Finns in Chile cope in aftermath of earthquake
More than 200 Finns have moved to Chile for work or love
By Anssi Miettinen in Tomeco/Concepción
About a dozen burly men guard the road leading to the village of Tomeco. They are armed with sticks, pickaxes, and various sharp implements. One of them carries a revolver on his belt.
The village is in the countryside, 45-minutes from Concepción, Chile’s second-largest city.
The unrest sparked by the earthquake a week earlier can be seen here as well. Men of the village are guarding the food supply of beans and potatoes against hungry looters.
A blonde woman jogs up to the roadblock. The men recognise Mia Aaltonen, the pleasant foreign gringa.
The 35-year-old Aaltonen drives her flatbed lorry up a narrow road to the mountain, where a rolling landscape opens up. There is even a volcano in the distance. A large litter of chihuahuas comes out.
“We are not in any trouble here. We have a good supply of food. First we had to empty our freezer. We also had to give food away.”
The electricity supply has been cut off to Troll Hill. On the side of the mountain a very Finnish-looking cabin can be found, including an outhouse. A Finnish flag waves on the flagpole in the warm wind of the late summer.
We also learn the reason why Aaltonen moved to the other side of the world four years ago. Aalthonen met her husband Fernando “Nano” Huenteo while studying in the United States. This was followed by a long-distance relationship, far too much travel, and finally, a choice.
“I never liked living in the United States. Here we have it much easier economically. My husband owns apartments in Chile, from which we get rental income. We came here for a peaceful life.
Aalto sees many similarities between the peaceful Chileans and the Finns.
“They are not as volatile as the other Latinos, but they are also not as dour as the Finns. The Chileans are warm, but they are not very talkative. My husband is really quiet - an ordinary Finnish man.”
Aaltonen is a teacher by training. She also makes puppets, and in Chile she concentrates on handicrafts.
As a very dextrous person, Aaltonen designed the cabin herself, next to which a new, and bigger wooden house is being built. Aaltonen is not quite satisfied with the quality of the wood, but the Chileans do know how to build.
Nevertheless, the two are still sleeping in a tent, and because of the danger of aftershocks, they will go indoors only when necessary. The dogs have their own pleasant miniature tent.
“Dogs can sense an oncoming earthquake before people can, but they do not bark.”
The earthquake, which measured 8.8 on the Richter scale, was very strong.
“The awful rumble. When the wooden house shook, it squeaked, and rattled. Everything fell to the floor. The shaking was so strong that I began to feel sick. I don’t remember sensing fear, but Nano said that I screamed”, Aaltonen says in her native Turku dialect, which has picked up a slight additional flavour from living abroad.
Aaltonen has not experienced a serious earthquake before, but her husband immediately knew how serious the catastrophe was. “He said when we got outside, that half of Chile would crash down.”
Aaltonen serves soft drinks in Finnish Mumintroll mugs. She is happy that her beloved cups survived the quake.
“I saved one of the cups that was teetering on the edge of the table.
About 200 to 250 Finns live in Chile. Few of them have settled permanently in the country.
“It seems that Finns come here only for a moment, and they constantly have their other foot in Finland”, Aaltonen says. She would like to find a Finnish friend in the country.
Aaltonen has not been in Finland for four years, although she misses her country. She longs for her relatives, naturally, but also the archipelago. With more than ten dogs, travel is difficult.
“We’ll stay here unless we get another earthquake and lose everything”, she says.
A typical Finn living in Chile will come here for work, often on temporary assignments. There is much forest industry in Chile, with machinery that needs Finnish know-how.
Jouko Pussinen, 44, has lived in Concepción for about five years. Pussinen, a native of Hamina, works for Metso. His mission involves launching a pulp mill.
This means a good deal of travel. Now he is working primarily in Brazil, but his home remains in Chile - in spite of the earthquake.
“I really like Chile. The people are friendly, but they don’t chatter all the time. The climate is also very close to that of Finland.”
Pussinen’s wife Claudia Zuniga is Chilean. She used to work at Metso as an interpreter.
By South American standards, Chile is a well-developed country. Even the water is potable. However, now there is a shortage of water, as the earthquake ruptured water pipes. Pussinen lives in a fenced-off area and there is a well inside the community where water is available for washing.
Transportation has been encumbered by the curfew imposed as a measure against looting and unrest. It begins at six in the evening and ends at noon.
Nearly 20 acquaintances and relatives of Pussinen’s wife have round temporary sanctuary at their home.
“The telephones were cut off for a long time, and it caused some difficulties. My mother learned on Sunday afternoon that everything was all right. But now things are getting back to normal.”
Pussinen expects that Chilean efficiency will have Concepción back in shape soon.
“But the tsunami caused serious problems in coastal cities. It will certainly take three years to fix it.”
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 7.3.2010
Previously in HS International Edition:
Earthquake: Foreign Ministry has no news of injuries among Finns in Chile (1,3,2010)
ANSSI MIETTINEN / Helsingin Sanomat
anssi.miettinen@hs.fi
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| 9.3.2010 - THIS WEEK |
Finns in Chile cope in aftermath of earthquake
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