El Salvador Personal Statement

Americas Watch. 1991. El Salvador’s Decade of Terror: Human Rights since the Assassination of Archbishop Romero. New Haven and London: Yale University Press.

Imagine living in a country where you know you could die at any moment but don’t know how much longer till it happens. That was how much of the population of El Salvador used to feel when the government could not control the big coffee corporations. These out of control corporations, highly feared that the people would want to revolt against them so they hired murderers to kill innocent people to spread fear in the minds of the people of El Salvador. Fear, hate, and sorrow were the common feelings felt by the poor and innocent major population of El Salvador caused by the evil wrongdoings of the government during October 1979 – 16 January 1992. This is how the main character, Jose Luis, of the novel “Mother Tongue” by Demetria Martinez, felt before escaping his beautiful yet over constantly dangerous country, which depended on its cash crop, coffee beans to sell on a foreign market as the country’s main income. However, following the stock-market crash of 1929, a drop in coffee prices became apparent and affected everyone in El Salvador, but the poor especially. Making things worse, the glorious United States was funding the men whom were doing all the innocent killings with more weapons and money to increase their military power. So for Jose Luis the safe haven that he had escaped to was also blatantly funding the war that was killing so many innocent people he knew and had forced him to escape for his own safety. With nowhere else to go in order to find safety the United

country of El Salvador is facing against youth violence. The differences between gang and non-

El Salvador has one of the strictest and most archaic anti-abortion laws in the world with a total ban on abortion, even in in cases of rape or incest, if the mother’s life is in danger, or if the fetus is not viable outside the uterus. Since 1998, the adopted legislation has increasingly made it more dangerous for women to seek medical attention when in reference to their reproductive health. These laws allow prosecutors to convert many abortion charges to aggravated homicide, which carries a sentence of 30-50 years.

and a woman lay work were raped and killed by El Salvador’s national guard soldiers. Many of the innocent murders were

The United Provinces of Central America). There is a scroll which states the national motto of El Salvador. Which is “ Dios, Unión, Libertad”. Which means, “ God, Union, Liberty”. All of that is surrounded by Laurel Garland, which is tied together under the National flag. Laurel Garland is divide into 14 different parts, which symbolizes the 14 Departments. I am going to list the 14 departments and some facts about them. The Ahuachapàn department , it is in the west of the country. The capital is Ahuachapàn. The Cabañas department, the capital is Sensuntepeque. It is one of the coldest regions in El Salvador. The Chalatenango department, it is located in the northwest of the country. It has 220,000 and more inhabitants in it. The Cuscatlán department, it is located in the center of the country. It has 200,00 and more inhabitants in it. The La Libertad department, the capital is Santa Tecla. It was classified as a department on January 28, 1865. The La Paz department, the capital is

Over the years, Salvadoran citizens have been experiencing a rise in homicides in their communities. A large portion of these homicides go unsolved and are a result of gang violence. El Salvador is ranked in the top three most deadly Latin American countries in the world. It has been consumed with violence that includes everything from gang violence, to political corruption, to police brutality, and even a declining economy, which is basically everything that can go wrong in a society bunched up into one small country. Interestingly enough, El Salvador has a history of conflict and subjugation. El Salvador is unique among its Central American neighbors not only because of its small size and dense population, but also geographically it is the

The poor neighborhoods of Honduras can be just as corrupt as their government. Many neighborhoods in Honduras, including the neighborhood that Lourdes and Enrique grew

As a result poverty grew and the conflict between the poor and the rich became a big problem El Salvador had to deal with during the 20th century. A Central American Socialist Party was born and lead people against the government and in response the government of El Salvador at the time supported military death teams who killed anyone who supported that party.

Despite the peace treaty, violence continues in El Salvador. Gang members terrorize the country, and it was considered as the murder capital of the world, with an average of 24 murders per day. Despite gang truce, the country still faces poverty, which transcend into violence.

For twelve years (1980-1992), El Salvador suffered this brutal civil war and saw some of the worst human rights abuses in Latin American history. The government refused to attend peace talks by the FMLN and the FMLN refused to participate in elections knowing it results would be rigged. The military tried to kill all suspected rebels and the FMLN damaged anything that supported the government’s economy. Throughout the war there was so much human rights violations such as subjecting civilians to torture, forced disappearance, extrajudicial killing, mutilation, mass rape, massacres, summary executions, landmines and indiscriminate bombing. As the result, by the end of the civil war about 75,000 people were killed, sadly most of which were civilians in the wrong place at the wrong time. The intensity of military repression and constant fear provoked massive northern migration to the United States. By the mid-1980s almost one-fifth of the Salvadoran population was living in the United

El Salvador is a country known for its beautiful beaches, mountainous landscape, and coffee export. Unfortunately, this perfect picture is only a wall that hides the true violence that occurs in the country. El Salvador’s violence is an ongoing cycle, so how does today’s violence differ and compare from the violence in the 1980’s? The differences and similarities of violence in El Salvador from now and then involve root cause, political involvement, and economic issues.

There has been many long term effects from the civil war in El Salvador. The war lasted about 12 years from 1980 to 1992, and El salvador is still dealing with old issues from that time. It was the darkest times in El Salvador’s history. The inequality of social classes, poverty,and military rule led Salvadorians to revolt against their own government.

Twentieth century El Salvador is made up of violence, suffering, and hardships. After the independence of El Salvador, the elite took control of this country which produced discontent amongst the lower classes. During the 1920’s this discontent grew because of political abuse and increased poverty. According to John Chasteen in Born In Blood and Fire, Salvadoran indigenous people were pushed into volcanic land by the

Throughout 1939-1971, El Salvador was run by a military-style dictatorship, causing those who had land and wealth to be stripped from them just because they could. According to Encyclopedia Britannica the persistence of this dictatorship can be partly credited to Augustin Farabundo Marti, who forced the Salvadorian Communist Party (2017). Proving to be a catalyst for conflicts for years to come.