Santa Marta

The past few days we have been staying in the countryside in the town of Santa Marta. Santa Marta has a rich and deep history that contains stories of heroism and of struggle and the pursuit of justice. Santa Marta was a small community that was involved in the civil war. Some of the persons living in Santa Marta were involved in speaking out against the large disparity of wealth and privilege within the country of El Salvador. At that time, only a small portion of the population owned any land or held any control. The rest of the population worked the land but were unable to have title to the property or to have the ability to earn a wage to feed their families. Persons living in Santa Marta joined in the conversation and began to speak out against this injustice. As a result, they were labeled as "communists" and were called the guerilla forces. The military had orders to wipe out theses forces and kill all involved in the effort. Conflict and tension heated in the lands surrounding the village and began also in Santa Marta. We heard testimonies of persons who have now returned to the village to rebuild it of the terror and trauma they experienced. Some of the testimonies talked of being held at gunpoint by soldiers with children present. Others told of the rape and torture and murder of women. Torture so severe that people were gutted, hung up by their testicles, and had their breasts removed. The stories were so gruesome-and all of this done under military order to somehow combat "Communism".

The military at one point stormed Santa Marta (a town so small that it doesn't even make it onto the maps) with 7,500 troops. They dropped bombs with explosive materials inside, they set fire to all the homes and to the fields, and they killed any persons who remained in the town. The town had organized against this but they had less than 40 guns...must of which were home-made. There was no chance of survival with these kids of odds. Most of the residents had heard word of this offensive. The families fled at that moment-leaving with nothing but the clothes they were wearing. The families hiked over mountains and headed for the neighboring country of Honduras. I had an opportunity to hike these same mountains. It was one of the most physically exhausting experiences of my life. I was chilled to think that persons from Santa Marta and other communities walked these same hills carrying their children, without food, for days and weeks and months. While they hiked, the military would shoot at them, would continue to drop bombs, and would hide out looking for them. Many who were too weak or sick were left to die in these hills. Children died of starvation. Women gave birth in the grasses. People my age talked about growing up in the refuge camps in Honduras. These are the stories of the people that we stayed with. These are the stories of the persons that we worked with. We had a chance to move with them and to learn and to understand their stories.

Now the focus for this community is on remembrance. By remembering the dead and honoring the struggle, they are able to move towards reconciliation and peace. At my church we talk about joining with the God of the oppressed. My Jesus was moving in and through and around the people of Santa Marta. I could see Him in the face of Abuela Rosa with whom I had the privilege of living with for the past three days. It was in the words of Aida, and in the testimony of Walter. The people's resilience and the strength and the resolve to continue in the work of justice is unparalleled. As I walked the streets and hiked in the mountains I thought about the journey to Jerusalem that Jesus took towards the end of His life. He knew His mission, and He knew His fate. The persons of Santa Marta were walking a similar road. They knew their mission but did not know their fate. Yet they continued down the road because they knew that the end would satisfy the means one way or another. Their love for each other and for their community guided their path.

My heart is overcome with the passion of their struggle.