Chilian man urges Irish aid

A CHILIAN national, who spent 10 years in Shannon as a refugee, has expressed his relief after his parents escaped uninjured following one of the worst earthwakes in Chile in 60 years.

Eduardo Aravena (52) was concerned about the welfare of his parents Eduardo and Ruth last weekend after the massive earthwake hit his native Chile, until his sister informed him they had not been involved by the quake.
His parents and brother reside in Leneres about 400km south of Santiago.
Mr Aravena came to Dublin in May 1974 after the government of President Salvador Allende was overthrown by the Chilean military in a coup d’état on September 11, 1973.
General Pinochet assumed power and ended Allende’s democratically elected Popular Unity government with the establishment of a military dictatorship marked by severe human rights violations that ruled Chile until 1990.
In August 1974, Mr Arvavena came to Cronan Park, Shannon with his parents, three brothers and two sisters, who were among 10 families who were accommodated as refugees.
Ten years later, he went to live in Dublin before moving to London in the 80s where he worked as a fitter.
He later emigrated to Nicaragua where he met his wife, Carmel, got married in 1996 and went on to work for an international aid agency for 14 years.
The father-of-two went back to Chile with his young family but found it difficult to settle down and came back to Dublin in July 2006.
He moved to Drogheda, where he got a welding job and has now settled there with his family.
“Infrastructure in Chile has been extensively damaged following one of the biggest earthwakes in decades. People in Chile are used to earthquakes but this was a very big one.
“I would appeal to the Irish Government to give whatever humanitarian and financial assistance it can afford, to help tackle the devastation in Chile,” he said.
Local historian Peadar McNamara recalled that most of the Chilian families who came to Shannon left down through the years. Some returned to Chile while others were scattered throughout Ireland.
“The Chilians were the second group of refugees to come to Ireland since it gained independence, after the Hungarian refugees who were accommodated in Meelick in 1956.
“I was among a group of socialists and others who assisted the Chilian refugees in any way we could,” he said.
The Cassidy family in Shannon and Senator Michael Enright of the Worker’s Party were active in helping the refugees settle in Ireland’s newest town.
Denis McCarthy and Gerry Hartigan in Shannon and Colin and Siobhán McTiernan of Ennis were also very helpful.