philippines) –  Fernando Montalban (Madrid, Spain) – Xavier Cambra T. (Barcelona, Spain) – Edith Rondon (Barcelona, Spain) –Xavier Batles C. (Barcelona, Spain) – Miguel A. Castellano (Madrid, Spain) –  Maria Marin A. (Madrid, Spain)  – Esteban Perez R. (Madrid – Spain)  – Julian Marquez A. (Madrid, Spain) – Roberto Borrero (Cuenca, Spain) – Ricardo Lopez S. (Cuenca, Spain) – Leda Ayax (Barcelona, Spain) – Santiago Elegido G-Q, (Madrid, Spain) –   – Carmen Serra M. (Valladolid, Spain)  Rafael de la Rubia (Toledo, Spain)– Marisol Gonzalez A. (Madrid, Spain) – Bernardo Samaniego G. (Sevilla, Spain) –Isabel G.L. (Malaga, Spain) –  Emiko Nagano (Tokyo, Japan) – David Andersson (Paris, France)   – Philippe Bariol (St. Etienne, France) – Tony Henderson, president of  Humanist Association in Hong Kong, ( Hong Kong,China )…etc