Time to Join Hands

October 8, 2010

The bright sunlight is pouring in through the open window and the cool breezes that have blown in with October are heaven sent. A much needed change from the stormy weather that wreaked havoc throughout Central America just two short weeks ago. This break in the action is allowing some to put pieces back together as best they can, as others are advised or choose to wait to rebuild until the rainy season comes to an end. Looking outside today, it seems ludicrous to even suggest that bad weather was on the horizon. However, another stronger and potentially more devastating storm off the Atlantic is in the forecast for the end of the month. Preventative measures are being encouraged, especially in the most vulnerable communities and those most affected by Tropical Storm Matthew, but for most families money barely stretches far enough week to week and stockpiling food or water in preparation for a storm is simply an impossible task.


Posters at the Museum AJA refer to climate
change and living in peace with the planet,
"without corn there is no country"

 In these times of crisis it becomes even more evident that war has left a terrible scar on this country and its people. Violence continues to maim its struggling economy and wound, literally and figuratively, the women, men and children determined to thrive even in the midst of such a difficult reality. Reminders of El Salvador’s vulnerabilities are everywhere; some as benign as the overpriced food at the supermarket and others as ominous as the fear for personal safety experienced upon boarding a public bus. The floods and mudslides provoked by Matthew´s heavy rains made it impossible to ignore the precarious conditions in which more than 80% of the population lives.

Given these realities, representatives from different churches and religious groups, professional unions and community groups are coming together to create the Joining Hands Network, to stand in solidarity with the people of El Salvador to combat the injustices that lead to impoverishment and hunger. Joining Hands is collaborating to create positive change at all levels by promoting food sovereignty and security in the face of genetically modified seeds and produce, by denouncing the destruction of El Salvador´s natural water sources through the indiscriminate construction of dams, and by shedding light on the exploitation by transnational companies, particularly mining, that contaminate the country and violate human rights.

In the short time that I have been in El Salvador, seeking to discover the vision and purpose of Joining Hands through the perspectives of the network participants, I am amazed and encouraged by the presence of Archbishop Oscar Romero´s prophetic vision of justice and dignified conditions for all God´s children. Theologically orthodox, even conservative, Oscar Romero was selected to serve as Archbishop of San Salvador in February 1977, much to the dismay of progressive liberation theology clergy who continued to stand and struggle with the rural poor. Shocked and saddened by the murder of a close friend and fellow priest just three weeks after his appointment, Romero was transformed by a silent call to unite in solidarity and to accompany of the impoverished in their struggle to defend their rights. Archbishop Romero became an outspoken advocate for God´s justice and peace in El Salvador until his murder at the hands of a sniper while celebrating mass on March 24, 1980. A prophet of our time, his memory lives strong in hearts of the people of El Salvador, and his message still calls to us today.

"God needs the people themselves to save the world. . . The world of the poor teaches us that liberation will arrive only when the poor are not simply on the receiving end of hand-outs from governments or from the churches, but when they themselves are the masters and protagonists of their own struggle for liberation." Archbishop Oscar Romero

The Joining Hands Network in El Salvador is striving to live into the words and actions of those, such as Archbishop Romero, who have walked this path before us. United in a vision of God’s justice, we join hands in solidarity to accompany and empower “the people themselves” to work for a lasting peace and holistic development in El Salvador.