I used to laugh at my Chilean father’s paranoia about life in the US – not any more

Having fled here from Chile after Pinochet seized power in 1973 my father feared the state's arbitrary power to turn lives upside down. His outlook has never felt more relevant

Don't open the door to nobody," my father warned throughout my childhood - right up until the day he died. He trusted no politicians, no organized religion and definitely no strangers knocking unannounced.

Lately, his words echo louder than ever.