Gang Violence
One of the things which I noticed most during my summer was the visibility of guns. It was incredibly common for most males to carry at least a machete, and almost every reputable restaurant or building had a guard carrying a giant gun sitting outside. One night, when my site partner Kallie and I encountered a giant spider in our beds in our room, I ran out to beg the guard with the giant gun who sits in our yard to kill it for us. He could not find it. He also mentioned that, thankfully, during the year and half that he had worked at the clinic in San Julian, he never had occasion to use his gun.
According to the United Nations, El Salvador has the second highest rate of intentional homicides of every country in the world, following close behind Honduras. Much of this is due to the dominance of gangs in the cities, most especially the well-known Mara Salvatrucha. The story of the Maras is quite interesting: According to Gene Palumbo, the Salvadoran gang originated in Los Angeles, California. The gang members caught by US police were deported back to El Salvador where they continued gang activity in the cities utilizing their contacts from before their deportation. This problem grew, fueled by governmental instability and, most recently, the increased drug traffic from Colombia through Central America to Mexico and the United States.
Gang violence has affected the life of almost every Salvadoran. Here are their stories.
http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/homicide.html
According to the United Nations, El Salvador has the second highest rate of intentional homicides of every country in the world, following close behind Honduras. Much of this is due to the dominance of gangs in the cities, most especially the well-known Mara Salvatrucha. The story of the Maras is quite interesting: According to Gene Palumbo, the Salvadoran gang originated in Los Angeles, California. The gang members caught by US police were deported back to El Salvador where they continued gang activity in the cities utilizing their contacts from before their deportation. This problem grew, fueled by governmental instability and, most recently, the increased drug traffic from Colombia through Central America to Mexico and the United States.
Gang violence has affected the life of almost every Salvadoran. Here are their stories.
http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/homicide.html
This is a group of young men between 18 and 28 at a rally in San Salvador targeted towards at-risk youth. All of those pictured here had joined gangs for a variety of reasons: they didn't have anything to do, unstable family structure, looking for a group to fit in, all the cool people were doing it, etc.
They had also decided to try to avoid the gang culture for quite different reasons: friends had been killed, they wanted to make something of their lives, they hoped to express themselves in different ways, they'd realized they were only destroying themselves, etc.
The group which ran this rally attempted to provide youth with another way to express themselves and form camaraderie. The men pictured had previously done artwork through graffiti--here, they created a painting to be shown in the office of the lady in charge. The work above beautifully depicts the union of Lady Liberty and Justice.
After allowing Kallie and I to assist with the painting (only the black part at the top, don't worry), they taught me the important skill of skateboarding.
For the liberation of all those entrapped in violence and looking for a way to form meaning in their lives.
They had also decided to try to avoid the gang culture for quite different reasons: friends had been killed, they wanted to make something of their lives, they hoped to express themselves in different ways, they'd realized they were only destroying themselves, etc.
The group which ran this rally attempted to provide youth with another way to express themselves and form camaraderie. The men pictured had previously done artwork through graffiti--here, they created a painting to be shown in the office of the lady in charge. The work above beautifully depicts the union of Lady Liberty and Justice.
After allowing Kallie and I to assist with the painting (only the black part at the top, don't worry), they taught me the important skill of skateboarding.
For the liberation of all those entrapped in violence and looking for a way to form meaning in their lives.