A Lull in the Action: Sweatshops, Sugarcane, and More Soccer!

1/3/2013

"If they kill me, I shall arise again in the hearts of the Salvadoran people."
- Oscar Romero

Today at the last minute I made the choice to go to Ciudad Arce again instead of Las Delicias. I knew I would miss the boys I met there and I really cherished the friendships I had built with them, and thought it would be more beneficial to strengthen them again rather than start over in Las Delicias for only one day. I am sad I won't get to see the progress on the house in Las Delicias, but the bonds I formed with my soccer buddies are precious and will stay with me forever. When we arrived at the site the boys were nowhere in sight, so I grabbed a ball and began kicking it around the gym. Within minutes, I began to see their little faces peeking out from the windows of the surrounding houses. One little girl, Josselyn, came to the fence and asked me if they were allowed to come play. I told them of course, and within minutes she had rounded up all the boys and we started a game of pick-up. I was still exhausted from yesterday, but I was having so much fun and I was glad I had made the choice to stay at Ciudad Arce. The boys are so good - I haven't heard one swear word from any of them all week, and they are so quick to help the younger ones that come to color, do crafts, or play with the games that we bring each day. At one point, Kevin, Irving, and Gerardo started coloring me pictures. Irving also kicked my butt in checkers...but they play with some crazy rules here in El Salvador! We started teaching them the names of different colors and animals in English, and they told me a little bit about school and their families. Irving and his older brother Cesar live in one of the houses that backs up to the gym, and they told me that their father and their aunt live and work in the U.S. in NYC and LA. They are only 10 and 12 years old, and don't know when they will get to see either of them again. Gerardo's stepfather and grandmother are in New York City. Josselyn's mom is in the U.S. as well, so she lives with her Aunt and cousin, who is Kevin. I can't help but feel sad about this, since many of them haven't seen their parents or loved ones in years. I can only imagine what kind of an effect that has on them. I also think about their family members in the U.S., and how dangerous it must have been for them to cross the border. They are able to make so much more money working in the U.S. and they can send that money back to help their children have a better life, and I admire the parent's dedication to their children, but there has to be another way - one that does not leave these kids parentless and one that keeps the parents safe yet able to provide for their children. The economy of El Salvador is so greatly affected by the U.S. economy. They use the U.S. dollar as their currency, and many U.S. companies have their manufacturing plants in El Salvador. The main companies are Crocs, Nike, and Coca-Cola. Many of the parents of the kids from Ciudad Arce work in the factories, and the conditions are very poor. Our drier Joaquin put it well when he said that when the U.S. economy catches a cold, El Salvador gets pneumonia Sadly, I think it is that way in many parts of the world. I think we often forget how much of an impact we have on so many different parts of the world, and we often dont realize that our economic and political power, although it might seem like it is wavering to us, has the ability to directly impact the lives of people all over the world. Because of this I think we have a responsibility to recognize our impact, and always be mindful of how the decisions we make affect others both within our borders and outside of them.
El Salvador grows a lot of sugar cane and coffee beans, and they used to grow indigo when there was still a market for it. Every car here also runs on Diesel, which costs about $4.10 a gallon. We saw a protest going on in the street on the way to Ciudad Arce this morning. Bus drivers were protesting because the government cut their subsidy down from $800 to $400 (the subsidy helps them keep their rates low and affordable) yet when they tried to raise their prices from 25 cents to 30 cents a ride in order to offset the costs, the government told them they couldn't. Now they are on strike, and they were burning tires in the street causing a big traffic jam.
At Ciudad Arce today I noticed that when Daniel showed up he was chewing on a large piece of raw sugar cane. I thought it was really strange, but probably delicious at the same time. However, now I know why El Salvadorans have such terrible teeth! Unfortunately, for many of the poorer children, a chunk of raw sugar cane to suck on might be their only food for breakfast. Daniel and Milton (who everyone calls Chele) continued to try and teach me new soccer tricks. They are such nice kids, and I am so hopeful that they wont fall prey to the gangs which are so prevalent in El Salvador.
After Ciudad Arce we drove to the place where Oscar Romero lived when he was an Archbishop. It is a convent and a hospital now. There is also a church there, which coincidentally is the church that he was killed in. He was saying mass, and a man pulled up in a car and shot him through the passenger window of his car and through the open door of the church while Romero was preparing the gifts. They say that before he died he had been getting many death threats, and suspected that he might be assassinated. He started giving his homilies from behind the altar rather than at the pulpit, because he didn't want any parishioners to be in the line of fire if someone were to try and kill him during mass. Since he was standing directly at the center of the altar when he was shot, many say that he was able to see his assassin as he pulled up and aimed the gun out the window. We got to stand on the altar where Romero was standing when he was killed, and it was a very erie feeling to look out the big wooden doors outside at the road, and imagine what it would be like to see your killer only moments before dying. Romero was shot directly in the heart, and was killed instantly.
Next we saw his house, which is on the same property. At first he lived in a small room behind the altar by the sacristy but then the nuns built him his own house. It was very simple, but he needed the additional space to greet visitors. The small, 3 room house is now a museum, and they have all of his old clothes, books, personal items, furniture, even his car on display. They also have pictures of the murder scene up for people to look at, as well as the blood-stained clothes he was wearing when he was killed. We spoke to an old nun, Bernardita, who told us stories about him and explained the artifacts in the museum to us.
When we got back to the house, an American priest who is doing mission work here in El Salvador said mass for us, and then talked to us about his experiences in El Salvador and with Romero. He was actually at Romero's funeral, in the square when the people started rioting and the police started firing shots. It was awesome to hear yet another firsthand account of someones experiences here during the war. Tomorrow is our last service day, and then we go to UCA (Universidad de Centro America) in the afternoon!

Hasta luego,

Julia Marie

"My eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer that has been made in this place: for now I have chosen and sanctified this house so that in it my name remains forever. Here will be my eyes and my heart for the rest of time."