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my best friend just got back from a trip to el salvador. he saw and heard some terrible stories about how these people have lived for a very long time. i wanted to share his email with everyone:
Original Message-----
From: Joshua
Sent: Tue, 5 Jun 2007 11:56 am
Subject: re
here's a wknd
here is a recap of what i?ve seen and learned,
wednedsay,
we met with pro-busqueda
its a not for profit that tries to reunite families torn apart from the
war
very touching stories, about 800 ppl have been misplaced that they are
looking for
and they have reunited about 300
many children were kidnapped then sold into adoption to US and other
countries
the military made a profit from doing this. a very horrible situation
then we went to hte monument of the truth and memory
this was like the vietnam memorial
over 70,000 names were on this. the names included ppl that died and
those who are missing
very sad
then we went to hte us embassy,
i very sad time to be an american, becasue what i know and what they
told us are not the reality of this country
its is sad to see how the US govt supports the evil political party
that caused the atrocities in this country
thursday
i went to the UCA, the university of central america
a jesuit talked to us, we saw the grounds were six jesuits were
massacred, i saw the pictures that were numbing,
afterwards i talked with this jesuit about catholic involvement,
he mentioned how benedict 13 wants to try and keep religion and state
separate however, in cases were the military of el salvador murdered six
jesuits, how can that happen. its a confusing highly political world.
the jesuit was very nice and we had a good conversation about vocations
etc....
then we went to a inner city catholic grammar school
the nuns were very sweet, many of the children were very nice too,
i was able to practice my spanish with many of them, and it reminded me
alot of inner city baltimore and the hardships they both experience.
friday
we left for the countryside,
dirt roads, chickens, cows, pigs running wild in the streets,
latrines, bugs, etc.....
very primitive or non developed from what we are accustomed to
we heard stories from these ppl how they lost their family members, how
they fled to nicaragua etc...
saturday i stayed in b-c i was sick, but then toured the landscape,
which was very beuatiful,
i went to an all spanish mass on the pentecostal
there were dogs roaming the aisles, this was funny to see.
the little children would chase the dogs during the mass.
sunday we left,
we headed to a site were nuns were raped and executed by the military
only b-c someone heard them was this event ever known about. were this
happened some 20-30 years
ago was way out in the boonies, undeveloped and no raods were there. a
very sad site.
we then came back to san salvador where we met scholarshpi students
attending UCA
we shared stories, listened to them play music, they sang for us,
they also played some johnny cash, bob dylan, and beatles for us as we
sang for them
we also ate dinner togehter too
monday
went to three churches, the cathedral, which was ehhh, but still great
to see,
we saw were oscar romero said mass, and was murdered on the altar,
we saw his living quarters, not typical for an archbishop
he wanted to live like the ppl he worked for and this was against the
catholic church at the time
very interesting to hear about the lack of support even though the
preachings are the same
we then went to COMADRES an organization that took photos of all the
ppl the military killed,
i have had my fill of pictures of disemboweled ppl,
very sick and sad photos, its hard to imagine what ppl do to each
other
these women document all their findings, the govt has tried to bomb and
steal all their documents many times
these women have all been raped and tortured for their work
they document all the killing and all the victims who have been
kidnapped too
later dude
Reply;
joshua,
in reading your email i am very moved and hopelessly sad. it is sickening to hear of the atrocities that these poor people have had to endure. it's even more sad that you hear of this happening all over the world. you've gone on a life and soul-searching journey these past few weeks that will undoubtedly burn an image in your memory forever. hearing your story has truly made me reflect on where i am in my life-journey. just today i found myself pissed off because i was frustrated with work. i get paid very well and get to work outside everyday with friends. how foolish do i feel now from learning of your encounters in el salvador. i often think about what i can do to make a difference in this world but never come up with the stones to do anything to get the wheels in motion. although the stories and images you've witnesses were harrowing they must have been equally humbling and inspiring. i hope you take as much of this with you into your work and prayer as possible. i hope to hear more about your retreat soon. keep in touch.
your friend,
ryan
Original Message-----
From: Joshua
Sent: Tue, 5 Jun 2007 11:56 am
Subject: re
here's a wknd
here is a recap of what i?ve seen and learned,
wednedsay,
we met with pro-busqueda
its a not for profit that tries to reunite families torn apart from the
war
very touching stories, about 800 ppl have been misplaced that they are
looking for
and they have reunited about 300
many children were kidnapped then sold into adoption to US and other
countries
the military made a profit from doing this. a very horrible situation
then we went to hte monument of the truth and memory
this was like the vietnam memorial
over 70,000 names were on this. the names included ppl that died and
those who are missing
very sad
then we went to hte us embassy,
i very sad time to be an american, becasue what i know and what they
told us are not the reality of this country
its is sad to see how the US govt supports the evil political party
that caused the atrocities in this country
thursday
i went to the UCA, the university of central america
a jesuit talked to us, we saw the grounds were six jesuits were
massacred, i saw the pictures that were numbing,
afterwards i talked with this jesuit about catholic involvement,
he mentioned how benedict 13 wants to try and keep religion and state
separate however, in cases were the military of el salvador murdered six
jesuits, how can that happen. its a confusing highly political world.
the jesuit was very nice and we had a good conversation about vocations
etc....
then we went to a inner city catholic grammar school
the nuns were very sweet, many of the children were very nice too,
i was able to practice my spanish with many of them, and it reminded me
alot of inner city baltimore and the hardships they both experience.
friday
we left for the countryside,
dirt roads, chickens, cows, pigs running wild in the streets,
latrines, bugs, etc.....
very primitive or non developed from what we are accustomed to
we heard stories from these ppl how they lost their family members, how
they fled to nicaragua etc...
saturday i stayed in b-c i was sick, but then toured the landscape,
which was very beuatiful,
i went to an all spanish mass on the pentecostal
there were dogs roaming the aisles, this was funny to see.
the little children would chase the dogs during the mass.
sunday we left,
we headed to a site were nuns were raped and executed by the military
only b-c someone heard them was this event ever known about. were this
happened some 20-30 years
ago was way out in the boonies, undeveloped and no raods were there. a
very sad site.
we then came back to san salvador where we met scholarshpi students
attending UCA
we shared stories, listened to them play music, they sang for us,
they also played some johnny cash, bob dylan, and beatles for us as we
sang for them
we also ate dinner togehter too
monday
went to three churches, the cathedral, which was ehhh, but still great
to see,
we saw were oscar romero said mass, and was murdered on the altar,
we saw his living quarters, not typical for an archbishop
he wanted to live like the ppl he worked for and this was against the
catholic church at the time
very interesting to hear about the lack of support even though the
preachings are the same
we then went to COMADRES an organization that took photos of all the
ppl the military killed,
i have had my fill of pictures of disemboweled ppl,
very sick and sad photos, its hard to imagine what ppl do to each
other
these women document all their findings, the govt has tried to bomb and
steal all their documents many times
these women have all been raped and tortured for their work
they document all the killing and all the victims who have been
kidnapped too
later dude
Reply;
joshua,
in reading your email i am very moved and hopelessly sad. it is sickening to hear of the atrocities that these poor people have had to endure. it's even more sad that you hear of this happening all over the world. you've gone on a life and soul-searching journey these past few weeks that will undoubtedly burn an image in your memory forever. hearing your story has truly made me reflect on where i am in my life-journey. just today i found myself pissed off because i was frustrated with work. i get paid very well and get to work outside everyday with friends. how foolish do i feel now from learning of your encounters in el salvador. i often think about what i can do to make a difference in this world but never come up with the stones to do anything to get the wheels in motion. although the stories and images you've witnesses were harrowing they must have been equally humbling and inspiring. i hope you take as much of this with you into your work and prayer as possible. i hope to hear more about your retreat soon. keep in touch.
your friend,
ryan
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