In September 1973 a CIA-assisted coup overthrew the democratically-elected president of Chile, ushering in the Pinochet dictatorship. In 1975, Kathleen Osberger, a recent graduate and lay volunteer from Notre Dame, left for Santiago to teach in a Catholic grade school. Upon arrival, she was told a secret: the religious women she would live with sheltered dissidents in the cross-hairs of Pinochet’s secret police. Given the ever-tightening vise over the citizenry, brave and prophetic people reached out to protect the dissidents’ lives in a world without due process and where detention, torture, disappearance, and death reigned. Soon, Osberger is handed a blindfold, a warrant, and must go on the run.
I Surrender depicts the solidarity of the Chilean people and the transformational role of nuns and priests dedicated to serving the poor, while highlighting the changing and challenged Catholic Church.
Table of Contents:
Contents
Preface xi
Interviews xiii
Part I. Journey: 1953–1975
1. Descent 1
2. Invisible Passports 13
3. San Miguelito, Panama 17
Part II. Immersion in Santiago
4. San Juan de Dios School in Buzeta 20
5. Los Desaparecidos—“Where Are They?” 26
6. In the Población and Los Chicago Boys 30
7. Weekends 36
8. Full House on Orellana 41
Part III. A New Consciousness and a Coup: 1968–1973
9. A New Consciousness 45
10. Touching the Soul 50
11. The Allende Years until the Coup 55
Part IV. It Happened So Fast
12. A Visitor Arrives 62
13. Dinner with Isabel 64
14. Twilight 67
Part V. The Church Bears Witness: October 15–31, 1975
15. Malloco 69
16. I Was Sick and You Looked After Me 83
17. In the Trunk of the Peugeot 90
Part VI. The Day of the Dead: November 1–2, 1975
18. El Día de Todos los Santos 93
19. El Día de los Muertos 113
20. No Place to Hide before the Nation 134
Part VII. Solidarity: November 3–8, 1975
21. Another Fiat and Solidarity 141
22. Reading between the Lies: November 5 153
23. Sheila’s Night of Torture: November 1–2 157
24. Bando 89: November 6 159
25. Inside the Nunciatura: November 7 162
26. Pudahuel: November 7 163
27. Pascal Allende, Phil Devlin, and Diplomats: November 8 167
28. No Need to Say Anything: November 2–8 172
Part VIII. Take Cover: November 9–19, 1975
29. Isabel 180
30. Conflict in the Pews: November 9–10 184
31. Testing the Waters: November 10–16 186
32. A Photo of Sheila: November 12 188
33. Quintero: November 14–16 191
34. A Bait and Switch: November 15–17 195
35. The United Nations Condemns Chile: November 12 198
36. Cardinal Silva in Rome: November 16–28 200
37. Rattled: November 17 201
38. Elfriede and Edelweiss: November 18 202
Part IX. Inside the Consulate: November 18–December 5, 1975
39. Charles Stout: November 18 205
40. Inside the Consulate: November 19 210
41. Daniel Panchot—In the Vortex: November 14–18 213
42. El Pizarrón—The Blackboard: November 20–21 215
43. Comité Pro Paz Dissolved: November 20–22 218
44. The Memo Tells All: November 21 220
45. Consulate Woes 222
46. Exile: November 24–26 225
47. The American Commander: November 25 229
48. Thanksgiving: November 27–30 235
49. A Letter to the Editor: December 2 240
50. Neither Yes nor No: November 7–December 2 242
51. Balcony Doors: November 28–December 5 243
Epilogue 245
Notes 258
Bibliography 270
