Rio Grande III

Currently, some of the most stunning civic lessons in the US and in the world are playing out daily before our eyes. With the internet we are able to watch the action live from our home. Witnessing protests and conflicts reveal much human and social turmoil along with an intense desire for change.

The cost of conflict is often a loss of income, family, homes and lives. We watch it unfold via the TV or internet where the voices of victims are muted from our ears to hear. We need to use all our senses when watching the news to fully understand the impact on the protesters, victims, and the innocent.

Civic activity in El Salvador has another aspect to it: fear. Many times the vulnerable are at risk of losing any security they have, regardless of how insecure it is. They may be squatters or without an official ID card, therefore they are insignificant in the eyes of the government.

The action plan from the last meeting for the Rio Grande communities included a delegation of 10 leaders meeting with a government minister in San Salvador Monday February 28. Oikos representative Guillermo indicated that the plans for 10 leaders meeting with a government ministry were not solidified among the community leaders and they were not able to organize themselves for the meeting on Monday morning. Instead Guillermo himself met with an Assemblyman of the national government in Usulután.

To visit the Assembly, one must sign a document and register their ID number, their home location, their signature or thumb print if unable to write. By fighting for the safety of the families and homes, they could lose everything--- by the government sending in troops and machinery to remove families and destroy homes resolving the problem for the government. This is possibly why the meeting planned for Monday did not happen.

Now the community leaders are being coached in “Plan B” which is to continue organizing to be an effective presence applying pressure for risk protection along the Rio Grande and to begin now with small steps such as requesting bags and sand to make barriers for their homes and roads.

Daily the weather grows hotter and more humid. Clouds are increasingly visible as they form to the north in the mountains between El Salvador and Honduras. The locals know that this heat brings the winter rains. Talk is already about when the rains will begin.

In two weeks, another meeting is scheduled with the leaders of communities and the government. We hope to be there to witness civic action on a simpler untelevised level as residents struggle for government agreement and movement toward safety.

David y Nancy