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In Death, Pinochet Continues To Divide
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"If it weren't for him, we wouldn't have the country we have today," said Eugenia Garrido, 51, of Santiago, who waved a photo of Pinochet as she waited to view his body. "Thanks to Pinochet, we're able to live well."
"Viva Chile!" yelled several women standing next to her in line. "Gracias a Pinochet!"
Also on the streets Monday was German Berger-Hertz, whose father, Carlos Berger, was a political prisoner when he was murdered by Pinochet's government in October 1973. When he first heard the news of Pinochet's death, he said, he was saddened by the realization that Pinochet would never face trial on the charges brought against him in recent years by Berger-Hertz and other family members of victims. But as he rode through the streets on his bicycle with his daughter Monday morning, his outlook brightened. He waved a flag and sang a much different lyric than that sung by those at Pinochet's Mass.
"Death of a tyrant," he sang, "death of an assassin."
He said he was convinced that those were the turns of phrase that would accompany Pinochet throughout history.
"The death of Pinochet, in one sense, symbolizes the death of a very dark period in this country," said Berger-Hertz, 34, a film director. "That, without doubt, gives me a lot of happiness, a lot of joy."
Special correspondent Jonathan Franklin contributed to this report.
