José Bengoa, President of WUS Chile

José Bengoa trained as a philosopher and has postgraduate studies in anthropology and social sciences. He is a distinguished Chilean scholar, best known for his work on Mapuche indigenous communities. José is currently the rector of the Universidad Academia de Humanismo Cristiano, where he also founded and directed the School of Anthropology. He was the President of WUS Chile, created in 1978, during Pinochet's dictatorship.

Isabel Araya, Administrative Secretary WUS Chile (1986 – 1996)

Isabel Araya is a philosopher and a social worker. Before her exile to France in 1973, she was the Director of the Escuela de Trabajo Social at the Universidad Católica de Valparaíso. Isabel was granted a WUS Return grant, and afterwards she became the Administrative Secretary for WUS Chile, also managing the Return Programme (1986 – 1996). Isabel lived in Haiti (2004 – 2010) working at the Escuela República de Chile, with the support of the Chilean Embassy , Haitian institutions and international organisations. Her life has been devoted to teaching and the reintegration of immigrant and exiles into the social and labour markets.

Carla Guelfenbein, WUS Grant holder

Carla Guelfenbein is a Chilean novelist. Exiled in England after the 1973 coup, she studied at Essex University and St. Martin’s School of Art in London. She has worked as art director and editor of the fashion magazine Elle, and is a critically acclaimed novelist who has been translated into most major European languages. Her most recent novels are El resto es silencio (translated as The Rest is Silence), and Nadar desnudas. Her work addresses themes of exile and silence.

Adriana Moreno, WUS Grant holder

Adriana Moreno is a member of the Socialist party. She is the sister of Germán Moreno, MIR militant, who disappeared when he was 26 years old. Adriana is the mother of 5 children. She lived her exile in Argentina between 1974 and 1990, and received a grant from WUS to pursue her studies in journalism at the TEA (Taller Escuela Agencia) in that country. Adriana went back to her home country after the return to democracy thanks to a WUS Chile Return grant, and developed a research project about women’s rights in Chile.

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