An “American” street scene in the capital, San Salvador
“El Salvador, the most violent country in the world” (El Diario, 28 October, 2011)
Street scene in Intipucá.
Intipucá, a town with about 8000 residents lying in the east of the country, is often regarded as symbolic of the emigration. It was townspeople from here who first began the trek north – and according to the mayor, about 85% of the population are now in North America. The money they earn there has built a football stadium and beautiful houses. Many of the houses stand empty, because their owners are still in the United Sates.
American style shopping mall in San Salvador
Halloween in Intipucá
The United States has been a destination for Salvadorans for decades now. A bloody civil war from1981 to 1992 drove many hundreds of thousands of refugees north. But after a peace treaty was signed, the flood only became greater because of overpopulation, an economy that lay in ruins, and continuing unrest. Officially, there are now 1.2 million Salvadorans in the United States; the actual number is certainly over 1.5 million.
Family members at the funeral for Ricardo Arias (88), in Intipucá.
Most of the members of the families of those still living in Intipucá are in the U.S. When he was alive, Ricardo Arias had few members of his family around him. All of his children had emigrated to the United States. When he passed away, they all returned for the funeral.
The Mormon church in San Salvador
The brand new Mormon church in San Salvador is that denomination's fourth location in Central America. Two more, in Guatamala and Honduras, are under construction. The members of the congregation are both Salvadorans and Americans, often diplomats. Becoming a member is complicated, and expensive; the Church of the Latter-day Saints requires that its members tithe, giving 10% of their income to the church.
Graffiti from the youth gang “18” in San Salvador: “See, hear, remain silent”
Quezaltepeque Prison
Many young criminals end up in Quezaltepeque Prison. It was built to house 400 prisoners, but actually has three times that number. The largest hall alone has 400 men packed into it.
Diani Lisseth Domínguez (age 18)
Diani Lisseth Domínguez has been in detention for three months, one of them at Quezaltepeque. She is accused of membership in a youth gang, a charge which carries a one year jail sentence. She denies the accusation.
A service at the Baptist Biblical Tabernacle
Until well into the 20th century most Salvadorans were Roman Catholic. About a quarter of them have now converted to Protestantism. One of the most popular churches is the Baptist Biblical Tabernacle, Friends of Israel. This fundamentalist, evangelical church, with its own eight level parking garage, has had to expand its facilities three times in a decade, but the 10,000 seats and four services it has on Sunday are still not enough. Those who can not get into the auditorium follow the service on screens in front of the church, or on the church's own television channel, where the services are rerun 24 hours a day.
Monument for the first emigrant from Intipucá (1967)
Police raid a nightclub in San Salvador
The peace accord in 1992 put an end to the civil war, but not to the unrest. Unemployed ex-soldiers and guerillas turned to crime, aided by the many weapons which were in circulation. At about the same time the United States began to deport illegal Salvadoran emigrants, often with criminal records. As a result, the youth gang culture blew over to El Salvador. The most infamous gangs are Mara Salvatrucha and “18”. In part due to their activities, the murder rate in El Salvador has risen to 71 per 100,000 people, second only to Honduras as the world's highest.
William Galindo (age 39), serving a 38-year prison sentence
William Galindo was nine when his mother took him with her to Houston, Texas. There he came in contact with youth gangs. In 1998 he was arrested for the possession of cocaine, and deported to El Salvador. Once back in his homeland he became a prominent member of the gang “18”, and was arrested again. He shares a cell with 56 others.
The women's block in Quezaltepeque Prison
Graffiti in Quezaltepeque Prison: “Love and Action”
Street in Intipucá named for the American filibusterer William Walker, who tried to conquer Central America in the mid 19th Century
Emigration has had an enormous impact on the Salvadoran economy. Over 16 percent of the nation's income is made up of money that family members send back home. In 2008 that was a record of almost 3.8 billion dollars. The next year the international credit crisis caused this to decline, but in 2011 Salvadoran migrants again sent 3.6 billion dollars back to their country.
Evangelical church service in San Salvador
Anonymous alcoholics in San Salvador
Shelter for drug addicts in San Salvador
Drug use is a major problem in El Salvador. Often it involves young people who have been deported from the United States, and subsequently become addicted. The Victory Outreach Church, an American evangelical group with ministries to addicts, runs outreach programs for them. The treatment is based on inner healing, from acceptance of the Gospel. Those who sign in for the treatment may not leave the center for the three months they are in the program.
Bakery where “inactive” gang members work
Those who join a youth gang take a life-long oath not to renounce the principles of the gang or betray their fellow members. They can, however, become “inactive”. A bakery has been established in the working-class Buenos Aires neighborhood of San Salvador where these “ex-” gang members can learn a trade, to enable them to earn a living outside the criminal circuit.
Giovanni Morales, Isamar Orellana (ages 32 and 20) and their daughter Grace
Giovanni Morales grew up in the working-class neighborhood of Mexicanos, and joined Mara Salvatrucha when he was twelve. He has been in prison four times, one for a period of six years. He has now become religious, and works in the bakery for “inactive” gang members in the
Buenos Aires neighborhood, “to show that things can be different”. He met Isamar in 2010, and they now have a three-month-old daughter. They live in the house formerly occupied by Isamar's mother, who was killed in an attack on a bus by a youth gang.
The garden of the mayor of Intipucá
