Entrapped in El Salvador: Through the eyes of an outsider
Entrapped in El Salvador: Through the eyes of an outsider
Amartya Sen proposes that “poverty must be seen as the deprivation of basic capabilities, rather than merely as lowness of incomes”; this statement defined my El Salvadoran experience (Development as Freedom, 87). While weekly transitioning between the top and bottom of Salvadoran society, I learned to look beyond my immediate sensory experience and observed the structural inequalities which inhibit the ability of a family living in rural poverty to improve their position in the social order, or even to increase their quality of life. Two Salvadoran children, Maria1 and Miguel, especially revealed the structural violence that traps thousands of Salvadorans in inescapable situations.
I met Maria in a canton outside San Julian, while recording basic medical information for the health care team. Although we never engaged in conversation, I noticed three facts about her. She was fifteen years old, pregnant, and completely illiterate; she could not even write her name. While any two of these three characteristics were true for several girls in every canton, I rarely observed all three in one person. Maria embodied the impediments that most rural Salvadoran women experience in their daily lives.
The lack of quality education in rural El Salvador and the traditional roles of women as defined and strengthened through machismo mean that early pregnancy is common and higher education is normally unavailable to females in rural areas. Rural schooling only continues until 6th grade; afterwards, the students must travel to the nearest town to attend high school. Because towns may be anywhere between one and three hours away by foot or bus, the dropout rate after 6th grade is very high. Additionally, several infrastructural obstacles interfere with student’s ability to attend primary school. Two teachers I spoke with during a day I spent at a local school stated that attendance was their largest challenge. Since there were only two teachers with no support for 100 students in grades K-6, they found it difficult to keep track of which students attended consistently. As well, the tiny dirt roads meant that when it rained and the roads turned muddy, students often could not walk to school. During the rainy season, school attendance dropped significantly. After graduation from primary school, fewer students moved on to the high school that was located an hour and half walk away in the town of San Julian. Rather, they began work in the coffee plantations or started families.
According to the healthcare promoter of my medical team, poor education and the number of girls without advanced schooling meant that early pregnancies became much more common. After graduating sixth grade and not going to high school, students had nothing else to do in the rural areas other than pass time with friends and members of the opposite sex. Especially for girls, as their prevailing cultural role model is the domestic housewife, they see no reason to finish their schooling, and thus often prefer to begin the process of raising children in their own house without considering the potential ramifications of that choice. I remember speaking with a 19-year-old mother of two children who urged me to continue my studies, as she regretted her decision.
For me, 15 year old Maria epitomized a common occurrence in rural El Salvador. Because of her lack of education, she held no power, especially in her relationships towards men. As such, she only filled the cultural role of a mother and supporter to a male figure. Since there was apparently no other option open to her, she conceived a child at the age of fifteen. Assuming that the pregnancy is successful, Maria now has a dependent, and thanks to cultural roles and lack of education, she has entrapped herself within a situation that she cannot escape.
A young child, Miguel, whom I met while performing health checkups in Canton San Isidro personified the long-term effects of the poverty trap. Miguel is a lively bright eyed, and enjoyable three-year-old child. He was friendly, interactive, and very playful, unlike most of the children with whom I daily spent time. However, Miguel was severely emaciated and his mother seemed to understand very little of the directions with which the nurse, Leidi, provided her. When Leidi questioned Miguel’s mother about their diet, she always answered “yes” without responding or comprehending the actual question. Leidi believed that Miguel’s mother was a victim of domestic abuse; however, there is no existing social network or safety net to assist her. Perhaps as a result of this, she does not care for Miguel or note that he requires food and medicine. This lack of care has severe long-term effects.
Miguel’s emaciation signifies a host of negative health outcomes later in life. Although we regularly provide food to his family, the fact that Miguel has gained no weight suggests that something is going on at home. However, his emaciation means that his brain and motor skills will never fully develop, that his growth will be stunted, and that his life expectancy will be shorter. Although he may have great dreams, go to school and work hard, to lift himself out of poverty, he is physically disadvantaged from birth due to the underdevelopment of his body and mind. As well, the parasites in the water he drinks will infect his already emaciated body, decreasing even more the effectiveness of his immune system. As Miguel grows older, he may drop out of school and join one of the gangs that are so prevalent among the men in his area. He will then be seriously injured due to gang violence, or he may survive, although his life expectancy is significantly lower than that of his richer, urban peers who received good nutrition, education, and healthcare as young children.
Both Maria and Miguel, through little fault of their own, find themselves trapped in a situation in which cultural and societal factors reduced their freedom to choose how to live their life and their abilities to meet basic needs. While Miguel is physically underdeveloped, the culture and gender to which Maria belongs has driven the situation in which she finds herself. Their societal position at birth and in their early years of life determines the rest of their lives and increases their inability to change the situations in which they live.
1 Name changed
Amartya Sen proposes that “poverty must be seen as the deprivation of basic capabilities, rather than merely as lowness of incomes”; this statement defined my El Salvadoran experience (Development as Freedom, 87). While weekly transitioning between the top and bottom of Salvadoran society, I learned to look beyond my immediate sensory experience and observed the structural inequalities which inhibit the ability of a family living in rural poverty to improve their position in the social order, or even to increase their quality of life. Two Salvadoran children, Maria1 and Miguel, especially revealed the structural violence that traps thousands of Salvadorans in inescapable situations.
I met Maria in a canton outside San Julian, while recording basic medical information for the health care team. Although we never engaged in conversation, I noticed three facts about her. She was fifteen years old, pregnant, and completely illiterate; she could not even write her name. While any two of these three characteristics were true for several girls in every canton, I rarely observed all three in one person. Maria embodied the impediments that most rural Salvadoran women experience in their daily lives.
The lack of quality education in rural El Salvador and the traditional roles of women as defined and strengthened through machismo mean that early pregnancy is common and higher education is normally unavailable to females in rural areas. Rural schooling only continues until 6th grade; afterwards, the students must travel to the nearest town to attend high school. Because towns may be anywhere between one and three hours away by foot or bus, the dropout rate after 6th grade is very high. Additionally, several infrastructural obstacles interfere with student’s ability to attend primary school. Two teachers I spoke with during a day I spent at a local school stated that attendance was their largest challenge. Since there were only two teachers with no support for 100 students in grades K-6, they found it difficult to keep track of which students attended consistently. As well, the tiny dirt roads meant that when it rained and the roads turned muddy, students often could not walk to school. During the rainy season, school attendance dropped significantly. After graduation from primary school, fewer students moved on to the high school that was located an hour and half walk away in the town of San Julian. Rather, they began work in the coffee plantations or started families.
According to the healthcare promoter of my medical team, poor education and the number of girls without advanced schooling meant that early pregnancies became much more common. After graduating sixth grade and not going to high school, students had nothing else to do in the rural areas other than pass time with friends and members of the opposite sex. Especially for girls, as their prevailing cultural role model is the domestic housewife, they see no reason to finish their schooling, and thus often prefer to begin the process of raising children in their own house without considering the potential ramifications of that choice. I remember speaking with a 19-year-old mother of two children who urged me to continue my studies, as she regretted her decision.
For me, 15 year old Maria epitomized a common occurrence in rural El Salvador. Because of her lack of education, she held no power, especially in her relationships towards men. As such, she only filled the cultural role of a mother and supporter to a male figure. Since there was apparently no other option open to her, she conceived a child at the age of fifteen. Assuming that the pregnancy is successful, Maria now has a dependent, and thanks to cultural roles and lack of education, she has entrapped herself within a situation that she cannot escape.
A young child, Miguel, whom I met while performing health checkups in Canton San Isidro personified the long-term effects of the poverty trap. Miguel is a lively bright eyed, and enjoyable three-year-old child. He was friendly, interactive, and very playful, unlike most of the children with whom I daily spent time. However, Miguel was severely emaciated and his mother seemed to understand very little of the directions with which the nurse, Leidi, provided her. When Leidi questioned Miguel’s mother about their diet, she always answered “yes” without responding or comprehending the actual question. Leidi believed that Miguel’s mother was a victim of domestic abuse; however, there is no existing social network or safety net to assist her. Perhaps as a result of this, she does not care for Miguel or note that he requires food and medicine. This lack of care has severe long-term effects.
Miguel’s emaciation signifies a host of negative health outcomes later in life. Although we regularly provide food to his family, the fact that Miguel has gained no weight suggests that something is going on at home. However, his emaciation means that his brain and motor skills will never fully develop, that his growth will be stunted, and that his life expectancy will be shorter. Although he may have great dreams, go to school and work hard, to lift himself out of poverty, he is physically disadvantaged from birth due to the underdevelopment of his body and mind. As well, the parasites in the water he drinks will infect his already emaciated body, decreasing even more the effectiveness of his immune system. As Miguel grows older, he may drop out of school and join one of the gangs that are so prevalent among the men in his area. He will then be seriously injured due to gang violence, or he may survive, although his life expectancy is significantly lower than that of his richer, urban peers who received good nutrition, education, and healthcare as young children.
Both Maria and Miguel, through little fault of their own, find themselves trapped in a situation in which cultural and societal factors reduced their freedom to choose how to live their life and their abilities to meet basic needs. While Miguel is physically underdeveloped, the culture and gender to which Maria belongs has driven the situation in which she finds herself. Their societal position at birth and in their early years of life determines the rest of their lives and increases their inability to change the situations in which they live.
1 Name changed