Origin of the gangs
Many left El Salvador during the civil war to come to the US. It is important to remember that in those days it was not so difficult to do. The US economy was stronger in those days. Business needed the cheap labor, especially in agriculture, but also in industry.
Many went to Los Angeles and other cities with gang activity. Later, after joining gangs there and developing criminal records, they were returned to El Salvador. With the breakdown in society during the civil war, and the lack of jobs, the situation was ripe for the formation of gangs back in El Salvador.
There are two main gangs: MS-13 and Barrio 18. They control swaths of territory, conscript children as they become young adults, and extort from local businesses. People dare not cross gang boundaries. The gangs fight each other and the authorities. Gang members typically bear the tattoo of their gang. When police conduct a raid, they order the men to remove their shirts; the presence of a gang tattoo is sufficient to send them to prison.
In 2012 a truce was established between the gangs. The homicide rate greatly dropped. Since then the truce broke down and then the government began a concerted effort to root out the gangs. The government's aggressive approach with the gangs is popular with the public who are fed up with them.
The ELCA's position on the gangs
By contrast the ELCA and some others advocate dialogue with the gangs. Bishop Gomez spoke at Casa Concordia of a recent visit to a prison housing gang members. They were not especially receptive to his pleas for renouncing violence and seeking God. But he noticed tears on the face of the gang leader. Afterwards he was able to talk to the man individually. The gang leader said he had no choice but to join the gang. He had done bad things, but what else could he do? At the same time he said he did not want the same life for his children.
Bishop Gomez hopes that via dialogue steps can be taken to reduce the level of violence. He says even gang members have mothers. His approach will always be that of peace.
Bishop Gomez is no stranger to violence. During the civil war he was subject to death threats. There was a machine gun pointed at Resurrection church. For a period of time he was shadowed by US volunteers in the expectation that he would be less likely to be killed if there was an American at his side. There are brave people in this world!
We meet at the US Embassy
Gretchen arranges for us to join Bishop Gomez, an Episcopal minister, and others to meet representatives at the US Embassy. The goal is to persuade the embassy to persuade the El Salvdoran government to take a more conciliatory approach with the gangs. A PR person from the embassy does most of their talking. Among other things she says this is El Salvador, and the embassy can't tell them what to do. That may or may not be accurate. In Rick Steve's book "Travel as a Political Act" he says the locals claim the US Embassy run the country. At the very least it's a gross exaggeration but there might be a grain of truth in it.
The church leaders are given a contact in the political wing of the embassy to talk to later. Hopefully, that is useful.
Giving youth an education and an opportunity to stay out of the gangs
Members of St Mathews sponsor about out twenty youth, giving them an education and keeping them out of the gangs. This is done for $350 a year until college, then $1000 a year. We have a pizza dinner one night with them at a pizza place in town. Logan and I sit with two; with limited communication skills we determine they are studying to be engineers, just like Logan. They plan to stay in El Salvador to help their county.
Links
Short talk by Bishop Gomez; the intro mentions he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1992
Article from 1989 about the persecution of the churches in El Salvador; mentions Bishop Gomez and death threats against him and others
NPR story on the origin of the gangs
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