Grave Reflections- Remembering
the Four Church Women
   
December 2, 2003
It was 23 years ago today that four churchwomen
were found in a shallow grave in a farmer’s
field, some raped, all dead-- each with a single
bullet to their head.
The description of such violence was not at
all uncommon in 1980 in El Salvador- a countryside
desecrated by civil war, a people not at all
defeated by the horrors they lived daily. A
resurrection people, fed by the blood of the
martyrs and the bread of daily struggle for
a better life created the peace filled scene
I witnessed today--a lovely pasture populated
with a smart brick chapel, a beautiful white
stone monument complete with a memorial plaque
and a tree that is planted in the center of
an area outlined with small white rocks. A lovely
space- now filled with local folks and their
living memory of war and peace accords; Latin
American religious sisters revisiting the core
of their passion, commitment and witness; and
people from the North – standing in solidarity.
Aiding and abetting the enemy, the ‘subversive
acts’ of the nuns and one lay missioner
were caring for victims of war and war- orphaned
children. Addressing the social, political and
economic disparity between the rich and the
poor, teaching methods of self-empowerment,
and community development were direct threats
to the power structure of the ruling class.
In those times threats were eliminated.
What was not eliminated 23 years ago is the
continued struggle for parity among social classes
by those who are economically poor. Even as
we gathered at this grave site, determined justice
seeking Salvadoran citizens from the Bajo Lempa
were walking five days to the President’s
Mansion where they planned to demand the completion
of a levee—apparently the levee was only
constructed along side the land of the rich;
to demand the titles to their land acquired
for use for the levee, and to voice their opposition
to the CAFTA – the Central American Free
Trade Agreement.
Although I did not witness the violence of
23 years ago, I am witnessing a violence as
deadly, now with global partners, committing
economic warfare. While in El Salvador, SHARE
introduced me to many community groups -women
and men - struggling to gain access to water,
electricity, education, real jobs (not sweat
shop slavery) or fair trade prices for their
coffee. I am once more deeply resolved to work
to eliminate the death threat of free trade,
and towards replacing the present global economic
priorities with fair trade, food self-sufficiency,
and community development so all may live- and
live well.
December 2, 2003, I couldn’t help but
be honored and grateful to be standing in solidarity
with the people of El Salvador to commemorate
the memory and lives of these women and the
hundreds of thousands of Salvadorans martyred
in the struggle for equality. I couldn’t
help but be encouraged, deeply acknowledging
the effect their living spirits have had on
my own Catholic Christian convictions. I am
indebted to them for introducing me, by their
flesh and blood, to both liberation theology
and catholic social teaching incarnate! I couldn’t
help but pray that someday I, too, would be
so ‘subversive’ – that is
so compassionate, so just, so Christian.
©
|
