This book presents the witness testimony of the author who de-scribes the tragic events in Chile in the 1970s while living under state terrorism, along with a description of how those events affected his family as well as a whole generation of his countrymen and women.On another level, it tells the story of an ordinary Chilean family, supporters of the constitutional government that lasted two years and 10 months before being overthrown with "blood and fire." In general, this story represents a significant part of the Chilean population that suffered political repression at that time. The pages of this story describe the invasion and siege of the uni-versity and the abduction of its academic and non-academic personnel, and students of the Universidad Técnica del Estado. It also retells the political repression of a multitude of Chilean workers - including some foreign residents - at the Estadio Chile and the Estadio Nacional.The author analyzes the meaning of physical and psychological torture and its goal. These pages show who provoked the violence, its origin, and the important actors. They also supply the background of the violent environment of torture, the responsible parties, and the na-ture and types of that violence. The book describes the period of time the author experienced in Chacabuco Concentration Camp in the Ata-cama Desert, with the objective of preserving this collective memory. He recounts his life during the 341 days of captivity as a political pris-oner and he explains the origin of the profound trauma experienced by victims and their families, a trauma perpetrated by agents of the Chil-ean state and their accomplices, an experience that will, unfortunately, last for generations. The author also reflects, of course, on the dilemma of exile as a way to protect himself and his family. He also makes clear that the de-lay in telling this story is entirely explained as another tragic and traumatizing effect of the civil-military dictatorship.
