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Friday, June 30, 2006
DNA Database Helps War Children Find Past
(From OhmyNews and LA PRENSA GRÁFICA) Groups of university students and other volunteers from the US are
helping Pro Búsqueda reunite young people with their parents. Pro Búsqueda,
formed by Father Jon Cortina in 1994, seeks to identify young people who "were disappeared" during the civil war of the 1980s.
Some of the young people were infants at the time they were separated from their parents; some were older. Some were
given up for adoption to protect them from the war; some were taken by the right wing military and spirited away.
Monday, June 26, 2006
Dengue Threatens El Salvador
Prensa Latina (Cuba) reports that Dengue is on the rise again, as the rainy season is under way. Public
Health authorities confirmed there were 137 infected people reported to public health centers June 11-17. The week before
the official number was 114.
Beer Consumption Declines
A report from SabMiller indicates that beer consumption dropped
by 11% in El Salvador in 2005. The excise tax on beer was raised by 23% in 2005. SabMiller is the second largest
brewer in the world. Anheuser-Busch, by the way is #3.
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Episcopal Church Authorizes Commemoration of Archbishop Romero
Resolved, the House of Deputies concurring, That the 75th General
Convention propose additional commemorations in the Calendar of the Church Year and authorize trial use thereof for the triennium
2007–2009, as follows:
March 24:
Oscar Romero, Archbishop of San
Salvador, 1980, and The Martyrs
of El Salvador
II. Almighty God, you called your servant Oscar Romero to be a voice for the voiceless poor,
and to give his life as a seed of freedom and a sign of hope: Grant that, inspired by his sacrifice and the example of the
martyrs of El Salvador, we may without fear or favor witness to your Word who abides, your Word who is Life, even Jesus Christ
our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be praise and glory now and for ever. Amen.
Psalm
31:15-24
Lesson
Revelation 7:13-17
Gospel
John 12:23-32
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Snow on El Pital in El Salvador in 2004
Wed, June 21, 2006 | link
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
One View of President Saca's First Two Years
(From Upside-Down World) June 1st marked the two-year anniversary of Tony Saca's inauguration as El Salvador's President.
The
anniversary is an opportune moment to revisit two years of Saca's term, reflect on how Salvadorans see their current reality,
and ponder what the past two years mean for international accompaniment work.
Tony Saca hails from the ARENA political party, which has held the
Executive office since 1989. Over the years, ARENA has proven to be a strong US ally and willing to implement US-backed pro-business
policies. Saca has continued this tradition by ushering in the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) and enacting fiscal
reform that has shifted a greater portion of the tax burden on El Salvador's poor.
The 48% of Salvadorans who live in poverty, and the hundreds of thousands
who straddle the poverty line, have suffered serious economic blows. Campesinos, or subsistence farmers continue to work long,
sweat-filled days, but crop falling crop prices don't earn enough to buy their kids' shoes, or pay for school supplies. In
the cities, workers haven’t fared much better: more than 60% of Salvadorans work in the informal economy.
Tony Saca has created more jobs for Salvadoran workers outside the
country's border than inside. Saca's close ties with Washington spurred President Bush in February to sign a one-year Temporary
Protective Status (TPS) extension for 235,000 Salvadorans working in the US. Bush timed this move, amidst opposition from
anti-immigration conservatives, to sure [sic] up ARENA's chances during recent mid-term elections.
Monday, June 19, 2006
Bishop Barahona Comments on New Presiding Bishop
(From ENS) Anglican leaders who are guests at the General Convention spoke favorably about the June 18 election
of Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori as the 26th Presiding Bishop, noting the important role of women in the church today....
Bishop Martin Barahona of El Salvador, Primate of the Anglican Church of the Central America, said that
he is not surprised with the result because the work of women in the Episcopal Church is very strong. "In the Anglican Communion
it will be a big challenge but women have the capacity to lead the church today," he said.
The Most Rev. Carlos Touche-Porter, Primate of Mexico, said he is "thrilled" and eager to welcome her as
a fellow primate in the Anglican Communion. "We need to go back to the Anglican spirit of respectful diversity as a source
of enrichment and not division," he said.
Asked about the impact this may have on the Anglican Communion, Kearon said
the role of women in the church is being addressed by each province; thus, they would not want to deny the importance of the
role of women in the church. "Some of them express it by having women in the priesthood and in the episcopate. Other churches
are looking at it and others have made firm decisions against it," he said. "That doesn't alter the fact that women are important
members of the Anglican Communion."
Sunday, June 18, 2006
El Salvador Hospitals Lacking Blood
(from Prensa Latina, Cuba) Blood reserves have registered a substantial fall in Salvadoran public hospitals,
where poor people are treated, the country's director of blood banks, Graciela Echegoyen, said. In her remarks on occasion
of the World's Volunteer Blood Donor Day, the Salvadoran health official reiterated that the lack of this vital element intensified
after the Holy Week due to violence affecting the country in the last few months.
Thursday, June 8, 2006
A Sad and Familiar Story That Ended with Tragedy
(From the Houston Chronicle) After Gabriel Granillo's father was deported last year, relatives of the teen
and his older brother opened up their homes to the boys, but the youths had already chosen their street family above all else.
Granillo's affiliations with a street gang cost him his life Tuesday when he was savagely
beaten and stabbed by a rival group. Police did not identify the gangs, but family members think the teen victim and his 17-year-old
brother were linked to the Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13.
"They deported the father, and everything went down, but (Granillo) was a good kid," said
Art Martinez, an older cousin who took Granillo and his brother in when their father was sent to his native El Salvador.
To those who work with Houston's Hispanic youth gangs, Granillo's story is a familiar
one: The son of an illegal immigrant, left largely to fend for himself when his father was deported, got into trouble as he
fell under the sway of similar youths involved in gangs in Houston's immigrant neighborhoods.
"They come together around a sense of belonging or some place where they feel comfortable
with people like them," said Charles Rotramel, executive director of Youth Advocates, a group that counsels teens in the juvenile
justice system.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/3948937.html for the rest of the story.
Saturday, June 3, 2006
On the Way to School
A young girl on her way to school passes between two soldiers and a police officer
who have stopped teenagers for an identity check. The army has been used in regular police work for the last year.
The picture was taken a few blocks from Santisima Trinidad in the Santa Teresa project in San Martin.
Sat, June 3, 2006 | link
Seven Die in the Early Hours of the Weekend
A friend mourns the murder of a 26 year old man in Soyapango. Six others were killed around the
country, including two men on a bicycle who were killed by a hit and run driver.
Sat, June 3, 2006 | link
Latin American Presidential Summit Decides on Refinery
The presidents of Central America, Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Columbia, meeting in the Dominican
Republic, agreed to complete plans for construction of a refinery in the region. They also are promoting a natural gas
pipeline between Mexico and Guatemala for 2007.
President Saca's "State of the Union" Address
President Saca spoke before the Legislative Assembly as he began his third year in office on Thursday.
The main themes of his address were an increase in the minimum wage for all sectors, increasing electricity production and
reduction in crime.
Panama, El Salvador revise free trade agreement
(From People's Daily Online [China]) El Salvador and Panama have signed a protocol modifying the bilateral
free trade agreement that has been in effect since April 11, 2003, closing a loophole on cheese product tariffs, Panama's
Commerce Ministry said on Wednesday. The agreement establishes a zero tariff for the first 250,000 U.S. dollars worth
of all cheese products traded each year, and a variable system of tariffs for cheese products that go beyond the quota.
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