Rural Chile still functioning

While it is important to recognize the challenges that face Concepción after the earthquake that hit Chile, it is also important to not overlook the rural areas that were destroyed by the quake and the subsequent tsunamis. Even before this natural disaster, rural villages such as Tubul and Tirúa have been neglected by the Chilean government, receiving little in governmental aid. Now, the residents of these struggling areas must pull together to solve their problems such as the lack of food, drinking water, and fuel, because it is not likely that these isolated areas will be receiving outside help any time soon.

There are two different sociological paradigms to examine the dire situation in rural Chile. While it would be easy to discuss from the control-conflict perspective the struggle between urban and rural communities over sparse resources, the more interesting approach would be to use the structural functionalist paradigm to examine how these communities are making life work.

As mentioned, in these rural areas, the residents are pulling together to help each other. They are clearing the rubble from the streets together, building shelters together, and catching food to share with their neighbors. While they are essentially abandoned by the government, they are still functioning by working together. With everyone playing their part as a cog making the machine operate, they can continue to live and function.

Read the New York Times article about Tubul at http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/03/world/americas/03scene.html?hpw.