Margaret H. Townley

Broschiertes Buch

The Dogs Are Curling up Again

Beschreibung

Political exile Isabel returns to her native Chile when the country is in transition to democracy, following the cruel dictatorship that killed her father and her boyfriend. She is searching for the old Chile she once knew and for her own identity after years in Britain as a refugee, an outsider. Finding Chile deeply divided and democracy impossible with the legacy of the dictator, she embarks on the political activity she sees as vital. Her activism and film-making ambitions carry her across this diverse country of extremes. She visits the native peoples' homeland with its lush forests and learns of their struggles. With her new Chilean lover, she sees the world's driest desert in flower and the oldest mummies in the world. Isabel learns much else about her country and herself, whilst risking arrest for her political militancy. Her English partner takes up voluntary work in Chile hoping to find her, fearing for her safety but uncertain if she has left him. His search becomes an enlightening exploration of the culture and politics of Chile in tumultuous times. Isabel is still finding herself and trying to decide her future between two realities.

Autor

Margaret graduated from Edinburgh University in Politics, after which she commenced a social work career, first in Scotland and later in Nottingham, England. Voluntary work led her to assist in the rehousing of Chilean Refugees with Shelter, a Housing charity. Through Amnesty International she met a number of Chilean refugees and came to know the music of the New Chilean Song Movement. These singers and groups were banned in Chile but in exile were keeping alive their music throughout Europe and the western world, in protest against the dictatorship in Chile. As a mature student, Margaret studied part-time for a Degree in Hispanic and Latin American Studies, whilst continuing to work as a social worker, managing a preventative project, which she had had the opportunity to create through Action for Children. She has two sons and now has four grandchildren. Two are at primary school and two are teenagers who are becoming very aware of the world and our responsibilities towards one another and our planet.

Margaret had the chance of unpaid leave to do voluntary work in the developing world and went to live in Chile in the late 1990s. She saw the raw effects left by the military regime and its legacy of political turbulence. She has a passionate interest in politics and she believes every decision a politician makes is an ethical choice, either towards a greater good or adding to the injustice in the world, for which they must be held accountable by each of us citizens. In addition to voluntary work in two poor neighbourhoods in Chile, Margaret attended literature and social work courses at the Catholic University of Valparaíso. On her return to the UK, she moved into social work training before retiring and living in Bath.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Balboa Press UK
• Seitenzahl: 430
• Erscheinungstermin: 3. Oktober 2022
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 216mm x 140mm x 25mm
• Gewicht: 603g
• ISBN-13: 9781982286385
• ISBN-10: 1982286385
• Artikelnr.: 66126638