Something is happening in El Salvador!
We are counting down to March, and we can’t wait because something very special is happening in El Salvador!
Last year, in our May 2022 newsletter, I felt prompted to ask a question that had been persistently going around in my mind. At the time, El Salvador had just entered its second month of the nationwide state of emergency. By May, when we sent out our newsletter, the state of emergency had already resulted in an astonishing 34,500 alleged gang members being arrested. It was a huge development for the first eight weeks of the government’s massive ‘war on gangs’ nationwide crackdown.
My question, somewhere along the lines of “Is this a long-awaited watershed moment for El Salvador?” came about mainly because of what we were seeing happen in El Salvador in an incredibly short period of time and partly due to an inexplicable and growing sense that perhaps, finally, a significant change for the country was imminent.
A change that we have personally been hoping and praying for since we witnessed first-hand the incredible toll that poverty and extreme violence were having on Salvadoreans when we began working amongst El Salvador’s poor back in 2009.
After decades of witnessing an entire society suffocated by violence, we, along so many others with a passionate and vested interest in El Salvador, prayed that what we were witnessing in real time would result in the streets of El Salvador being freed from the levels of oppressive violence for the first time ever.
Since 1994, El Salvador had ranked number one on the list of countries with the most homicides. In 2000 a gradual decline began and by the end of 2022, El Salvador had achieved a 56.84% reduction in the rates of murder from the previous year. Last year, 2022, was declared the safest year in Salvadorean history since the end of the civil war! (elsalvadorinfo.net, 2023).
Today, our colleagues and partners in El Salvador tell us that the hope that Salvadoreans are experiencing in this moment is palpable. For many Salvadoreans, like those born in the 1970s, just before the civil war was officially declared and who are now in their 40s, this level of peace is unlike anything they have experienced before.
Almost twelve months on from the implementation of the ‘Territorial Control Plan’, which was prompted by the spate of killings back in March 2022 in which 82 people were murdered in one weekend, an approximate 62,975 people have been arrested and are now being detained in prisons.
It is a strong zero-tolerance approach to gangs by law enforcement that is being supported by the majority of the Salvadorean population (Reuters.com, 2023).
But that’s not all. Recently, it seems that more and more frequently, the eyes of the world are turning towards El Salvador as the country continues to experience momentum as a result of several bold decisions in recent years made by the governing Bukele administration.
President Nayib Bukele first made a splash on the international scene with his radical decision to adopt Bitcoin as a legal tender in El Salvador on September 7th, 2021. Although not without complications and significant bumps along the road to rolling out Bitcoin in a developing country, this bold move has earned him a high level of popularity amongst the Bitcoin and cryptocurrency community.
The result has been a rise in interest from foreign investors now looking at El Salvador for investment ventures, particularly in the tourism sector. A sector that over the past year has already received a much-needed boost as a result of increased safety on the streets and one that is predicted to continue in light of the recent announcement that the still ever-so-popular pageant in Latin America, Miss Universe, is to be held in El Salvador later this year. An event that is expected to inject millions of tourism dollars into the economy.
A stirring…
Something is certainly happening in El Salvador! As I look forward to my trip to El Salvador in just a few short weeks I continue to feel incredibly excited and stirred about the potential growth of our ‘Women of Hope’ initiative.
We are on the countdown to our amazing girls' and women’s events, including the 'Arise and Shine' girls' conference we have planned around March’s International Women's Day 2023 celebrations!
This will be a significant trip as we advocate for Salvadorean girls and women who have been oppressed for far too long. El Salvador continues to reel and grapple with the effects of ongoing high levels of domestic violence, femicide, and physical and sexual abuse. I feel cautiously optimistic that through our projects, we can bring much-needed attention and focus to the plight of Salvadorean women.
In light of all the changes occurring in the country, the time feels right to increase our advocacy work and address the many ingrained societal issues that continue to affect women and girls every day.
Already we have before us a few opportunities for greater impact as more people are becoming aware of our work and want to align themselves with our projects for women and adolescent girls.
We would appreciate your prayers for our team as we make the preparations!
I’m already looking forward to bringing you updates on the changes that I personally see that have taken place in El Salvador in the last couple of years.
It’s exciting and it’s going to be great! So, don’t forget to keep up to date on what we are doing on the ground in March by following us on social media via Instagram and/or facebook!
Your donations are making a lasting change for the most vulnerable. Thank you!
Vania Labios xx
Salvador’s HOPE
