September 11th

Nearly everyone in the whole world understands immediately what is meant by the phrase ‘September 11th’. Events that began in the morning of that day were to shake the world. ‘A building – a symbol of the nation – collapsed in flames in an act of terror …’ People died in numbers that were initially unknown, in acts of violence that cost some 3,000 civilians their lives on that day and subsequently. Not only the events, but also their source became important, and quickly the actions of those outside the state became a focal point for understanding the day's events. The very democracy of the state itself, and its institutions, were put at risk. And in the shock of it all, the way in which the world was described changed.

The year was 1973; the country Chile. On 9/11 of that year, President Allende's democratically elected government was overthrown by military forces led by General Pinochet, with American political and organisational (though not military) support. La Moneda Palace, the official residence of the President, was attacked from the air by the Chilean air force. On that day and later thousands were killed, or ‘disappeared’, probably around 3,000, a number equivalent to those who lost their lives in the American 9/11. The democratically elected government was overthrown, and the President committed suicide or was murdered; this is a contentious point.