Educators from both Washington D.C. and community Amando Lopez began an intentional partnership aimed at improving the educational environment of the community and the pedagogical capacities of each group.
This intentional connection is based on a common purpose, working cooperatively to create community that reflects shared core values.
“We are workers, not master builders, ministers, not messiahs. We are prophets of a future not our own.”
Oscar Romero
Today we join our Salvadoran family in the commemoration of Oscar Arnulfo Romero’s 101st birthday. May the messages of peace and love that he imparted continue to live on in the hearts and minds of all who love justice.
A press conference was held this morning, August 13th, in San Salvador by representatives of Tutela Legal Maria Julia Hernandez to give an update on the case of El Mozote, the massacre that occurred on December 11, 1981 in northern Morazán.
Over 40 witnesses have come forward since the overturn of El Salvador’s Amnesty Law in 2016 to contribute harrowing testimonies of the barbarity executed by Lieutenant Colonel Domingo Monterrosa Barrios (deceased) and the Atlacatl Battalion (disbanded).
According to the findings, Monterrosa had the full cooperation and authorization from the Salvadoran state at the time of the massacre and attempted to cover up and deny the act, which was thwarted due to the forensic anthropological team from Argentina that conducted exhumations. Based on their invaluable work, it has come to light that over 1,000 innocent civilians were indeed tormented and being killed.
“It is no longer possible to deny that a massacre occurred.” stated one of the attorneys from Tutela Legal.
The legal team also expressed the painful truth that til this day, survivors of the massacre have been left blind, sterile, full of shrapnel and continue to suffer from post traumatic stress.
The 18 military commanders that carried out this inhumane act are being tried in a court of law, some posthumously, in a judicial process that has reached “an advanced stage,” and attorneys are confident that justice will “finally be served.”
The mission of Tutela Legal is the “observation, protection, study, promotion, dissemination, information and intervention in the defense of threatened or violated human rights, with special attention to groups in vulnerable situations.”
The iconic artist Fernando Llort (7 April 1949 – 10 August 2018)
Before becoming the catalyst of the artisan movement in La Palma, Chalatenango, a small mountain town in northern El Salvador, Fernando Llort studied architecture, art and theology in France, Belgium and the United States.
The area of La Palma played a significant role in the ideological development of the revolutionary movement during the civil war. The area is agriculturally developed, and benefits from tourism, yet art is the town’s primary industry, in fact, three-quarters of area residents live from it. Fernando Llort and other young artists are recognized as the founders of art and culture in La Palma.
“Fernando’s art is heavily influenced by the Mayan culture, and has been able to mix modern ideas with a naive style of drawing. He utilises mixed techniques and materials, from paintings to wood, ceramic, and seven glass.” –Fernando-llort.com
In community Amando Lopez, education is extremely important which is why VOICES has helped and continues to support the operation of a Special Needs Classroom that benefits 6 neighboring communities. Look inside and watch the effort and successes of Mabel Barrera, the popular education teacher offering specialized education, a service virtually unheard of in El Salvador.
Help us support Mabel’s classroom by clicking here and making a designated donation to the “Aula de Apoyo.”
We are excited to announce that our new trimestrial newsletter is ready to read.
Follow the link here to read about our amazing succeses from April to June of 2018.
This past week the Salvadoran people led two protests against plans for private corporations to privatize the water of their country. On June 14th, hundreds of students from the National University of El Salvador (UES) -at the bequest of the rector himself- set out at 7:30am to march to the national legislative assembly. That morning, the assembly was holding a plenary session in which right wing representatives and the rich elite were discussing just how they will go about making water a commodity. They men sitting in that room knew exactly that what they were plotting was going against the wishes of the majority of the Salvadoran people.
With the help of three of FMLN representatives, the students peacefully gained access to the steps of the national assembly and intended to request an audience with those handful meeting to discuss the fate of the many. They not only declined but were met with pepper spray and violence.
No apologies were given, in fact, Norman Quijano, the president of the Legislative Assembly, held a press conference where he accused the University’s rector, Roger Arias, of being a terrorist.
This past Saturday, an estimated 10,000 took to the streets for a massive protest where the message was clear “The people say no to the Privatization of water in El Salvador.” This protest began and ended peacefully and included all sectors of Salvadoran society.
Privatizing is nothing new for the right-wing elite in El Salvador, who have since 1991, privatized the banking system, the telephonic system and pensions. None of these have come with guarantees, transparency or benefits to the Salvadoran poor and working class. It is not an ideology but the evidence: privatization in El Salvador has ruined more than it has built.
To those in control, water privatization is the final step in gaining full economic control and due to past legislative election, unfortunately it may come to fruition, but not without a full resistance from the Salvadoran population who may still have the ability to upset this diabolical decision if the pressure is constant.
READ OUR REPORT ON WATER AS A HUMAN RIGHT IN EL SALVADOR
#NoALaPrivatizacionDelAgua
