One of the main purposes of going to El Salvador was for me to join in solidarity with the Salvadorans- to walk with them in their joys, struggles, and suffering. On my last day in El Salvador I got to literally walk along side Salvadorans. Our little group joined in a peace march organized by the Lutheran Church. This march was the first in a series of events in the Lutheran Church's campaign against violence. There will be more marches as well as other things like a forum to try to raise awareness about the violence in El Salvador as well as to demand that protecting life be the highest priority in the whole society. The slogan printed on the banners and posters for their campaign is "No more violence: the people of God demand security, peacefulness, and justice." Leviticus 25:18 is also on their banners and posters: "Follow my decrees and be careful to obey my laws, and you will live safely in the land." This is a campaign against all forms of violence that are present in El Salvador- the gang violence but also the violence of the many unjust systems and structures.
The peace march took place in Jayaque, a little town in the mountains a little over an hour away from the capital. They chose this site for the march because there is a Lutheran church in this community and this was also the place where two Lutheran pastors were murdered a few years ago. The details about why they were murdered aren't completely clear, but these pastors had witnessed a crime committed by gang members and the pastors testified in court. They believe it is for this reason that the pastors were murdered. They died fighting for justice and for life. In the church in Jayaque they have a photo on the front wall of their two pastors who were assassinated. Even years later, this act of violence still seemed fresh in the memory of the congregation and they aren't about to forget these martyrs anytime soon.
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| (to the left of the red cloth you can see the picture of the murdered pastors) |
The peace march began with some fireworks. (Salvadorans love fireworks and set them off for just about any reason worth celebrating- Christmas and New Years and other holidays too.) People from the church in Jayaque came as well as some pastors and church members from other cities. There was a small band from the community and a bunch of school kids with drums that accompanied us on the march.
We marched up the main street in town and people came out of their houses to watch us come by. Some people carried posters and banners and some of the kids carried colored flags. It started to rain a little and then a lot, but we soon made it to the community center where we had a ceremony/church service.
The mayor as well as a local representative were present at this event. Bishop Gomez and other pastors spoke about the violence that dominates Salvadoran society, but they also talked about the possibility of a peaceful world- the sort of world that God intended his creation to be.
After this event we marched to the church where we had chicha (an indigenous alcoholic drink made from fermented corn and pineapple), tamales, sweet bread, and coffee.
I do believe that the Lutheran Church's campaign against violence is a beautiful thing, but I do wonder just how effective it can be. It certainly isn't a bad idea, but I guess I'm just a little bit sceptical about how much they can do against such huge problems. The Lutheran Church is and has always been very outspoken about violence and injustices in El Salvador. Bishop Gomez holds a weekly press conference where he talks about the state of the country and addresses any specific instances of violence or injustice that have occurred. This carries on the tradition that Archbishop Oscar Romero began back in 1977 when he began speaking about the violence leading up to the civil war. Bishop Gomez as well as some pastors work with government officials by offering their opinions and suggestions on ways to address the violence in the country. This campaign against violence is essentially a formal manifestation of what they have been trying to do for years. I hope and pray that this campaign against violence will make even a small difference in reducing the violence, but it will be a very long road. Even if the Lutheran Church makes all these efforts, peace will not come without large sectors of the Salvadoran society working together against violence. El Salvador also needs international support in its fight against violence. I was very glad that I got to walk in this peace march, and it was a very significant act of solidarity, but there is so much more that I an as American can do to try to reduce the violence in El Salvador.
U.S. foreign policy has a great impact on El Salvador in ways that were very evident in many situations during my trip. Our immigration policy as well as our trade agreements have directly impacted Salvadorans in ways that have led to violence (for example think back to my post about the violence because Pacific Rim is trying to mine- this situation has become so violent in large part because of our free trade agreement CAFTA). All the details of the impacts of our immigration policy and trade agreements are beyond the scope of this post, but I firmly believe that if we reform our international trade agreements and our immigration policies we would have a great potential to reduce the violence in El Salvador. Nevertheless, in the meantime I do think that small efforts such as the anti-violence campaign of the Lutheran Church is what will make a difference for the people of El Salvador. The government is making some efforts to reduce the violence, but ultimately it will be up to the "regular" people of El Salvador to organize and to continue to demand that the violence stop. The violence has great control over the people living in El Salvador, but fortunately there is also great power in the number of people who are willing to sacrifice and work for peace. This peace march gave me hope despite the enormous work yet to be done before peace comes to El Salvador.
