Commemorating Pinochet’s victims at St George’s Circus

One of the Ecomemoria trees in Lambeth Road

The planting of nine trees at the junction of St George's Circus and Lambeth Road was organised by Ecomemoria with the Human Rights International Project, Trees for Cities and Southwark Council.

The event is the latest part of a global campaign to commemorate each of the 4,197 victims of the former dictatorship in Chile by creating a ‘virtual' worldwide forest. It was launched in England in 2002 and has planted 84 trees as living monuments all over the world.

Two trees were planted in Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park last October as part of the virtual forest.

Miriam Bell of the Human Rights International Project explained: "The dictatorship murdered our friends but they couldn't murder their memories. By planting these trees we hope to keep a little of them alive, to provide a warning of what cannot be allowed to happen again, and to improve the local environment for visitors and residents." 

"We would like to thank Trees for Cities and Southwark Council for their essential help in creating these living monuments." 

Petra Fleischer, spokesperson for Trees for Cities, said, "Trees for Cities is proud to be involved with the planting of the Ecomemoria trees. The planting will improve London's bleak and polluted environment and engage the local community in our mission to create a greener capital."

The nine trees have been named for the following people: Oscar Eliecer Rojas Cuellar, 35 years old; Muriel Dockendorff Navarrete, 23; Ernesto René Torres Guzmán, 22; Wilfredo Hernán Quiroz Pereira, 32; Hernán Sarmiento Sabater, 26; Aroldo Vivian Laurie Luengo, 30; Manuel Jesús Villalobos Díaz, 22; María Isabel Beltrán Sánchez, 21; Héctor Roberto Rodríguez Cárcamo, 25.