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For the First Time, Carlos Grollmus, Victim of the Mill Attack, Speaks: "I Hope the Government Cares"

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Carlos Grollmus still lives in his home in Contulmo, "it's the place where I was born and where I plan to die," he said two years after the arson attack on his family's mill. Six individuals were captured and charged, along with five others detained, who burned the facilities and shot four victims. All are members of the Mapuche Lavkenche Resistance (RML).

The octogenarian was on the brink of death that August 29, 2022, and suffered the amputation of one of his legs due to the number of bullets he received. "They wanted to kill me by any means," the elderly man stated, recalling the "utterly terrorist act" filled with "pure evil," he added.

The person who shot him has been identified and remains in pretrial detention. The elderly man emphasized that he eagerly awaited "the arrest of these bad people. It would be the only way to relax and live peacefully, for justice to reach the areas around Contulmo. There have always been burnings around the lake."

Despite this legal progress, he lamented the State's abandonment during the process and the lack of reparations for his health, as he suffers the consequences of losing a leg. "I can't walk alone, I depend on a wheelchair, on the little donkey (...) Everything is super slow. I hope one day the Government cares enough to give me a prosthesis so I can walk. At least that," he said.

"There's nothing. It's the hope I hold onto one day, that they (the State) will reach out to me," he concluded.

The Grollmus mill reached 106 years and was a landmark of Contulmo's tourism under the stewardship of the family of the same name. Its owner, Hellmuth, died in 2023 without obtaining justice, and his cousin, Carlos, saw six defendants formally charged at the age of 81.

Currently, he tries to live peacefully in his home, confident he has a few more years ahead. "The idea is to overcome all this trauma I carry," the survivor declared. He is grateful that "friends, neighbors, everyone comes to help me," but he urgently needs a bionic prosthesis to regain his autonomy.

His entire life, he grew up surrounded by his Mapuche neighbors. "The old Mapuches are all good people, I have nothing bad to say. The current generation is turning out bad. Do his attackers represent the entire indigenous people?" "Not at all," he affirmed.

Eleven people have already been arrested for the burning of the Grollmus mill, but "many more are missing" because over 20 people allegedly arrived at his property that August 29, 2022, the elderly man believes.

Source:Sabes