From El Salvador, with love

By Maryann Dakkak

While we wade through the papers, the midterms, the parties and our jobs, students on the other side of the Equator are experiencing a whole different rendition of life. Four students, juniors Casey O'Connor, Evan Hughes, Zach Bongiovani and Chris Wright have been in El Salvador with the school's Casa de Solaridad program since late summer (some for all of summer) and will be returning to our dear Santa Clara bubble next quarter. Three of the four wrote me letters about their experiences.

Casey O'Connor:

Trying to sum up all this in a few short words just isn't easy. To put it in a few words, the time here has been rather eye-opening and has allowed me to gain a greater perspective on the realities of our world, and the role of our country in the maintenance of those realities.

I spent the first two months in Guarjila, El Salvador, living with a campesino family, working with them in the milpa (cornfield) every morning really early. Then I hung out with a youth group called the Tamarindos every day and evening. It was crazy ... it took my stomach a little while to get adjusted as I got used to the endless tortillas, beans and rice. That's all I ate, by the way. I have lost about 15 pounds. I imagine I look different. I also grew a moustache at one point, which was fun.

I've since come here to the city (San Salvador) and I live with 11 other college students from around the United States and we study at the Universidad-Central America ... and go see all of the things like Non-Government Organizations, Liberation theology organizations, extremely marginalized communities, etc.

Chris Wright:

I am really happy to be in El Salvador right now although it is definitely difficult to be here with the Sept. 11 memories hanging over our heads. Still though, without a doubt this program is of value to my development and hopefully somewhat valuable to the individuals that I am working with right now.

I am teaching second, third, fourth and sixth grade classes two days a week and that has been enjoyable as well as difficult. The kids are definitely a mix of sweet and troubled. They are from a very marginalized community here in the capital, and accordingly suffer from malnutrition, domestic abuse and all the other symptoms of oppression. You can see a lot of the results of this in the classroom in terms of violence, self-image and behavioral issues. It can be tough sometimes, but definitely also joyful because also they are wonderful sometimes.

Also, I am participating in a guitar group where we are learning and playing Latin American songs (mostly church songs). It is a neat opportunity because the community where we are playing has never had music at their church ceremonies before and hopefully the young guys from the community who are learning guitar can fill in that empty space. I would love to see that happen.

It is definitely challenging to be away when I know that the peace movement is getting going at Santa Clara and in the states in general, but I like to think that studying justice and working for justice here in El Salvador is also a small part of the global peace movement that is going on today. I look forward to getting back and having the opportunity to work with Santa Clara students who are actively being witnesses for peace and justice.

Evan Hughes:

I feel really far away from where you are right now. The whole Santa Clara bubble thing is so true. We can make our excursions into downtown San Jose to work alongside homeless people, but being down here can really shock you. Santa Clara can start to feel like an academic island removed from reality. El Salvador can't help but hit you in the face with reality and you start to really think about where you come from, the school you go to, your own goals, the goals of the people around you and what is driving all those goals.

I am working two days a week in a community called Mejicanos. I work and hang out with a group of youth, many of whom are ex-gang members. I also do home visits in these extremely marginalized communities. This is poverty. These are people scraping a little food together, and nothing else, in forgotten corners of a forgotten country. These people have no security and no voice. It is ugly.

I really feel like I am going to have a hard time reentering into Santa Clara because it is worlds away from where I am now, and there are walls constructed between those worlds. It has been a shock to live with and meet families that lost many members during a war that was funded and trained by the U.S. There is blood on U.S. hands.

As much as coming back is going to be hard, I am also looking forward to it. There are so many people that I want to sit down with and talk late into the night. I miss you all.

For more information about the Casa de Solidaridad program, check out their website at www.scu.edu/casa