Every other Friday from June to September, the FMLN has organized a series of workshops in San Carlos , Tecoluca dealing with historical and political education. These workshops were designed for youth from the municipality to engage the history and current context of El Salvador with different leaders in the FMLN and popular movement. Topics include: a historical review of El Salvador , the history of the revolutionary struggle in El Salvador , theology and politics, human rights, free trade, and the importance of social organization and struggle.
Today I attended a workshop dealing with the history of the revolutionary struggle in El Salvador . Maria Achichilco, former guerilla, former member of the national assembly, and long time solidarity activist (she is featured on the USESSC video as well as the war-time documentary Maria’s Story), spoke with the group about the history of the struggle in El Salvador starting with the matanza, or massacre in 1932 up to present day. It was a great day. I learned an incredible amount about the history of El Salvador from the perspective of an amazing and historical woman and I was amazed by the level of participation and group dynamic. When I first arrived in the morning, I was disappointed to see how many older members (non-youth) were in the group - about half of a group of 25. However, later on I realized how important it was for both them and the youth that they were there.
A concern of many of the older members in the communities in this region is that the younger generation will not learn about their history, essentially, the war and why it was fought, and that this history will be lost. This was an opportunity for them to share their experiences with the youth present as well as have the conversation about why it was important to remember. A work used very often was lucha, or struggle. I can understand why many youth have a hard time identifying with the struggle of their parents. Today, 12 years after the war ended, I have found that this struggle is often talked about in terms of struggling against economic policies, corrupt government, destruction of the environment, etc. - issues that are significant but don’t necessarily inspire great feeling without a context. For those who fought in the war, the word struggle still convokes strong feelings of why they were willing to suffer greatly and risk sacrificing their life for it. Another word that Maria used often today was humano, or human. For me and for the rest of the group, she brought the concept of struggle back to its simplest terms: the struggle to be fully human and live as such. It was a space where this idea could be articulated and understood by everyone of all ages. It is the core reason why people have struggled and continue to today. Manuel Mejia, a non-youth from San Bartolo, explained, “…with the peace accords (in 1991), the armed struggle ended, but the revolutionary struggle did not.” Another member of the group stated that “we need to pass on this struggle to the next generation.”
It was a remarkable experience to see youth in the region gaining a historical context and understanding of fundamentally why we organize: to better participate in the struggle. I am excited to see how these classes will affect the youth involved. Immediately I see the how excited they are to interact with historical people in Salvadoran history as well as their eagerness to talk about the themes discussed outside the workshop. I hope these conversations will continue with other youth who were not able to come today. I am already looking forward to the next workshop, in which David Rodriguez (an ex-guerilla, ex-priest, current member of the national assembly and well known popular educator) and Father Juan (parish priest for the lower Lempa) discuss politics and liberation theology.
by Vanessa Cardinale
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