Over spring break at Nerinx Hall, a Loretto high School where I have been teaching theology since 1991, I accompanied 10 students and a colleague to Guarjila, Chalatenango, El Salvador. I have been going to Guarjila since 1987 and began to bring students in 1998. This village was one of the first of the repopulated communities that returned from the Mesa Grande refugee camp in Honduras during the twelve year war which ended in 1992. We live with families, learn about the organization of the village, spend time at the clinic, the schools (pre-K-9 and 10-12), play with the children, “hang out” with the teens, and hear stories of the war from the adults. We also visit the “holy sites” of the martyrs: Ita Ford and Maura Clarke’s graves in Chalatenango, the place where Rutilio Grande, SJ was killed with campesinos in 1977, the UCA where the Jesuits and the two women were massacred in 1989, the hospital chapel where Mons. Oscar Romero was shot in 1980, and the Metropolitan Cathedral where he is buried and revered. Since we were there the weekend before his anniversary day, we saw his tomb decorated with flowers and messages from the people, met delegations from US universities and communities, and felt the po Over spring break at Nerinx Hall, a Loretto high school where I have been teaching theology wer this man has in the hearts of the people. This year we were also able to witness the elections for mayors and assembly deputies in the municipality of Chalatenango. In El Salvador we discover amazing things about life and self and God.

This year we were able to witness the elections for mayors and assembly deputies in the municipality of Chalatenango. There were eleven parties presenting candidates and over 19,000 persons were on the list to vote in this outdoor voting station. We were told that the election commission still makes it difficult for people from the countryside to get voting cards because the commission is controlled by the party in power (ARENA) and they don’t want people from the opposition (mainly FMLN) to vote. Two streets were cordoned off and guarded peacefully by civil police and representatives from the various parties who wore bibs (similar to those worn by intermural teams playing sports) with the colors and symbols of the parties. The ballots contain these same symbols (no names of candidates–they are posted on numerous signs on light posts and painted on buildings and mountain sides along the roads) and voters get their cards (carnet) checked, receive two ballots, go into a cardboard box voting booth and mark their ballots with x’s. Then they fold and place their ballots in the appropriate boxes (solid, not clear plastic like in the past) and then dip their pinkie finger in indelible ink to ensure that people vote only once. There was a festival atmosphere with lively music, multi-generational families dressed up and enjoying food and conversation. Such a difference from the elections during the war. The FMLN party won some important mayoral positions in San Salvador and in the areas called the “liberated territories” during the war. There are two areas where they are contesting the busing of people from outside San Miguel and La Union, by the party in power, to vote in those towns, effectively “stuffing” the ballot boxes with their votes. This too demonstrates the current climate in the country. There is room to challenge fraud, though the outcome is still up in the air. ARENA holds the economic power and has the ability to out-maneuver the FMLN. If these contests are resolved in favor of the FMLN they will have a majority in the Assembly and can make laws to benefit the poor. The big issue of the moment is privatization of health care. The doctors have been on strike to resist this project for some months now. I was told that the ARENA government (which has one more year in office) continues to make choices which further concentrates wealth in the hands of the new economic aristocracy (Grupos) and forces emigration to the US by halting agricultural production. So the FMLN needs a majority (with support of other populist parties) to turn the agenda of the country to the needs of the majority of the people who survive by the informal economy (selling their products on the streets) and money sent from the US by family members working here.

The other thing which made this trip so powerful was to be in Guarjila as the war began. The students were amazed at the concern of people of all ages for those going to and about to experience war. Some of the young people in the youth group were completing a three week fast for peace when we arrived and we were able to join them for their nightly prayer and biblical reflection. The Saturday evening liturgy not only focused on the need to continue the struggle for social justice for all (“We might not be as poor as we were, but there are so many in El Salvador who need are continued work and solidarity”) but also a profound prayer for peace in Iraq. We experienced a political awareness and spiritual maturity which in rare in the US. Throughout the week we shared time watching news on TVs, discussing war realities, and trying to understand why the poor who will suffer so much are disregarded by those who order bombings, missiles, and troop advances through cities and towns. After the attack was reported, many villagers sat with us to reflect on what was happening. They shared our sorrow and concern, giving deep meaning to the solidarity we try to learn.