The film Voces Inocentes was based on the true story of a young Chava and his friends growing up in El Salvador during the Salvadoran Civil War and illustrates the extreme and devastating realties of the civil war, particularly regarding the use of child soldiers. The film opens following several soldiers marching four young boys along a road in the pouring rain as they cry. The camera shows the solemn group passing a mother, who protectively guards her infant son, even picking him up as she watches with concern as the soldiers lead the young boys past. Soon, the voice of the young narrator woefully states, “I am so thirsty and my feet hurt. I have rocks in my shoes. They’re going to kill us for sure. Why do they want to kill us if we
In, “Testimony: Death of a Guatemalan Village,” Victor Montejo describes events surrounding the military régimes occurring throughout Guatemala. The book itself is an eyewitness account detailing one instance of violence between the indigenous peoples village's "civil patrol" and the army. This occurrence leads to the execution and imprisonment of many villagers. Even though the book is mainly a testimony by one person, in which he discusses the personal conflicts and struggle between himself and the army, the account is structured around the Guatemalan civil war and the conflict between the government and civilians. The Guatemalan Civil War occurred between the years 1960 to 1996. It was a battle between the government of Guatemala and
The Communist Revolution of Cuba didn’t just impact the working class, but rather also affected the youth living in Cuba as well. Many children fought in the brigades to avoid capital punishment. One such account tells the story of Jose Agustin, who wrote an autobiography of his experiences in the brigades titled “Diario de brigadista, Cuba 1961”. It was in this book that Jose talked about his daily
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).
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
Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is located 14.97503° N, -86.26477° E. It is part of Central America and goes on for about 112,492 km squared. Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, and to the north by the Gulf of Honduras, a large inlet of the Caribbean Sea. Honduras’ capital is Tegucigalpa, which is also the largest city in the country. Honduras became its own country independent of Spain in the year of 1821 and has not been very good on the political and social side of things. The population of Honduras goes well over 8 million. Honduras has the highest murder rate in the world, and is one of the
Nicaragua is the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, but is also full of history, tradition and life. It is known for its great folk music, deep heritage and culture. Nicaragua is hidden jewel with warm, gorgeous culture and breathtaking nature. It is surrounded by its incredible history, culture and nature.
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.
A young boy, attempting to have a normal childhood in 1980's El Salvador, is caught up in a dramatic fight for his life as he desperately tries to avoid the war, which is raging all around him. This is a sad reality of many people, who are immersed in a society full of violence and without values, where innocent families including children, lose their lives unfairly by a conflict in which they are not participating, affecting notably their emotional well-being and quality of life. However, despite these conflicts, they seek ways to get by living with the war despite limitations in health, education and expression.
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.
El Salvador is the least expansive nation in Central America and is no bigger than the state of Massachusetts. This precipitous nation is flanked by the Pacific Ocean, Guatemala, and Honduras. Known as the Land of Volcanoes, El Salvador has incessant seismic tremors and volcanic movement. It is the sole nation in Central America that does not have a coastline on the Caribbean Sea. Also, the backwoods of El Salvador have been chopped down
Death squads and disappearances caused mental anguish to so many citizens of countries plagued with war all over Latin America, just like Lupe and her family. Gabriel Garcia Marquez poses the question, “why could social justice not be a goal for Latin America?” Countries in Latin America like Nicaragua, Guatemala, EL Salvador, Argentina, and Chile were striving for social justice. Some even had democratic elections and were on the right path but the fear of communism that plagued the United States since the beginning of the Cold War halted any of the progress Latin American countries could have even made. Any sort of progress, whether it was farmers and peasants like José forming unions and organizations fighting for human rights, or democratically elected presidents like Arbenz or Allende that fought for agrarian reform and nationalization of resources was completely shut down either directly or indirectly by the United States. Social justice was definitely a goal for Latin America. The region is not filled with savages that can’t grasp democracy; even Marquez “rejected the idea that ‘violence and pain’ was the natural condition of the region.” The United States halted and set aside any progress for social justice in Latin America because it feared losing its powerful influence in the
At seven o’ clock in the morning on December 11, 1981 an evil force entered the small El Salvadorian village of El Mezote (School of Assasins). With painted faces and army fatigues, the guerillas carried machine guns and automatic rifles into the peaceful village. As survivor Rufina Amaya recounts, “At ten o’clock the soldiers began to kill the men who were in the church. First, they machine-gunned them and slit their throats” (“Country Sheets for Close it Down Fast!” 3). After the men, the women were placed face down in the dusty streets and shot to
Salvador Perez or Stephen Curry? Take your pick because they are both good athletes. However, they play different sports. The two athletes play in professional leagues. Salvador Perez plays baseball while Stephen Curry plays basketball.
Fifty-eight thousand were killed, a pair of thousand captured, and three hundred fifty thousand; maimed and wounded, just about everyone throughout this country still feels the results of this conflict. Today, the kids in the country rest uneasy in response to the senselessness of this struggle. A different generation of school students, staff and young parents bring a singular perspective to the analysis of the implications of this specific war. These square measure the sons and daughters of the boys that fought to their death inside the jungles of South East Asia..