Fun Salvador

"Life overwhelms me in post-El Salvador period." --Brady, fellow Fulbrighter

This past week, your hard-earned tax dollars went toward an all-expenses paid retreat for Fulbright student grantees working in Central America. We were sent to beautiful El Salvador for a few days of sharing research, exchanging feedback, and catching up on some R & R after what has been for most of us several pretty tough months in the field. I just wanted to mention the trip to send a shout out to my fellow grantees, thank them for a truly inspiring few days, and note how impressive some of the stuff that's going on out there really is. There were roughly twenty of us doing work throughout Central America, projects from working with street children in Nicaragua to photographing the Afro-Antillean community in Panama. Among others is one grantee tracking primary school dropout rates in Honduran slums, one studying popular and political responses to CAFTA in Costa Rica, and one researching evangelical conversion in El Salvador. Not only is there some really excellent research coming out of these studies, but everyone seems to have a seriously strong commitment to activism--their interest doesn't stop at the statistics or theory but extends to involvement and understanding for the people on the ground who are affected by the issues. Nice job, Fulbrighters--keep up the good work.

Playing in the pool

At our resort in Sonsonate, El Salvador (photo credit: Rose Cromwell)

Another part of the trip really worth noting was our day in the capital. For years now, I've heard and read about the infamous Father Oscar Romero, a Salvadorian human rights advocate who was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize the same year Mother Theresa won. Fulbright hooked us up with a tour to the site of his home, his church, and ultimately his execution, as well as the memorials for 6 jesuit priests who were also killed during El Salvador's violent conflict. On March 24, 1980, Romero was shot at the alter during mass at the small chapel of a hospital for cancer patients where he worked. After years of activism on behalf of victims of the civil war, Romero joined a list of martyrs killed for their affiliation to the church's promotion of peace in a time of violent revolution.

Cathedral were Romero preached, San Salvador

Just a few miles away at the Jesuit University in San Salvador, six Jesuit priests and two female University employees were killed nine years later by death squads directed by the same Salvadoran army. The memorials for the victims are a powerful albeit at times very graphic representation of the executions, the aftermath, and the inspiration they left in the wake of their deaths.

Commemorative depiction of priests killed

Memorial rose garden for female victims

Other highlights were having lunch at the US embassy, which is one of the biggest in the Western hemisphere. We met with the ambassador and his wife for some photo-ops and general promotion of US dollars at work in Central America. We also had some time to check out downtown...

Central plaza, San Salvador


Sarah and Brad hangin out.