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Hey friends,
We’d appreciate prayers for a situation that is developing in Santiago.
A little over a week ago, the subway fare increased by 110 Chilean pesos ($.15 USD). For many people (not students - they pay $230 Chilean pesos), this increase could be a hardship, when the average monthly wage is about $500.00 USD. To help put this into perspective, David's language school teacher offered this example: $100 pesos is equivalent to a small loaf of bread and over five days traveling to and from work, the increase ($1,000 pesos) is a carton of milk.
For this reason, many high school students have organized themselves in mass protests inside the subway stations. The protests have been going on all week and have only intensified yesterday and today. News media are reporting this afternoon that three of seven lines of the subway system here are completely closed with many stations also closed due to violent protests or security concerns. On an average day, nearly 3 million people use the subway, so this is pretty significant.
The news also indicates that the protests will continue into next week. As you can imagine, there is a ripple effect if the subway is closed. The buses are all full and taxis are hard to come by (& expensive). We also hear of masses of young people just blocking roads near subway stations, causing traffic problems. The police, called carabineros, are doing what they can to identify the protesters causing damage, as well as keep things safe for the rest of us. They are using tear gas when necessary. (Danielle walked into some last night but quickly left that station.
Would you please pray for a positive and speedy resolution?
*We are all fine! We are following the US Embassy’s advice to use common sense, avoid areas of protest, follow the news and plan accordingly. The four of us do use the subway every day - David twice or more, and Danielle and the boys at least twice.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/18/chile-students-mass-fare-dodging-expands-into-city-wide-protest
https://www.cnnchile.com/pais/sindicato-de-trabajadores-de-metro-no-descarta-irse-a-paro-no-estan-dadas-las-condiciones-de-seguridad_20191018/
https://www.biobiochile.cl/noticias/nacional/region-metropolitana/2019/10/18/captan-momento-en-que-manifestantes-lanzan-pantalla-a-vias-de-la-estacion-la-moneda.shtml
We will send an update if anything new develops. Thanks for praying!
In Christ,
The Grottons
grottonsinchile@gmail.com
Skype # 860-748-4912
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