A Day of Remembrance

Friday 23-enero 2015

Representatives from close to 20 communities came to the CIS today for their 1st gathering in 2015.  They come together to share, to learn, to plan and to celebrate.  They meet every other month.  Some left their homes at 4:00am to take several buses, arriving at CIS around 9:00am.

I participated in order to learn what was going on throughout El Salvador, but, more importantly, to meet with old friends and compadres whom I have come to know and love over these years: Myra from Comasagua; Delmi, the CIS promotora from San Luis and the anil taller; Adrian, the leader of La Loma; Evelyn from Distrito Italia who makes the Jaragua jewelry; and of course, my brother Raul from Comunidad Romero.

This weekend is the anniversary of masacres that took place in 1932 when the government tried  to eliminate the indiginous Mayan population.  The most horrific masacre took place in Izalco, then the killings moved throughout the country.

To commerate this event the group participated in an exercise of remembrance.  We were asked to remember an individual of our community, to write that person's name on a piece of paper, and to then make a personal commitment of action that we would take moving forward.

When it came time for me to share what was on my paper, I rose and said that rather than remember one person I had chosen to remember one community.

"I suppose that many of you know about Mesa Grande, and how on October 10, 1987, some 4,000 Salvadorans left Mesa Grande to repopulate their land.  A small group of these people came to a beautiful little corner known today as Guarjila.

Several years later this communitiy, and other repopulated communities, began to send invitations to church communities in the United States, including to my parish of Santa Teresa in Milwaukee.  After some discussion discernment and prayer, we accepted the invitation to enter into a sistering relationship.

In November 1991 I was a member of a delegation that came to El Salvador.  After participating in the commerative mass at the University, the second anniversary of the masacre of the Jesuits, we got into a microbus late at night and headed north.

I remember stopping around 2:00am, and our driver announcing, 'welcome to Guarjila'.  From that moment Guarjila became my first home in El Salvador.  The welcoming love of the entire community changed my live forever.  Thus, began my life of solidarity with el pueblo Salvadoreno.

The commitment that I make today, is to continue that solidarity."

With that I folded my paper, placed it in a small pan, spead some seeds and flowers on the floor, and returned to my seat.

After everyone had their turn, the papers were lit on fire, not to destroy those memories, but to bring them to the light, comsumed with the flame of our love and dedication.

Iris, our group leader invited all of us to go back to our communities and perform similar acts of memory and honor and commitment.  Myra said, "que bueno que hacemos."   "How good that we do so."