El Salvador’s State of Emergency
This past weekend, El Salvador’s government declared a state of emergency as the number of homicides on Friday and Saturday reached numbers not seen in the country since the war. On Saturday, gangs went on a killing spree, randomly shooting passers-by including street vendors, bus passengers and marketgoers making it the most single bloodiest day on record since the end of the civil war 30 years ago with a total of 76 people killed on the streets between Friday and Saturday.
As a response to the violence on Sunday El Salvador’s Parliament declared a 30 day state of emergency in an effort to stem the violence.
Why is this happening?
El Salvador has a long and unfortunate history of unrest. The terrible problem it faces with gangs today are a result of layers upon layers of complex issues traced back to the 1980’s.
As the civil war wreaked havoc in El Salvador during the 80’s thousands of people fled the country to escape, with a large number of refugees settling in the US. In Los Angeles, children and teens from El Salvador formed their own gangs as a means of protection from other large and well-established gangs in the neighbourhoods.
When the war in El Salvador drew to a close in 1992, thousands of these gang members began to be deported from the US back to El Salvador. At this time the gangs formed on the streets of Los Angeles now found the perfect conditions to flourish in a very broken post war El Salvador as many children and teens who had been left abandoned or orphaned were easily recruited into these gangs.
Today, there are approximately 76,000 members of gangs on the streets of El Salvador (BBC, 2022) however other reports state that the overall number of people involved in gangs could be as high as 500,000 (Foreign Policy, 2022). Almost an entire generation and society has been taken hostage by gangs.
In the past couple of decades, with the explosion of gangs, has come a demand and fight for power and in recent years gangs target innocent victims just as they did this past weekend as a means to pressure the government to cave into their demands and exert their power and control in the country.
Our fight for this generation
El Salvador’s story can be overwhelming and trying to curve or hold back this level of devastation seems impossible.
Over the years while working in El Salvador, we have sat with countless numbers of people as they have recounted their stories of grief and trauma of losing loved ones to the senseless violence. We have seen the aftermath of violence ourselves on the streets as we have on more than one occasion driven past the heart breaking scenes of hooded policemen standing guard over freshly gunned down bodies.
We are witnesses to El Salvador’s struggle, yet in the midst of it all, we have also seen first hand the powerful role that Hope can play in these situations. We have seen hope be a healing balm to raw wounds and cause transformation in dire situations.
It’s because of your valuable support that we can continue to extend this Hope to people. Through our Children’s Feeding Program and Women of Hope initiative we are able to provide essential food and support to children living amongst dangerous communities. It is because of your support that we are able to work hard to empower and educate women and adolescent girls with practical information to help keep them safe.
At the core of everything we do is a determination to keep reaching and fighting for families in the midst of so much heartache. Every step we take is part of our vision to do more, to fight for this generation of children, to reach their lives as early as possible and give them options to choose different paths and turn the tide on this violence.
Thank you for making a difference and helping us to shine a light in these dark circumstances. We believe that this is a country loved by God and its people and is worth fighting for!
Ps Douglas and Eunice- San Martin Feeding Program update
We would appreciate your prayers for Ps Douglas. Four weeks ago Ps Douglas suffered from a brain hemorrhage and the situation was touch and go for a number of days. He is now recovering at home and his wife Ps Eunice is looking after him round the clock.
Ps Douglas still needs a lot of care and will require rehabilitation. We are praying that God would speed up his recovery and for complete healing. We know there's an incredible call upon Ps Douglas' and Ps Eunice's life to continue the work of God in San Martin.
As a result of this our pilot feeding program in San Martin has been postponed, but we look forward to bringing you an update very soon on the details of the launch of this valuable project in the community of San Martin!
