Letter from Priests in Communities
Affected by the Beltway
In September, priests from communities affected
by the beltway project wrote a letter to the
Minister of Public Works and to the Minister
for the Environment expressing the communities’
concerns regarding the beltway. If you would
like to read the letter, click here. Below is
a list of the priests who signed the letter.
Padre William Iraheta
Padre Daniel Sánchez
Padre Gerardo Potter
Padre Luis Salazar |
San Roque in San Jacinto
María Madre de los Pobres in la
Chacra
Concepción de María, in
neighborhood April 22 in Soyapango
Santa Cruz in San Jacinto |
If you, your sister parish, or community would
like to write a letter of solidarity to your
sister parish or to one of the above parishes
engaged in this effort to stop the beltway,
please send a copy to the parish and to Leslie
Bilchik, SHARE’s Grassroots Program Officer
in El Salvador (leslie@share-elsalvador.org).
All letters should be in Spanish.
September
11, 2004
Environmental Minister
Minister of Public Works
Dear Sirs,
We respectfully pray that you and your
work are blessed by God, and that your
decisions will help this beautiful gift
of creation to be protected for future
generations.
We, the priests of the parishes directly
affected by the construction of the San
Salvador Beltway, are writing today to
convey the worries of our parishioners
and the communities in which they live.
It is in response to these fears that
we have come to ask you why you continue
to construct a beltway despite the dangers
that it poses to these communities? The
following are some of the doubts and questions
that our parishioners have expressed:
- The danger of landslides and washing
away of the land, along with homes.
- The loss of water sources
- The rise of respiratory illnesses
that are already frequent among their
children.
- The country’s current problem
with debt. They fear that they will
pass on this debt plus interest for
future generations to pay. Even the
poor families who do not benefit from
the beltway will have to pay. Latin
America has already received a painful
lesson on external debt.
- The lack of clarity as to how those
who lose their property and homes will
be recompensed.
- If the old and current administrations
were so worried about the traffic jams
in Boulevard El Ejercito, why did they
build another commercial center, instead
of a bus terminal in Soyapango, which
is exactly where the traffic jams are
produced?
- Why, in a time when individual traffic
is reaching irrational levels, are we
not looking for solutions like mass
transit or carpooling, giving preference
to forms of transportation that do less
damage to the environment?
We come to you with these questions and
concerns because we are not specialists
in this field, and we would like you to
help us to understand the logic behind
these issues. We hope to find a rational
answer that is founded in morality. Our
duty is simply to look for the will of
the living God, who we get to know through
the work and deeds of Jesus Christ.
We attentively wait for your reply.
Sincerely,
The Priests of Parishes Affected by the
San Salvador Beltway |
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