Why a Bag of Dirt Made Me Hate Mitt Romney.
As anyone who's met me, or read any of my Facebook postings may know, I am not a particular fan of Mitt Romney. Up until today, that was a generic distaste for the things he stands for and the policies he might enact. That all changed this morning.
Romney took money from Central American elites tied to the Salvadoran death squads to start Bain Capital.
Then it got personal. Hold on, let me back up. In 2007 and again in 2009, I lived and worked with an amazing community in Tierra Blanca, Usulutan, El Salvador. This is me with a group of my students in 2009:
Now, what not many folks tend to realize about El Salvador is that they are still recovering from a bloody twelve year civil war. From 1980-1992, over 70,000 Salvadoran citizens died and countless more were disappeared in the conflict between rebel forces and the military/death squads backed by the Salvadoran government, with material and monetary aid from the United States.
I'm not going to talk much about the causes of the Salvadoran Civil War, except to say that the guerrilla forces (the FMLN) took up arms in response to fixed elections, land inequalties, and the assassinations throughout the country, mostly of community leaders and outspoken voices for the poor, such as Monseñor Oscar Romero.
The Salvadoran military also implemented a "tierra arrasada" or scorched earth policy when it came to dealing with the guerrilla forces. Villages suspected of ties to the FMLN were burnt to the ground, their fields destroyed, and many of the villagers murdered. Special attention was given to young children who were seen as potential future guerrilla soldiers. The Salvadoran countryside is littered with memorials to massacres that occurred during the war. El Mozote in Morazan was the site of a brutal massacre with an estimated death toll of 900 civilians in December 1981. But before that was La Quesera.
La Quesera was situated in the hills above the Lempa River in El Salvador. I was told that the village was targeted by the military after the FMLN blew up the bridge across the river on October 15th to cover their retreat. Over four days (October 20-24 1981) it is believed that as many as 500 civilians, mostly women, children, and the elderly were brutally murdered. Survivors spoke of rape, genital mutilation, parents executed in front of their children, and bodies decapitated, or mutilated to the point that they could only be recognized by their clothing. (Source in Spanish)
And for twenty years, the survivors kept silent. The war ended, but many of military officials responsible for these war crimes were still in power. In fact, ARENA, the party formed after the war by members of the military elite held the presidency until the election of the FMLN candidate Mauricio Funes in 2009. During a mass commemorating the massacre victims of El Mozote in 2001, a survivor of the massacre spoke up "When are you going to speak about our martyrs? When are we going to talk about our massacre?"
Padre Pedro, the Belgian priest who has worked in the area since the early days of the civil war was stunned. "What massacre?" Through his efforts, and the efforts of the Human Rights Office of the Archdiocese of San Salvador, an inquiry was opened into the events of the massacre. Mass graves were exhumed and bodies were given a proper burial. A memorial was erected. Families were finally able to publicly grieve.
(Padre Pedro and I in 2007)
In 2009, my mother and I, along with a group from our church here in the States were visiting our sister parish in Tierra Blanca, about a 45 minute drive from La Quesera. I was living down in El Salvador at the time, and was working with the church group as their translator. The purpose of the trip was to help church members better understand the daily realities of our brothers and sisters in Tierra Blanca. Our itinerary included a visit to La Quesera, which has become almost a holy site.
The trip along backroads in the back of a cattle truck had the feel of a pilgrimage. I'd heard about the massacre, and had spoken to some of the nuns involved with the forensic investigation and exhumations through the Archdiocese, but I had not had a chance to visit before. I didn't know what I'd find. The drive through the hills overlooking the Lempa River was beautiful. The site of the memorial was beautiful- a monument with a roof shaped like a dove, and a colorful mural commemorating the victims. I translated for one of the survivors as he told his story. I don't have a link to his specific story, but the story of another survivor is recorded here.
(Explaining the mural, La Quesera, 2009)
"Marta then explained the mural that was behind us. On the left were skeletons, bombs, helicopters, shallow graves, and the underworld. This represents the time of war. It is the Kingdom of Death created by selfishness. In the middle is Monsignor Oscar Romero, El Salvador’s most famous and most loved martyr who was assassinated during the war. He represents the voice of the people without a voice. The rainbow by him represents the hope of the people for a just life. On the right is a sun, a new community, and a river with fish. This is the Kingdom of God. The dove-shaped roof above the mural represents peace for all. "- (Source)
It was the hardest thing I've ever had to interpret. Salvadorans have a very blunt and to the point way of speaking about the atrocities they've lived through. After his testimony, I cried. I wasn't the only one. As we were about to finish up at the memorial, one of the nuns presented us with a priceless gift- a handmade bag, made with fabric from a local artisan, filled with dirt from the massacre site. A piece of holy ground. It remains one of my most prized possessions.
Now I hope you might understand why this headline fills me with rage.
Romney's Death Squad Ties: Bain Launched With Millions From Oligarchs Behind Salvadoran Atrocities
This isn't something that should be ignored by American voters. Romney knew who he was accepting money from- people who funded and benefited from the repression and murder of thousands of people. This isn't just a statistic. It’s not something that happened long ago and far away. It affected people I know and love. The people who shared their stories with me. The student in my English class with a missing ear, who would have been just a child during the war. My host aunt, who seldom spoke above a low whisper because even twenty years later she couldn't shake the fear that what she said would be reported to the police.
As a country, we cannot, should not reward a man who achieved so much with blood money. I am outraged. I am saddened. And going forward, it'll be hard to contain my hatred for Mitt Romney, especially if he continues to parade his morality in front of us.
Romney took money from Central American elites tied to the Salvadoran death squads to start Bain Capital.
Then it got personal. Hold on, let me back up. In 2007 and again in 2009, I lived and worked with an amazing community in Tierra Blanca, Usulutan, El Salvador. This is me with a group of my students in 2009:
Now, what not many folks tend to realize about El Salvador is that they are still recovering from a bloody twelve year civil war. From 1980-1992, over 70,000 Salvadoran citizens died and countless more were disappeared in the conflict between rebel forces and the military/death squads backed by the Salvadoran government, with material and monetary aid from the United States.
I'm not going to talk much about the causes of the Salvadoran Civil War, except to say that the guerrilla forces (the FMLN) took up arms in response to fixed elections, land inequalties, and the assassinations throughout the country, mostly of community leaders and outspoken voices for the poor, such as Monseñor Oscar Romero.
The Salvadoran military also implemented a "tierra arrasada" or scorched earth policy when it came to dealing with the guerrilla forces. Villages suspected of ties to the FMLN were burnt to the ground, their fields destroyed, and many of the villagers murdered. Special attention was given to young children who were seen as potential future guerrilla soldiers. The Salvadoran countryside is littered with memorials to massacres that occurred during the war. El Mozote in Morazan was the site of a brutal massacre with an estimated death toll of 900 civilians in December 1981. But before that was La Quesera.
La Quesera was situated in the hills above the Lempa River in El Salvador. I was told that the village was targeted by the military after the FMLN blew up the bridge across the river on October 15th to cover their retreat. Over four days (October 20-24 1981) it is believed that as many as 500 civilians, mostly women, children, and the elderly were brutally murdered. Survivors spoke of rape, genital mutilation, parents executed in front of their children, and bodies decapitated, or mutilated to the point that they could only be recognized by their clothing. (Source in Spanish)
And for twenty years, the survivors kept silent. The war ended, but many of military officials responsible for these war crimes were still in power. In fact, ARENA, the party formed after the war by members of the military elite held the presidency until the election of the FMLN candidate Mauricio Funes in 2009. During a mass commemorating the massacre victims of El Mozote in 2001, a survivor of the massacre spoke up "When are you going to speak about our martyrs? When are we going to talk about our massacre?"
Padre Pedro, the Belgian priest who has worked in the area since the early days of the civil war was stunned. "What massacre?" Through his efforts, and the efforts of the Human Rights Office of the Archdiocese of San Salvador, an inquiry was opened into the events of the massacre. Mass graves were exhumed and bodies were given a proper burial. A memorial was erected. Families were finally able to publicly grieve.
(Padre Pedro and I in 2007)
In 2009, my mother and I, along with a group from our church here in the States were visiting our sister parish in Tierra Blanca, about a 45 minute drive from La Quesera. I was living down in El Salvador at the time, and was working with the church group as their translator. The purpose of the trip was to help church members better understand the daily realities of our brothers and sisters in Tierra Blanca. Our itinerary included a visit to La Quesera, which has become almost a holy site.
The trip along backroads in the back of a cattle truck had the feel of a pilgrimage. I'd heard about the massacre, and had spoken to some of the nuns involved with the forensic investigation and exhumations through the Archdiocese, but I had not had a chance to visit before. I didn't know what I'd find. The drive through the hills overlooking the Lempa River was beautiful. The site of the memorial was beautiful- a monument with a roof shaped like a dove, and a colorful mural commemorating the victims. I translated for one of the survivors as he told his story. I don't have a link to his specific story, but the story of another survivor is recorded here.
(Explaining the mural, La Quesera, 2009)
"Marta then explained the mural that was behind us. On the left were skeletons, bombs, helicopters, shallow graves, and the underworld. This represents the time of war. It is the Kingdom of Death created by selfishness. In the middle is Monsignor Oscar Romero, El Salvador’s most famous and most loved martyr who was assassinated during the war. He represents the voice of the people without a voice. The rainbow by him represents the hope of the people for a just life. On the right is a sun, a new community, and a river with fish. This is the Kingdom of God. The dove-shaped roof above the mural represents peace for all. "- (Source)
It was the hardest thing I've ever had to interpret. Salvadorans have a very blunt and to the point way of speaking about the atrocities they've lived through. After his testimony, I cried. I wasn't the only one. As we were about to finish up at the memorial, one of the nuns presented us with a priceless gift- a handmade bag, made with fabric from a local artisan, filled with dirt from the massacre site. A piece of holy ground. It remains one of my most prized possessions.
Now I hope you might understand why this headline fills me with rage.
Romney's Death Squad Ties: Bain Launched With Millions From Oligarchs Behind Salvadoran Atrocities
This isn't something that should be ignored by American voters. Romney knew who he was accepting money from- people who funded and benefited from the repression and murder of thousands of people. This isn't just a statistic. It’s not something that happened long ago and far away. It affected people I know and love. The people who shared their stories with me. The student in my English class with a missing ear, who would have been just a child during the war. My host aunt, who seldom spoke above a low whisper because even twenty years later she couldn't shake the fear that what she said would be reported to the police.
As a country, we cannot, should not reward a man who achieved so much with blood money. I am outraged. I am saddened. And going forward, it'll be hard to contain my hatred for Mitt Romney, especially if he continues to parade his morality in front of us.