Personal Statement: El Salvador

Over the course of history, the United States has a reputation of getting involved with other nations to sort out disputes, arguments, conflicts, wars, etc. One specific example of U.S. Military Involvement is the 1980 El Salvador Civil War. The El Salvador Civil War was a civil war that lasted from 1980 to about 1992. The war slowly arose due to little uprisings in society, promises to improve economy and lifestyles that were never fulfilled, and the push of communism beliefs onto the people who didn’t believe in them. The U.S. Military would not get involved unless their is a violation of human rights, or if mankind is being put into harm's way. The U.S. involved themselves in the Civil War of El Salvador because they had enough evidence and support for specific claims, had the appropriate authority, and fought for an outcome that suited the needs of humanity.

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.

One of the longest war began in the 1980’s, the Civil war in El Salvador, it was one of the bloodiest wars ever as well. “This war caused the death of 75,000 people, Innocent mothers and their children would be killed.”(Web) The problem began when El salvador brought in most of it’s profit with coffee.

I am Garnet Gyaase and I am going to talk about the flag of El Salvador, and the meaning behind it. The name of my country is El Salvador. It is located under Guatemala and Honduras, in Central America. The flag of El Salvador was officially adopted May 17, 1912. The blue and white are the original colors used by the Provinces of Central America. The United provinces are now known as, Yucantan, Maya, Campeche, Belize, Izabal, Los Altos, Soconusco, Miskita, Panama, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua. All of the provinces convened in Guatemala, and on July 1,1823, it declared the independence of the former kingdom under the name of” The United Provinces of Central America.” Above the volcanoes is a red Phrygian capon, and a staff before the golden sun, and the date of September 15th, 1821, independence was declared to be on that day.

The mountainous country bordered by the Pacific Ocean, Guatemala, and Honduras in Central America. Known as the land of the Volcanoes, El Salvador, the only country in Central America that does not have a coastline on the Caribbean Sea. Having beautiful beaches on the coast of the Pacific Ocean and warm summers that make it impossible to withstand the heat. Most of the population is made up of the poor who do not have electricity or running water in their homes. My grandfather was is this social class and stayed for most of his life. El Salvador the land of dictatorship, volcanoes, and tortillas.

I’ve always thought of myself as a person who has a interesting background and childhood. My childhood would consist of fails, near death experiences, and anything crazy or out of the ordinary from other people’s childhoods. Most of my days would consist of going to school, seeing something amazing or crazy, go home, and do homework. Occasionally, I would go to the park where i would explore new places or just walk around and try to make new friends. Most of the time, I would just explore my surroundings and enjoy nature as much as I can. Whenever I would go to El Salvador, I would walk around in big forest and enjoy how fresh the air is. The air over in the countryside is pure and makes you feel at peace due how low the co2 levels are in

Another obstacle is the food. I miss my mom’s cook, she always cooked me my favorite food; eggs, beans, chicken, whatever she cooked I love her too much. Here I found many differences between the food of the United States and the El Salvador’s, I think it is by the culture of American people who are used to eat that kind of food. The first time to eat here I just ate one thing during a whole week: Pizza. Maybe I was afraid of the food because I knew it tasted different and some other factors such as I was really hungry. I tried to overcome this obstacle imagining that the food is made by my mom and I guess I will taste very delicious the food. The results were a little better but it is still an obstacle because I don’t feel too much delicious

Who are you? What are you? Where are you from? Questions that people are always asking and wondering the answer to. Although I might look like I?m a different race I?m actually Salvadorian. I?m not a quarter, nor half but a full, one hundred percent Salvadorian. El Salvador is a tiny nation close to Guatemala located in Central America. A lot of people have told me I don?t look hispanic or think I?m Salvadorian. They get surprised when I start speaking spanish, see me eat traditional Salvadorian foods, or hear the music my family and I play at family reunions or special occasions.

It is now obvious that countries in Central America have been plagued by civil war, economic crisis, election fraud to finally transition into a political system granting the population the freedom to elect their leaders. El Salvador is no different than Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Honduras. One might notice that such issues arise due to political unrest in the region (Central America), thus creating a pattern of social, political and economic instability.

     Ecuador is one of the smallest countries of South America. It lies on the West Coast of the continent between Colombia and Peru. The equator crosses Ecuador and gives the country its name. Ecuador is the Spanish word for equator.

My dad was born in the small Central American nation of El Salvador, more specifically in Anamoros located on the east side of the country. He lived in the countryside so he often played with their animals, spent most of his childhood swimming in the rivers or playing soccer with his friends, and would frequently hang out with his grandparents in the afternoons. In 1980, when he was about 12 years old that all began to change, he and all those around him needed to be more cautious about their surroundings.

There are plenty of good things to be said about El Salvador, the Latin American country that sits in the heart of Central America, surrounded by volcanic mountains, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and a Pacific coast of startlingly beautiful beaches and rustic fishing villages.

The history of El Salvador begins with the time period in which indigenous peoples resided in the country. According to Roy Poland, in Culture and Customs of El Salvador, El Salvador was conquered by the Spanish in 1524; the spanish found the country was divided into three states (13). The spaniards hegemonic influence finally converted El Salvador into a Spanish colony after twenty six years of indigenous resistance(Poland 14). Such conquest brought violence, diseases, and poverty to the indigenous people. The invasion of El Salvador by the Spanish also resulted in mestizaje, racial mixing. The colonial period lasted until 1821(Poland 14). El Salvador finally became independent from Spain in 1821 and joined the United Provinces of Central America in 1823; however, in 1840 El Salvador gained full independence (Eileen Garron Batres 6), One of the most important crops in El Salvador during the 1800’s and 1900’s was coffee; during the 1900’s El Salvador was the third largest coffee producer internationally (Susan B. Hecht).

When we think of culture, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Many of us begin to envision how certain people or countries carry themselves in their daily routines. Whether it is in the way they cook, dress, celebrate certain holidays, or just other beliefs in general. Picture a country that at one-point war was so bad and constant that is was normal for women to cook for soldiers who are passing by their homes. It isn’t frowned upon to have a corrupted government because that is something they have had to deal with since their independence, and children as young as the age of seven are militants walking around with weapons in their hands, becoming social terrors. At least during the 1980’s

Located on the Pacific Coastline, El Salvador is the smallest country in Central America, and the most populated. The United States of America foreign policy on El Salvador is best explained by President Obama’s approach on Latin America where the United States is focused on economic growth and equality, energy and climate control, and regional and citizen security (Foreign Policy, 2012). This is best explained using the international level of analysis and neo-liberalism where the global structure and economic interdependence provides the foundation of America’s foreign policy. To ensure that one can see the transparency in United States methodology I will provide the history of El Salvador, the creation of United States interest in El