Sometimes, meetings go in a direction you cannot anticipate in advance. When we originally scheduled our meeting with Sergio Laurenti of Amnesty International, we expected a discussion of the organization's current human rights work in Chile. What we got instead was a historical lesson - and a good one, at that - which helped to fill in some gaps for us.

Instead of a formal narrative, we'll isolate several interesting nuggets from the conversation here:

Chileans and the Law: Sergio stated that Chileans are law-abiding; they are strict and serious about respecting the law, which is not the case in other parts of Latin America.

Geographical Impact: Chile has traditionally been focused internally and somewhat isolated from the outside world. Sergio attributes this to geography more than anything else. The country has a minimal rail system, planes are expensive; movement in general is difficult. In addition, he suggests that the country's unique geography aided the military during the dictatorship by making it almost impossible for dissidents and critics to flee. With the Andes in the east, desert in the north, and ocean in the west (patrolled by Chile's powerful navy), there are no easy options.

Human Rights and Pinochet: Sergio echoed Rosa's opinion that too many Chileans equate human rights abuses with Pinochet and neglect all of the other ways that people are abused in Chile today. There also exists a perception that rights are considered a gift from authority, not an obligation.

Major Problems in Chile Today: Sergio first pointed the finger at Chile's binominal system. Unique to Chile, it rewards the major political coalitions, almost guaranteeing that they will always split the seats available in each district. While it prevents one party from achieving political dominance, it largely ensures semi-dominance for two coalitions and all but prevents any major changes from ever taking place. Sergio also noted that the Constitutional Court in Chile has power over the Supreme Court, and that any citizen involved in action against the military or police is placed in the military justice system.

He noted that Chile has now spent 35 years without truth, justice, or reparations. Families need to have their names made clean, bodies need to be found, human rights education needs to be standardized. And, the problem of impunity must be addressed - 600 cases of accused military officers remain open and they will likely die without prosecution.

Amnesty International continues to be a force for human rights in Chile. He ended the meeting by reminding us of the group's slogan: Be informed. Get angry. Act.