Dancing

The Whirlwind of El Salvador - that's the series that this picture is from. It reminds me of how El Salvador has so much going on:

• the class struggle between rich and poor
  
• an ideological battle between political extremes
  
• the melange of natural beauty, tragic legacy, sheer poverty, and forthright perseverance

The day after these pictures were taken, a woman was sitting near this dance floor descrived the dance as "eclectic", with everyone dance to the same music, but in all different styles. Being on the floor myself, I saw it all: people who had been dancing salsa for decades and others who had never danced in their lives. Salvadoran, American, Mexican, Australian, French. Backgrounds in flamenco, ballet, country line, all together in a dignified mess.

The same with El Salvador. Time moves at the same pace for everyone. The same things happen to everyone in a small country like this: earthquakes, wars, election, globalization. Yet there are so many different human forces here: the evangelicals with their ever present symbols of the star of David and menorah; the predatory capitalists in their gated mansions and pristin shopping malls; the farmers int he hill tending their plots by hand; the Base Christian Community and their message of love in the face of despair.

What can we learn from El Salvador? Frankly, I don't know. Or at least, I can't summarize all that without taking too long. Perhaps, in the course of these writings, both you and I will learn.

No worries...

I am working on my first official article of the El Salvador series and editing pictures for the first few essays. I should have it out by Sunday night EDT.

Back in Cleveland

I arrived back in Cleveland yesterday afternoon after a very long day. I almost thought we wouldn't make it out of El Salvador because a truck broke down, completely blocking the highway, on the way to the airport.

I'd like to let everyone know that although I'm back in the US, my work is not nearly complete. I took scores of pictures and several videos of my experience, and I hope to put many of them on this website in the next few weeks. I am preparing a few short reactions, reflections, and maybe even a little poetry to go along with the visual media.

Over the course of 10 days, I met with dozens of Salvadorans from all walks of life. Each one of them made it very clear that it was my duty as an observer not just to observe elections, but to go back to America and tell the world what I saw - not just in terms of elections, but in terms of the story of humanity that is reflected in the hearts and minds of the millions of people in this small Central American country. So here begins a new chapter in my El Salvador experience...

Election Day!!!

Hey everyone,
So, I have been awake since 3:45 this morning (It is now 11 at night). I´ll definitely be elaborating on my day in a later post, but right now I would just like to say that I cannot truly express all the feeling I am undergoing right now. As you may have heard, Mauricio Funes won the presidency. This is a momentous ocassion for many Salvadorans, as is communicated by the drone of car horns I can hear from the computer room in the hotel. I have been amazed at the story of the Salvadoran people for this entire trip, and watching people vote in this election is truly an honor. I really can´t express just how amazing it has been to see democracy here and now to watch the people of El Salvador enter a new period in their history.

Less than 12 hours to go...

This is a quick update before I go to bed (we leave for the target city at 4 in the morning.) Today, we met with members of the JEM, the local elections board, to talk about their expectations of us and watch them deliver the ballots to the polling places. As before, I can't elaborate on every detail due to privacy, security, and time constraints, but I would be happy to chat with anyone afterwards. Since the JEM is made up of representatives from both of the parties contesting the election, it was very interesting to see members of the two parties interact, often in a heated discussion, about various issues regarding the election.

Well, I'm going to bed soon, so wish me luck and watch for El Salvador in the news.

¿Que tal?

Much of my day was spent in the municipality where I will be observing. For safety and privacy reasons, I will not reveal what city that is until after the election. However, it a city with a recent history of relatively calm and safe elections. One of the unique things about El Salvador is that there is a national office of the Human Rights Ombudsman, who is assisted by various regional human rights ombudspeople (PDDH in Spanish). These people generally assist people who feel that there rights are being violated, whether they are civil rights, voting-related, or even social rights such as owning land. The PDDH in this municipality was really welcoming and informative, and he explained that there will be dozens of observers from his office in the city alongside the six of us.

This weekend will be chaos. Tomorrow will consist mostly of visiting local elections officials. Sunday, however, will be a mess. Since voting begins at 7am, we will have to be at the voting center hours before to observe if there are any irregularities during the setup process. Voting ends at 5, but similarly, we can´t leave until all the ballots are counted and the results sent to the national elections central for the TSE (Supreme Election Tribunal).

Well, I´m off to bed now. I hope everyone from school in enjoying the last days of break.

PS There is absolutely no reason for the title of this post except that I figured out this keyboard has the ability to do the punctuation marks common in Spanish but not in English.

Only a few more days to go...

I´m back at the hotel after nearly an entire day of observer training. I´m so excited to get to observe the democratic process here, but I´m also rather intimidated by the situation. The process of running elections here is rather complicated. Each voting table is staffed by four people, two from each party. Each person has separate jobs designed to document each voter, but the process could quite easily be corrupted (and has been in the past, which is why there are hundreds of observers like me here). There are also various elections officials who will be observing each table, as well as ¨vigilantes¨ from each party who also help monitor elections. With all the party officials around, it could be quite hectic but rather fun as well.

Yesterday, several of us met with representatives of two cooperatives, a coffee producer and an artists´ workshop, as well as analysts from an economics watchdog group. It was absolutely fascinating the hear the stories behind the people who produce both products and to learn about the difficulties of operating a small business in a country with an economic situation that hasn´t always been friendly to them.

As a bit of a foodie, I have to say that I am enjoying the food so far. Rice and beans are pretty much everywhere, but the local fruit and vegetables are also delicious. There are a lot of foods here that I haven´t had in a long time or don´t eat too often (like papaya, avocado, and fried plantains), so I´ve been pretty excited about that.

The next few days I will be spending in the city I will be observing in, so I may or may not be updating this often. As a final note, I´d like to let everyone know that I will be publishing detailed essays and photos on this website after my trip.

Until next time,
Chris

Live from San Salvador, it's Tuesday night!

Hello everyone,
It's been so, so, so, so busy around here. I don't have enought time to tellyou all about everything I've done so far, but it's all been so amazing. From the food to the weather to meeting other observers to seeing the places that made history, I have really enjoyed a lot. Please keep an eye out for El Salvador in the news come election day (Sunday). This might be a really close election and could have major worldwide consequences. Since I'm too tired to write coherently, here's a random list of things I have done

• swum in the Pacific Ocean
• prayed at the gravesite of four American women killed during the civil war here
• eaten my share of rice and beans
• seen more campaign posters than you can shake a stick at
• partially renewed my Spanish abilities
• stood on the steps of the National Cathedral and watched the hectic Sunday afternoon in balmy San Salvador

That's all for now. I have no idea if I'll actually update this, so check back soon.

Chris

And we're off...

I am writing this is my last moments of last-minute packing and housekeeping things. Our flight leaves for San Salvador this afternoon, with a stopover in Houston.

Here's a brief overview of recent Salvadoran history:
The Salvadoran civil war and the violence associated started in the late 1970s when the incumbent president was deposed by a junta. The junta then formed a government that suffered from both intra-party friction and large external opposition from the rest of the country. Soon, a series of attacks began, both carried out by armed rebels in opposition to the government and by the government to quash opposition. The most notable victims of the violence included Archbishop Oscar Romero, an outspoken opponent of human rights abuses, and a group of four American missionaries including Jean Donovan (a Case graduate) and Dorothy Kazel (a native of Cleveland). The civil war continued, with much bloodshed and violence, until 1992. Since then, the economy has struggled to imrpove because the of tremendous impact that war had on the infrastructure and social fabric of the country.
The two main parties in El Salvador are ARENA, which has held the presidency since 1989, and the FMLN, which was formerly a revolutionary organization during the civil war.

That's all for now, as I've got to finish doublechecking everything before I go.

El Salvador

So, as I mentioned previously, I will be leaving for El salvador this Saturday as part of a delegation that will be monitoring elections there. I will be one of 15 people from the Cleveland community, including 9 Case students, going through Cleveland's own Interreligious Task Force (IRTF) on Central America and the Centro Intercambio y Solidaridad (CIS). We will also be visiting various government institutions, learning about the tumultuous history of that country, and meeting with various people involved in the electoral process. I am extremely excited for this unique opportunity.

At this webpage, you will find collections of various photos and essays of my reaction to the political process. If you are new to my blog, you can also check out some of my older posts, my photography, and some of my digital artwork. I hope to get in at least one more post before I leave discussing a brief history of El Salvador.

I would like to thank everyone for their continued interest in my work. I have always had an interest in world politics and in the overarching connections between diverse societies. The country of El Salvador has seen so much happen in its tumultuous history, and I see this as more than just a trip abroad to see another country. For me, this will be a lesson in humanity, its weaknesses, and its strengths.