Nancy was 11 when the democratically elected government of Chile was overthrown in a military coup, and even at such a young age she and those in the poor neighbourhood she lived in Santiago felt the negative impact of the change. The regime of General Pinochet was one marked by human rights abuses and heavy political repression leading thousands of Chileans to flee to other countries.Chileans first came to Tasmania in significant numbers in the late 1980s, and Nancy and her family were among them, essentially political refugees fleeing one of South America's most notoriously brutal dictatorships. Although many younger Chileans have left since the 80s for the bigger cities of mainland Australia, the Chilean community is still the largest Latin American community in Tasmania. But for Nancy it had never been in the original plan to put down roots here, the plan had been to return to Chile when it was safe again to do so. After ten years she returned to Chile but things were not as expected and when she returned to Tasmania it was with a different mindset and now she feels truly at home in Tasmania.
