This is a poster that hangs in the University that shows the pictures and the names of those murdered on November 16, 1989.
These photographs hang on the wall in the museum honoring those who died in the struggle for justice.
This is the plaque in the rose garden with the names of the 6 Jesuit priests who were murdered.
This is the rose garden that stands to commemorate the loss of life that happened here in this courtyard.Yesterday we visited the campus of the University of Central America (UCA). This campus is a private college in the city of San Salvador and is the place where the 6 Jesuit priests and 2 women were murdered on November 16, 1989. The Jesuit priests were known for being academics and for holding a strong interest in education and in opportunity. They began to speak of some of the disparity that they were noticing within their country. Further, they began to analyze the politics that were occurring. As a result, they became a threat to the Salvadorian government and the military. Now these were spiritual persons who were working on a college campus who were NOT Communists, were NOT violent, and who were simply pointing out the current phenomenon of injustice in their community.
The military visited the campus and made their presence known to the priests. One of the housekeepers and her daughter were fearful to stay in their own home on the campus and asked the priests if they could stay near to them for protection. The priests agreed and the woman and her 15 year old daughter stayed in the room next door to the priests bunks. That night the military returned and tortured and executed the 6 priests in the courtyard. They also found the woman and her daughter and they killed them as well. There are photographs in one of the rooms on the campus that show that the mother was laying on top of her daughter in an effort to block her from the bullets. All of this blood was spilled for no real reason. Lives were ended well before their time was up. And ALL of this was done to squash any talks that held a different perspective than that of the government.
There is now a rose garden that is planted in the courtyard where the priests were murdered. There is a plague that holds their names as a way to honor what happened on these grounds. There is still bullet holes in the concrete and on the steps on the way to the bedrooms of the priests. There is also a museum on campus that holds artifacts of the priests as well as the clothing that they were wearing the night that they were murdered. These items are held not as a way to maintain an anger at the injustice of what happened but as a way to preserve the experiences of these persons to allow future generations to understand the legacy of struggle that the people of El Salvador have endured in order to advance justice and promote peace. There are also pictures of the bodies and of the autopsies. These photographs show the hatred and rage of the military officials. I don't understand how this type of hatred and loathing can be bred into persons and these types of heinous acts can be committed. But, I don't think that is the point. The point is to demonstrate the passion and the sacrifice that people are willing to make on behalf of their community in order to pursue a better and more appropriate way of life. Their struggle has moved me. Since viewing these grounds I have had difficulty sleeping...their sacrifice is so great that it haunts my dreams.
The military visited the campus and made their presence known to the priests. One of the housekeepers and her daughter were fearful to stay in their own home on the campus and asked the priests if they could stay near to them for protection. The priests agreed and the woman and her 15 year old daughter stayed in the room next door to the priests bunks. That night the military returned and tortured and executed the 6 priests in the courtyard. They also found the woman and her daughter and they killed them as well. There are photographs in one of the rooms on the campus that show that the mother was laying on top of her daughter in an effort to block her from the bullets. All of this blood was spilled for no real reason. Lives were ended well before their time was up. And ALL of this was done to squash any talks that held a different perspective than that of the government.
There is now a rose garden that is planted in the courtyard where the priests were murdered. There is a plague that holds their names as a way to honor what happened on these grounds. There is still bullet holes in the concrete and on the steps on the way to the bedrooms of the priests. There is also a museum on campus that holds artifacts of the priests as well as the clothing that they were wearing the night that they were murdered. These items are held not as a way to maintain an anger at the injustice of what happened but as a way to preserve the experiences of these persons to allow future generations to understand the legacy of struggle that the people of El Salvador have endured in order to advance justice and promote peace. There are also pictures of the bodies and of the autopsies. These photographs show the hatred and rage of the military officials. I don't understand how this type of hatred and loathing can be bred into persons and these types of heinous acts can be committed. But, I don't think that is the point. The point is to demonstrate the passion and the sacrifice that people are willing to make on behalf of their community in order to pursue a better and more appropriate way of life. Their struggle has moved me. Since viewing these grounds I have had difficulty sleeping...their sacrifice is so great that it haunts my dreams.
"I think that they believed in a God of life, who favours the poor, a God who gives meaning and salvation to our lives and hence a radical hope."
-Jon Sobrino, S. J.
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