In the Azapa Valley (Chile), an oasis in the driest desert in the world, a group of descendants of enslaved men and women brought from Africa are organizing the first African census in the history of Chile. Their aim is to get official recognition from the State that has concealed their culture and African identity for more than 200 years.
As I watched this documentary, it was both shocking yet unsurprising that many countries still blatantly refuse to acknowledge their African origin, sadly Chile is no different. With many generations of Chileans fighting for the right to have their African ancestry legally acknowledged in the census, the government refuses to include it claiming that doing so will be discriminating to other ethnic groups who are not mentioned such as the Arabs, Jews, and Gypsies. Interestingly enough, Chile does clearly recognize that Africans were a part of The TransAtlantic Africa Slave Trade, which was one of the greatest crimes against humanity. The African people were stolen, transported and sold against their will, violating their human rights and should not be compared to any other ethnic group and deserve reparation.
The Afro-Chilean erasure began with the European settlers who came and stripped the natives of their culture. Settlers would steal black men from their homes and implant whites to colonize, meanwhile forcing them to work for free. Over the years you see the effects of the black diluting as Chileans become more and more white, most not even knowing their origins. Out of 15 million people in Chile, the majority has no idea they come from African ancestry and are brainwashed not to mix with the darker people in order to be accepted. Slavery and racism weren’t discussed by the elders because of shame but some children would witness their parents singing about their pain.
Chile has never been accountable for denying black ancestry nor have they ever told the truth about the suffering of the people, instead, they praise white Chileans, taking the attention away from those who were originally there. Many natives feel that if the government continues to ignore that there were in fact Africans in Chile, they are proving racism. Many continue to fight for acknowledgment in the census to preserve their history and give people a sense of identity.
I feel so lucky to have come across such an important piece of history and I will definitely keep sharing in hopes that others will too learn their past, educate their youth and preserve it. This is Richard Salgado’s directional debut and a job well done.
“Valley of the Black Descendants” recently premiered at the 2019 African Diaspora International Film Festival
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