September 2nd, 2013: Water, Gang Violence, Parque Cuscatlán and El Rosario Church

We were told that El Salvador is doing 50% better than all of the countries around the world and 50% worse than all of the countries around the world - when it comes to poverty, violence, education, health care, and access to resources.  We also learned that 90% of all of the drinking water in El Salvador is contaminated, therefore to have clean drinking water, people, if they can afford it, need to drink bottled water.  Many people in El Salvador do not have this luxury.  We visited many people that had a spout where water comes out of.  Depending on the community sometimes the water comes out of this spout one time every other week or one time a month.  Unfortunately those who have this spout have to constantly keep a bucket under the spout because they do not know the exact day and time the water will spring forth - and this water is not clean drinking water.  I have noticed that many developing countries I have visited have a scarcity of clean natural water.  Not having access to clean drinking water creates many health problems which can lead to other issues such as malnutrition, illnesses, inability to work or focus at school, and dehydration.  What are we going to do globally as the issue of access to clean drinking water becomes larger?  What are we doing now to save the water that we do have?       

Gang violence is very prominent in El Salvador.  This explanation on gang violence in El Salvador will be simplistic but will help my readers understand how the gang problem began.  Due to the civil war and the common "push and pull" effects of immigration [push factors such as poverty, conflict and disaster, pull factors such as employment, public benefits, and family members that might already be in the country migrants are attempting to get to] an estimated 1 million people, left El Salvador.  Many migrants left with their children.  Some people ended up in major metropolitan cities such as Los Angeles.  Work was scarce and many people who migrated to the United States continued to struggle.  Even though they were living in a more developed country the migrants were still living in poverty.  For the same reasons many American youth enter gangs, the young babies that left El Salvador - without a memory of their home country - now found themselves as young adults and were looking for protection, an identity, recognition, fellowship, and eventually became part of the gang culture.  Due to the nature of criminal gang activity in the 90s many of these gang members were arrested and then since they were not U.S. citizens they were deported to El Salvador.  "In the last 12 years, U.S. immigration authorities have logged more than 50,000 deportations of immigrants with criminal records to Central America (Maryknoll information packet)."  These young men, did not speak Spanish, did not remember their home country, and learned about gang violence in the U.S., and therefore when they returned to El Salvador this created a tight network of gang culture in El Salvador.  To this day gang violence is active.  The two main gangs in El Salvador are Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and the 18th Street gangs.  The gangs not only affect violence but also affect the children of El Salvador, in that children are the ones recruited to join these gangs.      

One thing that struck me while we were in El Salvador was the prominence of guns.  Outside of every store - big or small, outside of churches, and sometimes even homes, every one had a security guard with a gun.  Coming from a place in California where violence is not in my face all of the time, this was hard for me to see and be around.  Are the guns used for intimidation?  Security?  Or perhaps a subtle reminder of the blood of the war and a reflection of who truly is in charge?  I don't know.  The civil war ended 20 years ago, but I still think the effects of the war, in the living memory of those who are there, is still very real.  I am unsure of what Salvadorians think about the presence of guns everywhere, but I know that for me it was jarring and something I could not ignore.       

Two things about traveling in El Salvador that I truly miss are the notion of time and affection.  In the United States we are addicted to our cell phones and looking at our watches.  We must be efficient and timely to fit into American society.  The notion of time seemed to not exist in El Salvador.  It allowed me to be present to those I was interacting with in a more intentional way.  One of the things that I experienced once I came back from El Salvador was the reverse culture shock of not hugging people and kissing them on the cheek.  In El Salvador every person I met I hugged and kissed.  This is very common in Latin American countries, so it is something I am very used to, since my family is Puerto Rican and Cuban.  When I got back to the United States and people were "stand offish" and needed

Mike at Parque Cuscatlán

personal space I struggled.      

El Rosario Church - Stations of the Cross

On Sunday, August 4th we went to Parque Cuscatlán, mass at El Rosario Church, and we spent some time praying at Romero's tomb in the Cathedral.  In Parque Cuscatlán we saw a memorial wall with 43 panels where those killed or disappeared are remembered.  Then we went to El Rosario Church in San Salvador.  From the outside the Church didn't look like much but once inside you could tell it had a post-Vatican II feel - the seating was unique, the natural light and stained glass was beautiful and the stations of the cross were made with rod iron in a very contemporary rendition.  While I don't remember the exact preaching the priest said that day, I do remember the Dominican friar preaching about distribution of wealth and making sure that we not only take care of ourselves and those in our immediate families but also those whom might not have the same resources that we do (Luke 12: 13-21).  His preaching was poignant and challenging.    

Just outside El Rosario is Plaza Libertad.  During the civil war on October 29th, 1979 there was a massacre in this plaza - campesinos (people from the country) were peacefully protesting the oppression of the government in the plaza and the military opened fire.  People ran for cover in El Rosario Church.  Those running into the church brought bodies with them in hope of either burying them or attempting to resuscitate them.  Once the church was full the doors were shut.  You can still see bullet holes in the church doors.

bullet holes in the door

Twenty-one people died attempting to get into the church.  The people who made it into the church had to stay in there for a few days until Archbishop Romero finally convinced the military to back off.  Due to this waiting period, and the smell of dead bodies in the church, the people whom survived decided to lift up the tiles and to bury the dead.

My next post will focus on my experience of the Catholic Church in El Salvador and Monsignor Romero.