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CHILE POST EARTHQUAKE: DESPERATELY SEEKING THE TRUTH
The whole world has been watching terrible pictures of the huge disaster that affected Chile. Millions of people worldwide have been desperately seeking information about their beloved ones, relatives, friends, colleagues etc. But also traders, importers, retailers, press, … and above all lovers of the fantastic country called Chili, friends of this great, warm, kind and very hospitable Chilean folk. All desperately seeking information, true information.
When I started to communicate about the situation in the badly affected wine regions, I only had one goal: writing for who was REALLY concerned, about what happened in the Chilean wine regions. I asked my friends, colleagues, winemakers, press-officers etc. to contact me and tell me what was going on. Because of the atrocity of this huge natural disaster, I decided to publish some testimonies on my blog. I got many warm reactions about that, and many people, directly concerned sent me even more information. All of them were honestly concerned, and only try to inform me, as a friend, a colleague or a client. They knew I was really concerned and affected too, as ‘Chileno de corazón’.
Unfortunately, after a few days of publishing, the tone of voice changed in Chile. Some people realized that negative information could be a danger for the Chilean wine industry. Especially in the States, the published statements and testimonies in USA papers and blogs, but also in UK and in many countries, all export markets for Chilean wines, the flow of information went on and on… It seems that some people within the Chilean wine industry started slightly to panic. Giving a picture of Chile like a weak country, with high risks of natural disasters, could be damaging their position in the world wine market even much more than the earthquake itself. People out there, in the States, in UK, in Europe, Asia etc. could may be already call the Aussies, the Kiwis and the Springboks to replace Chilean wines in their shops. The flow of negative information had to stop… As I wrote earlier, political and economical ‘corrected’ press releases tried to give a better picture of the situation. May be important for the stock exchange quotations of some big companies, but not really fair for all those who actually do care, and sustained for quite a while already the Chilean wine industry.
While everyday new mentions of big damages and estimations of wine loss are reaching the world press, while thousands of videos and pictures are showing us how bad the situation is, we from the press should believe the optimistic ‘official’ releases… We all know that even if the damages can be repaired quickly (at least, if the road infrastructure allows that and enough people can work on it, and electricity is working again…) it will take a long time before everything is back to normal. We do know that there are and will be new after-shocks that could destroy again many buildings and make the situation unsafe again. We do follow the news on CNN Chile , we saw pictures of the last after-shocks in the Centro-Sur (Bio Bio) zone… 6,8 on Richter scale. We do have online connections with nearly all the Chilean newspapers, national and regional (if there are working online again)… We saw the pictures like those from Curicó center, where I was in October 2009 as a member of the CMB wine jury, and from the whole country… We know how bad the main roads are, and this might get even worse with the after-shocks… I was also in Marchigue, Lolol and the beautiful, old city of Santa Cruz in October 2009, and I know that the situation is much worse than some ‘public declaration’ would let us believe. How can I believe that, while Carlos Cardoen Cornejo Ph. D, well known as president of the Museo de Colchagua – Fundación Cardoen, is begging for a declaration of Colchagua as official disaster zone?
Am I, and all the others who honestly write about what is happening in the wine regions, irresponsible and idiot? I sincerely do not think so.
I really understand that people are feeling nervous, within the Chilean wine industry. As written in USA Today, Chile is the 9th wine producing region in the world (OIV source), with huge exportations to Europe and the United States. I understand the apprehension of some big wine groups about their image and the possible consequences of that on the stock exchange rates. But I also do see, feel and deeply deplore that the worst damages will not affect the biggest companies, but much more likely, the smallest, the many boutique wineries aiming for quality, terroir and genuineness. I know I am not the only one to see and feel that. Read the words of Patricio Middleton (Montgras): “Este será el fin para muchos productores” (this will be the end for many wine producers), pointing that the financial pressure on those wine producers (some without any insurance against earthquake damages) is already increasing.
I certainly do believe that the Chilean wine industry will get even stronger out of this disaster. I surely believe that the majority of the companies importing Chilean wine world wide will not let Chile down and switch for Australian or South-African wines. Who does, was anyway a bad client. The good clients, the real friends of Chile, will go on selling Chilean wines.
I would like to end with the great demonstration of real Chilean spirit that was given by Patricio Middleton and his crew at Montgras: “La mejor manera para que las personas superen el dolor es volver a pararase sobre sus pies y trabajar duro” (the best way of surmounting the pain is to get back on his feet again and work hard). At Montgras, they organized a big ‘barbacoa’ (asado) with all the workers, to celebrate the end of the earthquake. This is the Chile I love, the Chile that fights back and will find the way to come back even stronger than ever before.
Chilean dance at Puertas – October 2009 – © Christian Callec
¡FUERZA CHILE!
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