El Salvador Reflection

Nancy and I became Election Observers in El Salvador in our first trip in 2004. It was an experience! At 4:00am we were bussed to the community of Apopa about 30 miles north of San Salvador. The community was thick in corruption and violence. We were taken to the large out-door plaza in the heart of the community where voting would take place. The emotions for the day were running very high; everyone was on edge about the outcome. The Civil War had now become a deep political divide. A former communist commander was running against the elite who had controlled the county for the past 400 years. Just before sunrise, there was suddenly shouting at the plaza entry. One official said open the gates for the voting to begin, the others shouted no. The military having their backs to the gate hearing the shouting aimed their AF 47’s at the election observer, not the gate. We didn’t feel safe until the plaza filled with voters. During the day there was much conversation from the current ruling party members that we were there to sway the election for the opposition party. There is no question that our presence allowed the public to vote their choice without repercussions. It was two years later with local community elections. Again we volunteered to be election observers. Our new post was in the local arena in capital of San Salvador. No military were present as they didn’t really add to the event. The voting rules have since changed but at that time the people had to return to their birth homes to vote. There was much reunion and fellowship taking place resulting in people staying for many extra hours. The congestion was overwhelming for us but not for them. This was and is their life style. After voting and vote tally ended, our small group from Milwaukee was invited to the Catholic University for time with Jesuit Dean Brackley. Dean Brackley left Spain when the four Jesuits were murdered at the Catholic University and then he served in their place through the civil war. Later he served a couple of semesters at Marquette in Milwaukee, then he returned home. Another participant in the conversation about the civil war that night was Rev Phillip Anderson. Rev Phil became our mentor in El Salvador. He remains one of the most wonderful men who supported our work in El Salvador long after he was called home to DC. We all met at Brackley’s apartment. He took us outside on his patio where we discovered he had a private gate to the public street with a pub on the other side. Over beers the delegation listened to the many stories from these icons of the civil war. Their stories highlighted the oppression and brutality experienced by the citizens. In reflection, this was a once in a life time opportunity and the possibility that this evening shaped our future. David y Nancy