Autobiography - The Galindo Group

Ram Galindo THE MAKING OF AN AMERICAN Page 72
Unfortunately, the operations didn’t go as decisively in La Paz and Santa Cruz and after
a few hours everyone had to find a hiding place. Through the intersession of a
sympathetic tire manufacturer, Mr. Zimeri, Lucy found refuge in a convent for nuns. A
few weeks’ later, wearing a nun’s habit, she was smuggled out to Brazil. Chuso and
Bepi were hiding in different places every night but the secret police was on to them. On
January 17, 1971, the trench-coated political police entered my house and found my
brother hiding in the attic. He was immediately taken to national police headquarters in
La Paz. After a few weeks spent in cold, dark and damp prisons, thanks to the energetic
use of every contact we had, my father, mother and brother Chris were able to have his
punishment commuted to banishment abroad. He left for Houston, Texas. After weeks
of a mortal game of hide and seek, Bepi was taken prisoner in Cochabamba, but in an
incredible show of courage and bluff, worthy of a little novel by itself, his father spirited
him out of jail in broad daylight. They also left for Brazil. We had lost the first round but
were not completely out. Many good Bolivians were still committed to stopping the
communists.
During 1970 the Brazilian government saw with worrisome preoccupation the political
developments in neighboring Bolivia. The Bettis had some contacts in the Brazilian
military and were able to persuade the high command to send an observer. The task fell
upon a recently retired high-ranking officer, Gen. Bethlem, who came to have a look-see
without the pomp of an official visit. Among others, I am sure, I personally briefed this
gentleman on the languishing hopes for freedom in Bolivia. Upon their return to Brazil,
Bepi and his father sought the Bethlem connection further, and with decisive help of
other interested parties, they were able to secure promises of guns and ammunition.
Chuso, from his Texas exile, stayed in close contact with Bepi.
Meantime, in Bolivia the whiplash from the failed action made things worse for us all. It
happened that at the time I was serving as elected president of the American School
Board in Cochabamba. American expatriates in the late 1940s had founded this school
to educate their children under U.S. standards. Through the years it managed to survive
due mainly to the dogged perseverance of a few individuals. By the time my children
were old enough to attend, the school had grown to a point that required new quarters.
In the mid 1960s we re-incorporated the school as an educational cooperative and
accepted a subsidy from the U.S. Embassy to hire American teachers and textbooks.
From various sources we raised enough money to buy a tract of land and build the first
building of what we envisioned would be a new campus. We completed the building just
at the time when the shaky edifice of freedom built under Barrientos was tumbling down.
Our daring to build in this environment was not to the liking of the communist teaching
union and its acronymic allies. They unequivocally indicated their displeasure by letting
us know that they were ready to take it over by force. Fortunately the site was fairly out
of town and not easily accessible. Nevertheless, the duty to defend it fell mostly upon
the members of the board of directors of the cooperative. Although our teaching staff
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