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In October, all eyes were on Chile as crews pulled miners to safety after months of being trapped 2,000 feet underground by a mine collapse.

Catherine, a second-year JV who teaches at Colegio San Luis Beltran in Santiago, Chile, was in the country during this accident and rescue efforts. She offers this reflection about her experiences with the Chilean people.

The World Watched Chile

This has been the year for Chile. Starting with the January presidential elections, then moving onto the earthquake, the tsunami, the coldest winter in 98 years, the bicentennial, the hunger strikers, and finally the miners, it is not without merit to say that this was quite the year for JVC to start working in Santiago.

As a JV serving in Chile, I had a very unique opportunity to be with and live right alongside the Chileans as the story of the miners broke.

From the beginning, there was doubt. In all honesty, this type of tragedy occurs with some frequency in a country as dependent on mining as is Chile. Although no one wanted to voice their skepticism, many Chileans did not think that Los 33 would be found alive. The reaction of my coworkers and friends was deep sadness, but also a certain level of acceptance.

An even more common response was prayer for the families. Chile is a very devout country and I was astonished by the support and prayers for the family. We prayed for the unimaginable agony that they had to have been suffering, we prayed that they might find peace in all of the darkness they were living, and we prayed that they as families would be able to accept and overcome whatever outcome resulted.

Then the miners were found alive.

Chile went c-r-a-z-y. The entire nation was both shocked and elated. Celebrations in the city resembled those of World Cup qualifier parties. There were flags being waved everywhere, horns being honked, and dancers taking to the street. The joy, the awe, and the perspective that this event inspired in the Chileans was a beautiful thing to behold.

When the date of the rescue finally came, there was not a single soul outside. It felt as if the entire country was inside, watching the television right alongside the rest of the world.

The celebrations only continued. After such an eventful year, this was a triumph that united everyone.

The question has become what now? Chile knows it must answer the glaring social injustice questions that this event highlighted. It will not be easy, yet, just as it has gone forward with faith and prayer after every other challenge of 2010, so too will Chile now overcome and inspire.

Captions:

Two profesors sing at Colegio San Luis Beltran in Santiago, Chile in celebration of the miners being found.

Miner Mario Sepulveda celebrates with the rescue crew. Photo by Hugo Infante/Government of Chile.