patth@ccnysci.UUCP (Patt Haring) (09/17/89)
[Something you may want to post to misc.headlines.unitex]
I just received a letter from a friend of mine who lives
in San Salvador. I'm posting excerpts below for those of you interested
in getting more of a "ground level" view of life in El Salvador.
At my friend's request, I have edited parts of the letter to
make it less directly attritable: my changes are delimted by square
brackets.
Ken Fishkin ...ucbvax!pixar!fishkin
----------------------------------------
August 31, 1989
Buenas tardes! Como estan todas ustedes? Well, after receiving these
kinds of letters from me for over [] years you should be able to understand
at least that much Spanish. It's hard to believe that in June I completed
[] years of living in Central America. When I originally signed up to
work for 6 months in Guatemala, I had no idea that I'd stay this long.
It's just that the place kind of grows on you (just like the various
skin diseases and bacteria here grow on you). I'm sitting home on a typical
sweaty Salvadoran afternoon and the electricity has just gone out again.
I would not be able to type this letter at all if it were not for the
kindness of a friend who gave me this battery for the typewriter.
...Well, the big news in my life is that I got a paid job at the
end of May. For a while there, when I got back to El Salvador in
late [] I was among the great ranks of the Salvadoran unemployed
(74% un- and under-employment here). Talk about hard times -- I was
reduced to selling lifesavers on the sidewalk. Instead of solidarity,
it was dog eat dog (just kidding - I'm still a vegetarian).
Actually, my new job is 3/4 time (which is Spanish for 1 1/4 time),
and involves [working with] delegations which come from the United
States. What we do is called "educational tourism". Instead of
lounging on one of the many lush Salvadoran beaches soaking up
the semi-tropical sun, our "tourists" have the pleasure of soaking
up some of the local skin diseases while visiting an impoverished slum.
Instead of mingling with smiling, bronzed natives, our "tourists"
sip coca-cola with lecherous coronels and hob-nob with ARENA congressmen,
when they're not listening to the latest torture tale at the Mother's
office, or visiting political prisoners at the local jail.
Sound like fun?
...I'm interested in exploring the issue of peasant women's
access to land title and credit for agricultural loans for crop
planting. Many families in the countryside are headed by single women,
who must do all the agricultural as well as the housework. All
evidence says that as women, it is difficult or impossible to
gain land title. Women are denied bank credit unless they have
the "backing" of a man. Work needs to be done to teach people what the
existing laws say, and strategies must be developed to help women
gain access to land and credit.
Well, moving into the heavy section of the letter ... the question
which you're all dying to ask: "How is life under the new ARENA government?"
Well, if you thought my past letters describing life in El Salvador
were chilling, we are now moving into deep freeze.
It didn't take them long. Coffee grower Alfredo Cristiani had
only been President for 3 days when a Salvadoran women friend of mine,
Marta Lidia "Tita" Guzman, was disappeared on June 3. We've never seen
her since. We're sure she's dead by now. Although a recently involved
activist, when Tita made a decision last year to commit herself to
the struggle for a more just society, she went all out. She began working
with UNADES, the Union of Salvadoran Earthquake Victims. These
destitute people are still trying to get housing three years after the
October 1986 earthquake broke open their lives. I'd known Tita since
I arrived here, when she was the bright, friendly receptionist at a
Spanish language school run by a North American friend. We were "Co-Madrinas"
(godmothers) (we were 8 women's co-godmothers) at the baptism of our
North American friend's baby (the baby is half Salvadoran). The baptism
was performed by the Lutheran bishop Medardo Gomez.
When a $2 million caravan of aid arrived for the earthquake victims
and refugees last March from the US, backed by the Kennedy family and
supplied by companies like Reebok, Levi's, the Limited, etc., it was
detained in customs for two months by Salvadoran authorities. At that
time, Tita appeared on television in a press conference in support of
the entrance of the caravan. Perhaps that's where they singled her out.
So, in early June, when the Salvadoran National Police began a virulent
campaign against UNADES, published paid newspaper ads denouncing them
as guerilla terrorists, Tita vanished. No one witnessed her being captured.
The police acknowledged having in their custody the other members
of UNADES whom they had captured the same week, but not Tita.
Her mother has spent the last two months in daily treks from police
corps to security corps, asking if they have her daughter, but with no
trace. She's left without the income to support the little 2 and 3 years old
son and daughter Tita left behind as a single mother. Despite her Mother
having filed a writ of habeas corpus in Salvadoran courts, the nonfunctioning
Salvadoran judicial system, after two months had not managed to locate
by mail 2 successive judges who had been appointed to investigate the
case. They and the International Red Cross are the only people allowed
to enter the jails, and, of course, they are not shown the basement death
cells known to exist in the Treasury Police and other security corps.
Nor do they know the location of the private houses used for torture.
Disappearance is the worst thing that can happen to someone. There
is never any resolution for the family. Tita was the first Salvadoran
friend I've had who's been killed. I feel outraged to think of her being
tortured to death -- and in 1989. Torture is so common here and is only
getting worse under Cristiani.
It's so paintful for me to think of her. She was just starting
a woman's program in UNADES for which she had asked my assistance,
when she was disappeared. I guess one way to honor her life would be to
put more effort into this kind of work.
Here is a brief overview of the trends in the country since ARENA
came into power June 1.
1. Big increase in repression: according to the July 26 issue
of "El Processo", which is the weekly analytical bulletin of the UCA,
the Jesuit University, these are the statistics on the number of cases
of represesion by the government in June and July. (By the way,
the printing offices located on their campus were heavily damaged by
a midnight dynamite attack in July. I saw the damage). So much
for freedom of the press. (They compiled these figures from all the
cases reported by the Salvadoran press). In June, there were 48 violations
of human rights of members of the popular movement. This included
44 captures, 1 assassination, 2 searches of offices or houses, 1 dynamiting.
These acts were mainly carried out by the National Police, and after
that the 1st Brigade, and the rest by the National Guard. In late July,
of these captured, only 4 had been freed, and one remained disappeared
(Tita).
In July, there were 68 cases of human rights abuses by the
security forces. This included 63 captures, a dislodging, a dynamite
attempt, a search, and two beatings during searches or dislodgings.
Those responsible were the Treasury Police, the CITFA, the 3rd Brigade,
the 6th Brigade, etc.
That is a total of 116 cases in Cristiani's first 60 days in office.
This goes contrary to what Cristiani said in his inaugural June 1
address, when he stated that the 4 fundamental points of his government
would be: liberty, honesty, legality, and security and that all Salvadorans
could participate in organizing, expressing themselves, etc.
I still don't have the statistics for August, but everyone is glued
to their radios every day listening to who's been captured. The Univserity
of El Salvador has been particularly hard hit, with 4 members of the
eastern campus having been disappeared in July and August by the 2nd
Brigade. There is still now news of them. Also, the soldiers who
were continuously posted at the entrances to the campus have opened fire
3 times, and the campus was mortared by military helicopter in July.
2. An increase in guerilla attack and killings of right wing people.
Several prominent right wing figureheads have been assassinated in these
months. Dr. Rodriguez Porth, Cristiani's newly appointed Minister
of the Presidency and leading ARENA ideologue, was killed in June. In July,
the Coronel in charge of the firefighters (who rumor has it used to
teach psychological warfare in the military academy) was killed, and
so was Eduardo Chacon, newspaper columnist and the head of a right
wing think tank.
There has been an increase in guerrilla attacks in the capital,
including more hit and run machine gunnings of sites. In mid-August, 50
guerrilla carried out a night-time attack on the National Security
Academy in San Salvador, leaving the access road completely mined.
3. Attempt to pass "Anti-Terrorist laws". In early June, when
word got out that the ARENA controlled legislative assembly was trying
to pass an anti-terrorist law, there was such an outcry that the government
was forced to change the name of the proposed new laws to "a reform
of the Penal and Penal process codes". There has been a huge outcry
against these measure, which are still being debated in the legislature.
In an attempt to stop opposition activity, no matter how democratic,
this law would make it a crime with a 3- to 5-year penalty to be involved
in organizations which "subvert the public order". Another among its many
provisions would give a 5-10 year penalty for visits to other countries,
messages, or whatever other form of declarations or programs which would
cause other countries or international organizations to intervene
in the affairs of El Salvador.
4. Prospects for dialogue and negotiation. The Central American's
Presidential summit just held at Tela, Honduras, obliges Cristiani
to seriously negotiate with the FMLN, but prospects don't look so good
for true negotiation. The National Peace Debate has enjoyed a resurgence
of prominence and is meeting with all sides to actively seek negotiations.
And, a very important phenomenon: under the Cristiani government, all
of the opposition forces are uniting against ARENA, including groups and
political parties which never associated with each other under the
former government.
5. New repopulation: Thousands more refugees are now announcing their
imminent return from refugee camps in Honduras, including several
thousand who will come back to Morazan (this has never before happened).
Meanwhile, vice-president Merino is busily announcing that the country
is not to receive them, that they can't come back (despite the fact
that the Salvadoran constitution guarantees every Salvadoran citizen
the right to be in their country).
6. Crackdown on foreigners: So, please, if you plan to share parts
of this letter in any form with anyone, do _not_ credit it to me.
Love,
you know who.
--
Ken Fishkin ...ucbvax!pixar!fishkin
---
Patt Haring | United Nations | FAX: 212-787-1726
patth@sci.ccny.cuny.edu | Information | BBS: 201-795-0733
patth@ccnysci.BITNET | Transfer Exchange | (3/12/24/9600 Baud)
-=- Every child smiles in the same language. -=-
--
Patt Haring | United Nations | FAX: 212-787-1726
patth@sci.ccny.cuny.edu | Information | BBS: 201-795-0733
patth@ccnysci.BITNET | Transfer Exchange | (3/12/24/9600 Baud)
-=- Every child smiles in the same language. -=-