– Over a hundred people under the NGO organizations Lumbanga, cultural organization Lumbanga, comparsa Black Gold, group of women Luanda, Daughters of Azapa, May crosses, Religious brotherhoods, Rastafari Chile Movement, to name a few, They were present dancing and singing, demanding its recognition and inclusion.
Within the framework of the different initiatives that have been raised and that are projected to be carried out on the occasion of the declaration of the Afro -descendant International Decade in Chile, “Afro -exchanges” organizations carried out a parade in the center of Santiago demanding their inclusion as a census measurement variable 2017, as well as public policies aimed that the Chilean State recognizes them as ethnicities.
The president of the NGO Ariqueña Black, Marta Salgado, talked with Reggae Chalice On the objective of these initiatives and said that the recognition of Afro -descendence in Chile is important “because we have 450 years of history, culture and traditions, almost like the original peoples only that another was the origin, What was slave trafficking. For us, recognition is important because we have to claim that historical memory that has been denied in Chile.
The leader explained that the organization in turn is working together with various ministries, Like Social Development, National Assets and Health, institución de salud con la que están impulsando algunos programas que relacionados a la atención específica de la población afrodescendiente.
While, para binghi g, Representative of the Rastafari Nyahbinghi Chile, The importance of this recognition is because “there are always cultural benefits, There are social benefits that, since the Chilean Afro Community is not recognized as such, Many things are lost as in the cultural field, in the field of tradition then, definitely, For the claim of the human rights of Afro -descendants, It is very important that the INE recognizes and accepts the presence of Afrohats in this territory ”.
They are close to 500 Africans living in the country. Prince Isemwami, native of Congo and president of the Ubuntu Africa Chile Foundation, también ha participado activamente en estas actividades y estuvo presente también en el pasacalles realizado el pasado viernes.
On the occasion, el congoleño manifestó alegría por las iniciativas impulsadas por los también llamados “afrochilenos” y expresó que “tenemos ya esposas, sons, Our children know how Afrohats, Because we have an origin that is Africa and it is important to be recognized as an original people. It seems super good that they have that value to fight for their rights, for its origin ".
It should be noted that the "International decade of Afro -descendants", It is an action plan proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly from the year 2015 and until the 2024 what are you looking for, among other things, Promote respect, the protection and realization of all human rights and fundamental freedoms of Afro -descendants. They are around 200 millions of people who identify themselves as descendants of Africans and living in the Americas. Many millions more live in other parts of the world, Out of the African continent.
Initiatives in Parliament
Hand in hand with public demonstrations in different parts of the country, Organizations have also been working on the legislative level, donde por estos días se ha avanzado en dos iniciativas particularmente en la Cámara de Diputados:
The first, It was the unanimous approval of a resolution project that asks the National Director of the National Statistics Institute (OTHER), Ximena Clark, that incorporates the Afro -descendant variable in the next census that will be carried out in the country and that will have its first phase (pre -census) in the coming weeks.
The second, The presentation of a bill that grants the legal recognition of the Chilean Afro -descendant, your cultural identity, language, historical tradition, culture, institutions and worldview. It also suggests that traditions such as medicine, the rituals, garments, to name a few, are valued, respected and promoted by the State, being recognized as the country's intangible heritage.
The project creates a programmatic unit so that teachers have adequate knowledge of history, language and culture of people of African descent, promoting this culture in educational establishments from the preschool level to the University. The initiative also stipulates the inclusion in population censuses, The Afro -descendant category within that tribal group, as established by the agreement 169 of the International Labor Organization.
