Category Archives: Get Involved

Reporting Back from the Cambridge and Austin Sister Cities Delegations

By Catie Johnston Austin Sister Cities Volunteer in San Vicente   Delegations are at the heart of what Sister Cities is all about: they are the incarnation of the solidarity relationships that make things like projects, advocacy, and development possible. In April and May, our sister communities in El Salvador received not one, not two, […]

Austin Sister Cities Volunteer Learning to Eat, Sleep, and Breathe Solidarity

We talk a lot here at Sister Cities about solidarity, emphasizing that our sister communities are working “in solidarity” with one another, but what does that mean? And even more important, what does it look like in practice? I arrived here in El Salvador on January 5th to start my six month volunteering adventure with […]

Demand the Honduran Government Protect Gay Rights Activist Erick Vidal Martinez!

On Sunday January 13th, 2013, Erik Vidal Martinez, a well know human rights defender and gay rights activist was assaulted and arrested by police while defending while defending patrons from police harassment at an LGBT bar in Tegucigalpa. Erick was released but his safety could be in danger because Honduran police are known for retaliation and […]

Ask Your Rep to Support the Rights of Afro-indigenous Communities in Honduras

Contact the Foreign Policy Staffer in the Washington DC Office of Your Representative to Sign on to the Hank Johnson Dear Colleague Letter Today!   On Monday, January 07, 2013, U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA) circulated a House sign-on “Dear Colleague” letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Attorney General Holder addressing ongoing human […]

Dennis Chinoy

SC Mainers React to Attack on Environmental Protections by Mining Interests

March 30, 2012 Mining companies are not just aiming to start operating in El Salvador, they also are trying to loosen regulations and move in to states like Wisconsin and Maine. As we reported in February, Wisconsin is facing the destructive effects of corporate mining with proposed gold and iron mines and the expansion of […]

94 House Members call on Secretary Clinton to Suspend Assistance to Honduras

March 18, 2012 Michael Ring, for the US-El Salvador Sister Cities Honduras Solidarity Committee Thanks to the advocacy work of people around the country, including many in our own network, 94 Congresspeople signed on to a letter sponsored by Ill. Rep Jan Schakowsky calling for the cutting of US military aid to Honduras because of […]

Urgent Action: Honduras Human Rights Congressional Letter!

On Tuesday, February 14, 2012, U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) circulated a House sign-on “Dear Colleague” letter (found below) addressing the ongoing human rights crisis in the Aguán region of Honduras.    We need your help in securing the signature of your Congressperson on this letter by Wednesday, March 7, 2012!   To identify your […]

Connecting Movements from Wisconsin to El Salvador, Citizens Say NO to Mining

February 6, 2012 The struggle against mining is gaining force in the state of Wisconsin. On Thursday, January 26th the Wisconsin Assembly (which has a strong Republican majority) passed a bill that would make the process of gaining iron mining permits in the state easier.  The bill is called AB 426, and will now go […]

The Sun is Shining but the Crisis has not Ended

October 20, 2011 Yesterday, after 10 days of rain, the sun came out in El Salvador, and the forecast calls for more sun in the upcoming days. But the effects of the storm, called the most damaging in the history of the country, continue. During the storm, twice the amount of rain fell as during […]

Rain Continues In El Salvador

October 19, 2011 The crisis caused by a succession of tropical storms in Central America grows as the rain continues to fall in El Salvador.  There have been 90 deaths reported in Central America and over 700,000 people affected on a regional level. In El Salvador the death toll rose by one, to 33, today […]