Archive for March, 2011

In the afternoon of the 26th, Northwest students and teachers met with an empowered group of young women receives trainings in sexual and reproductive health from the Institute of the Woman, IMU. These young women have also formed their own drum band, the Sihua Batucada. SHARE supports these women with partial high school scholarships.

After a full morning of exchange, we continued to Suchitoto,where we shared a particularly good lunch with a group of youngSalvadoran women who, not only go from town to town talking about sexualand reproductive rights in the face of criticism, but also have theirown drum and dance group called Sihua Batucada. We got to know a littlebit about them through intermingling between chewing at the lunch table,but even more so when they presented their cause through a presentation.This was a particularly interesting meeting, primarily because ElSalvador is a notoriously religious country; the country’s name means“The Savior”, or Jesus Christ.

In such a strong presence of religion,talking about sexual and reproductive rights, as well as sexuality, canbe considered “taboo”. Abortion is illegal here, and re-emphasized assuch many times in the national constitution. The women talked aboutthis challenge, and how they have been criticized on numerous occasions.At one point, the criticism and lies being spread about them were sostrong that they thought the group would have to stop meeting.Fortunately, they overcame the negative attention, and now pride in informing women (and men) all over about their sexual rights, pregnancy prevention, sexuality, and the issue of violence toward women. At one point, a member of our group brought up the question ofhomosexuality: Is it illegal? If not, is the gay lesbian population asmarginalized as it is in the US? Read More »

GRANDES NOTICIAS!! Todavía enfrentamos una demanda, pero una ha sido descartada por el tribunal (ICSID)! Les queremos agradecer mucho a todos y todas que llamaron, mandaron cartas, correos, y fax al Commerce Group–su incidencia ayudó a que el pueblo salvadoreño ganara, aunque sigue enfrentando una demanda y la urgencia de incidencia contra Pacific Rim no termina!!

February 20th to March 4th, twenty-four high school juniors and seniors along with five teachers from the Northwest School in Seattle Washington joined SHARE for a thirteen-day delegation. The Northwest School has strong roots in social justice, and has been in partnership with SHARE and our sister organization UCRES for several years now. For the past two weeks, Northwest students had the opportunity to interact with Salvadorans their age who are active leaders in their communities, to meet with members of various organizations working towards justice in many areas, to visit the community of Huisisilapa and stay with families, and to travel to Cabañas to learn the latest in the struggle against mining, amongst other things. During the delegation, the teachers wrote home to the students’ parents every couple of nights to share events and emotions. One night, one of the students wrote the letter home. Over the next few days we will share excerpts of her letter.

For the first excerpt, on February 26th, the delegation spent the morning with high school and college students who SHARE and sistering groups like Northwest support in their studies and leadership development lead by UCRES, one of SHARE’s counterparts. Read More »

Dear SHARE community,

We continue our support of the anti-mining groups in El Salvador. Many of our delegations have witnessed first hand the health risks, human rights violations, and environmental impacts that mining can cause. We realize the importance this issue has to our base of supporters and would like to share with you all what could be a very helpful case against mining in El Salvador.
(If you would like to read this and other articles in Spanish, please visit our Spanish Blog)

Amicus Brief Highlights the Environmental and Human Rights Impacts of Mining in $77 Million Investment Arbitration Case

Washington, DC: On March 2, 2011, the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), on behalf of civil society organizations of the Mesa Nacional Frente a la Minería Metálica (Mesa), filed an amicus curiae brief in the Pac Rim Cayman LLC v. Republic of El Salvador case, currently being heard at the International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). The Mesa is a coalition of human rights and environmental organizations working to ban metals mining in El Salvador. Read More »

Hola Amigos de SHARE,

Aqui en SHARE, nosotros seguimos apoyando a las organizaciones de E.E.U.U y El Salvador que estan en contra de la mineria en El Salvador. Muchas de nuestras delegaciones han visto por primera mano los impactos negativos que la mineria tiene sobre la salud de la gente y como los derechos humanos han sido violandos. Tambien han visto la destruccion que la mineria tiene en el medioambiente. Sabemos que este es un caso sumamente importante para nuestros amigos y queremos compartir con ustedes un caso que puede ayudar a mantener la mineria fuera de El Salvador.

Escrito de amicus curiae destaca los impactos de la minería metálica en el medioambiente y los derechos humanos en caso de arbitraje de inversiones por $77 millones de dólares

Washington, DC: El 2 de Marzo de 2011, el Centro para el Derecho Internacional Ambiental (CIEL), en nombre de las organizaciones de la sociedad civil de laMesa Nacional Frente a la Minería Metálica (Mesa), presentó un escrito de amicus curiae en el caso de Pacific Rim Cayman LLC v. República de El Salvador, actualmente en trámite en el Centro Internacional de Arreglo de Diferencias Relativas a Inversiones (CIADI). La Mesa es una coalición de organizaciones de derechos humanos y organizaciones ecologistas que trabajan para prohibir la minería metálica en El Salvador. Read More »

Dear friends,
As February comes to a close and we enter into March, here at the SHARE Foundation we remind ourselves to pause, to fully appreciate the living, breathing legacy of Archbishop Oscar Romero. We invite you to join us by planning an event or space to come together in solidarity with the Salvadoran people in celebration of Romero’s life, his dedication to the poor and marginalized of El Salvador and the world, and his untiring denouncement of the structures of injustice and oppression. To offer ideas and materials for commemoration and reflection, we have created the Romero Week Packet, They Must Be Educated for Love; Romero’s Legacy and the Right to Education. (click the link to download the packet)

On this 31st anniversary of Monseñor Romero’s death, we have an opportunity to honor his legacy and recognize those that continue to walk in his footsteps. In honoring the incredible example of love and justice that he laid his life down for, we can celebrate Romero’s life by raising awareness around one of the keys to creating sustainable development in El Salvador today: access to education. The Romero Week Packet includes information on Romero’s legacy; the struggle to access quality education; examples of transformative education in El Salvador today, a sample spiritual service; quotes, prayers, reflections, discussion questions and ideas for action. Read More »