Looking homeward from El Salvador
[11-19-01]
Julia Jones, who formerly served on the staff of the
Presbyterian UN Office, is now in El Salvador, serving under the
Presbyterian Reconciliation and Mission program. She looks at the
US from her new vantage point and suggests:
"We should celebrate all the good that our
country does and has done in the world, because it has been a leader
in countless important ways. We also have the responsibility, as
citizens of the most powerful country in the world, to be aware of
what our country is doing around the world, at home, in the United
Nations, and elsewhere, to question it if need be, and to speak out or
demand change if the U.S.'s actions are preventing peace, the
promotion of human rights or a sustainable future."
She also offers some good thoughts on alternative
Christmas giving!
You can contact Julia at julia82775@yahoo.com
Queridos amigos,
Greetings and good wishes to you from San Salvador, El
Salvador! It's been four weeks since I've written, and I'm pleased to
tell you that I'm doing well in my new country here. It's been a full,
interesting, challenging month, but most of the time I have to pinch
myself to believe I'm here. I feel so richly blessed to be able to serve
God and my church in this way, working in this lovely country with
people of profound faith and beautiful spirits.
The first three weeks I was here I lived in a simple
guest house run by the Reformed Church of El Salvador (IRCES), the
church/denomination with which I work here. The staff provided me with
many opportunities to travel to outlying communities to meet people in
the IRCES congregations there. I had the chance to see important sites
such as the university where the 6 Jesuit priests and their housekeeper
and her daughter were killed by the Salvadoran army in 1989, the chapel
where Archbishop Oscar Romero lived and was killed in 1980, and places
where the two earthquakes did terrible damage earlier this year. Those
aren't the most uplifting sites, but those struggles have been so much a
part of Salvadorans' recent history. Important to see to be able to
understand this reality.
Other highlights included visiting the office of the
only non-governmental organization (NGO) doing work to combat AIDS in El
Salvador (the government here refuses to do education or prevention work
around this issue), participating in an ecumenical service to recognize
the tragedy of Sept. 11, taking part in the Day of the Dead celebrations
on Nov. 2, traveling to La Palma where much of the beautiful Salvadoran
wood/artwork is created (to see some examples see www.cis-elsalvador.org/navidad.htm),
worshiping with the congregations here, and many others! Last week I
moved in with the family of one of the women with whom I work in the
IRCES office. I now have an hour commute by two buses to and from work.
This is not the favorite part of my day as the traffic is crazy here and
the pollution thick (buses and many cars use diesel fuel), but I am
enjoying the time to think, enjoy the scenery, and watch life go by.
This Mid-Westerner is surely enjoying the change of scenery gorgeous
green mountains and volcanoes provide! (Toto, we're not in Chicago
anymore!)
My new family is extremely kind. There are 12 of us
that live together in a small but comfortable space. I have my own room,
but my family worries if I spend too much time alone in the evenings.
Part of this culture is to spend your time with people. I'm enjoying
that aspect very much, but also looking for ways to create a balance of
family time and alone time to journal, read, listen to music, etc. I
also live with three dogs, a number of chickens and two angry, loud
geese. It''s an interesting new life! We live in a town that seems to be
a mix between things urban and rural. It's fascinating, fun, and quite
difficult to describe.
The other night the women in the family showed me how
to make pupusas! Pupusas are like thick tortillas but filled with
cheese, beans, or some sort of sausage (I stick to the non-sausage
variety, myself). Women make them on the streets here or in
restaurants... it's hard to walk a block without being able to buy a
pupusa somewhere. I suggest you find the nearest Salvadoran restaurant
and treat yourself to several pupusas!
As we cooked and laughed together (mostly at my sad
attempts to create these delicious treats, but I got better with
practice!), we started talking about what life was like here during the
war in the 1980s. The conversation got more sober as the women described
to me a fear that I know I cannot truly imagine. They said that the
military would raid people's homes, kidnap people, rape and kill people
on the streets, even commit massacres of entire towns on an
all-too-regular basis. Many people they know were killed in horrible
ways by the military. I'm guessing that people in the U.S. have a taste
of fear these days that we did not before, but to have your own military
committing terrible human rights abuses around you, against you, all the
time, for 12 long years, is something I hope we will never experience.
What troubles me most is how my own government was
involved in this war against the Salvadoran people. Millions of U.S.
dollars were used in legal and illegal ways to support the Salvadoran
military here, supposedly fighting communism but actually fighting those
who were demanding rights to live, speak, learn, and experience true
democracy. Even though the Salvadoran army's human rights abuses were
widely known, our tax dollars supported the government, the wealthy, and
the military anyway.
Labels are powerful things. Countless human rights
abuses and the loss of a generation were justified here in the name of
fighting communism. (Will that label change to "terrorism" in
this decade?) In this day and age, we in the U.S. have a lot to be proud
of. We should celebrate all the good that our country does and has done
in the world, because it has been a leader in countless important ways.
We also have the responsibility, as citizens of the most powerful
country in the world, to be aware of what our country is doing around
the world, at home, in the United Nations, and elsewhere, to question it
if need be, and to speak out or demand change if the U.S.'s actions are
preventing peace, the promotion of human rights or a sustainable future.
Because, unfortunately, from my studies and experience at the UN and
abroad, I've seen that many U.S. actions do just that. Thankfully we
have the freedom to question and speak, and that's worth celebrating,
AND acting on. It would be a crime to somewhere allow a repeat of our
country's actions here during the 1980s.
It's hard to learn about many of these topics, yet I
know that that's part of walking with these people, listening to their
experiences, and seeing God in each of them. As people share their joys
and troubles with me (everything from joy over a new grandchild or a
powerful faith story to concern over the rising prices of water,
electricity, and education for their children), I know the trust they
demonstrate in me is only possible because God is there with us, in us.
Indeed, I have felt that unique, deep presence many times since I've
been here. It's powerful and challenging, yet it sustains me even as I
struggle to learn about the difficult realities here.
If you want to see a really great movie about El
Salvador, go to your nearest Blockbuster Video and rent
"Romero", starring Raul Julia (what a great last name!) as
Archbishop Oscar Romero. It's an extremely helpful, interesting look at
an important part of El Salvador's history. When you watch it, I'd love
to hear your thoughts/reactions/ideas, so email me and let me know! I'm
excited that one of my main responsibilities in the office is to help
coordinate the work delegations and mission trips that will arrive from
the U.S. There's lots of reconstruction work being coordinated by IRCES
stemming from the two earthquakes earlier this year, and congregations
in the U.S. are answering the call for hands to help in that effort.
I'll get to use the skills I developed when I worked with groups in the
Presbyterian United Nations Office to help out here too, and I couldn't
be happier about that! I've also been doing quite a bit of written
translation work in the office, so my Spanish is improving by leaps and
bounds.
We're beginning to see signs of the Christmas holiday
here with some lights and decorations, although 80 degree weather and
clear blue skies sure doesn't seem like Christmas-time to me! I had fun
telling my new family the story of Rudolph the Reindeer. That was a new
one to them. Speaking of holiday traditions, if you want to break with
tradition and enjoy an impromptu holiday vacation, you are invited to
Colima, El Salvador to join the language school and eco-tourism project
there from December 16-21. IRCES has been involved in this project for
several years and manages a beautiful, historic hacienda where people
can stay. Swimming pool and hammocks included! There's also a nature
reserve nearby and various community projects you can visit. So if not
this year, keep the eco-tourism project in Colima in mind for a future
visit. Check out [www.cis-elsalvador.org/special_spanish_programs.htm]
for more info about Colima and the language school, or let me know. This
eco-tourism concept is a fascinating model of community development.
One last idea before I close this letter. As you begin
to think about Christmas gifts this year
for friends and family, I'd like to suggest that you think about
fair trade gifts, such as fair trade coffee or crafts, or other
gifts that promote justice somehow in the world. Fair trade means that
the growers or the creators of the products get a livable wage for the
work, enough to meet basic needs and even save a bit for the future.
Sweaters are nice to give and receive on Christmas, but so is peace and
justice. That may be a tall order, but here are some ideas for those of
you interested in trying:
Fair trade coffee. Coffee prices are
at their lowest in many years. Fair trade coffee guarantees farmers and
farming cooperatives a livable wage even when market prices are low. One
professor who talked to us in Costa Rica said that fair trade is really
the only thing going on right now to help poor farmers. When farmers
can't make enough to survive with conventional crops, often the only
alternative is to grow an illegal crop which might provide a livable
wage. Starbucks is selling one variety of fair trade coffee by the
pound, the product of their listening to people concerned about those
who grow our coffee. Also, www.equalexchange.org
is the page for one of the oldest fair trade coffee organizations in the
U.S., with a neat program for church congregations.
Fair trade crafts and other products.
SERRV International provides many neat items from around the world, made
by women, men, and children who get a fair wage for their work. Their
site is www.serrv.org
UNICEF. Help the UN Children's Fund
meet children's needs in times of peace and of emergency. Order directly
from www.unicefusa.org, or
request a catalog of UNICEF's beautiful greeting cards that they sell to
raise funds. Pier 1 Imports also often sells UNICEF cards. If you visit
keep in mind, however, that many of Pier 1's other products, although
beautiful, aren't necessarily traded fairly -- the middlemen get the
majority of the profits.
Give a goat! Well, not exactly... Heifer
Project International does community development by providing
animals and training in their care to poor communities around the world.
Give a water buffalo or a beehive to honor a friend. One of my favorite
organizations! www.heifer.org
For those of you interested in supporting Presbyterian
peacemaking programs by giving a gift in someone's honor, let me know
and I'll share info about Reconciliation and Mission, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, the Presbyterian Peacemaking
Program, etc., and check out www.pcusa.org
I don't mean to be a commercial, but I did want you
all to be aware of small but really significant ways you can make a
difference to your neighbors around the world, especially at this time
of year. We all say we want Christmas to mean more than a commercial for
Wal-Mart, and I have thoroughly enjoyed skipping the mall madness by
doing "fair trade giving" in the last few years. I hope you
might too!
This next month I look forward to continuing my work
at the office, visiting more places where the church is working, and
walking further along this path with the people here. I reflected on
Psalm 24:1 recently, which says that the Earth and all that is in it is
God's. Our creator has entrusted this world to us, not to ruin with the
pollution of fear and apathy, but to nurture as we care for it and for
each other, neighbors far and near. That's how peace happens. I feel
richly blessed to be here, working for the church, learning about this
country, and even living with angry geese! I will hold each of you, my
friends, in my thoughts and prayers this season as you care for
yourselves and your neighbors, both far and near. And I treasure your
thoughts and prayers for me and my journey here, and for the people of
El Salvador.
Hasta pronto! I'll write again soon!
In peace,
Julia Jones
