Retornando a Chaitén: diagnóstico participativo de una comunidad educativa desplazada por un desastre socionatural

Abstract

Chile is a country characterized by socionatural disasters that regularly affect its territory, including earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, forest fires and volcanic eruptions. In 2008 the eruption of the Chaitén volcano forced the evacuation of more than 1,500 families, who undertook a long process of forced displacement, and in many cases a subsequent return. This complex process also included institutions such as schools and their educational communities. This article describes a participatory diagnosis made in the context of a process of intervention/research by an intervention team from the University of Chile, with members of the Juan José Latorre educational community, first school to open in Chaitén after the return in 2010. The results of this participatory diagnosis gave us an overview of the process experienced by this community that allows us to present the educational context before the eruption, during the displacement and subsequent return. Making visible the importance of the school as a focus of attraction for the return of many families. We discuss the methodological approach strategies used and the issues arising from this research process, emphasizing the importance of investigating the effects on mental health resulting from these events in the educational community, and their impact on interpersonal relationships, as well as the new educational demands that arise in this context of the return. Finally, we analyze the pertinence of this methodology of intervention/research in the psychosocial reconstruction processes after socionatural disasters.