One of the harder things for me to do is something my teacher assigned in my Legal Systems in El Salvador class. I am supposed to ask for money…
Now I am not a fan of asking for money. That does not mean I will not take money. When my dad asks me if I need money my answer is usually no but I always tell him I could spend some.
In this case, we are supposed to ask for money in order to go to El Salvador. I have already bought my plane ticket which comes out of my pocket (Or future Anthony’s pocket as I say.) The money we are asking for has to do with our trip such as staying in the student barrack place, transportation and “gifts” which are money we give to some of the people we meet who tell us their stories.
El Salvador went through a Civil War around during the 1980’s but many of the atrocities are still fresh for people. Santa Clara Law is a Jesuit university and has strong ties to the country of El Salvador. One of the catalysts to the civil war was the assassination of the Jesuit archbishop Oscar Romero.
El Salvador had to fight their Civil War in the context of the Cold War and the communist guerrillas were the target of the military government. (You owe me $5 if you cannot guess where they got their guns from) During the military rule, terrible human rights violations occurred. Clergy were killed for protecting the teens. Doctors were killed for healing the wounded. And there are plenty of rapes and murder holes in the wake of this military regime.
One of the stories that have really bothered me is that one day a military group came in to a small town and rounded up little boys and their mothers. The military strung up the boys by ropes and then split the boys open by their bellies and they bled to death. The troops then forced the mothers to put their heads in the stomachs of their dead sons.
I will be spending the New Year before school starts again in this country. I will be with plenty of classmates and Lara will head down with me early with friends to enjoy the culture before my immersion trip begins. I will be examining the repression of speech and the press through laws and the supreme court of El Salvador. Some of my classmates will be studying environmental law, abortion law, gang culture and the amnesty law that the government passed to absolve troops of their atrocities during the civil war.
The university has set up a donation account to help us collect money that will benefit the entire trip. If you have any ties to El Salvador, know anyone who has ties to El Salvador or just want to benefit a great program please donate.
On the pull-down menu, under "Designation" go to "El Salvador Law Immersion Program." Thank you.
"I am bound, as a pastor, by divine command to give my life for those whom I love, and that is all Salvadorians, even those who are going to kill me." – Oscar Romero (two weeks before he was killed)
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