Category Archives: Historical Memory

To learn where we are coming from and avoid mistakes of the past.

Embroidery in Arcatao / Bordados en Arcatao

(EN ESPAÑOL ABAJO)   A founding member of the embroidery cooperative of Arcatao shared how their work started: The embroidery workshop was born in 1988, in view of a need that we women had, as we were emerging from a cruel war, of much poverty. We didn’t even have to buy a pound (of) salt […]

The “Unfinished Sentences” project in Arcatao

(En español aquí)   We invite you to learn about the “Unfinished sentences” project, its struggles and the learning process that took place while gathering all important knowledge of people in Arcatao who keep fighting to keep historical memory alive. The topic of the participants’ consent was something we were learning a lot about during […]

The long way to restorative justice in El Salvador

Fabian Salvioli, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees recently visited El Salvador and asked to remove the name of Col. Jose Domingo Monterrosa from the Infantry Brigade in the department of San Miguel. According to the UN Truth Commision, Monterrosa was the commander of the Atlacatl Batallion that […]

Miguel Mejia on CRIPDES’ raid

(La versión en español aquí)   Last year, on October 2nd, I sat down with Miguel Mejia from SALVAIDE. Then, we talked about april 19th, 1989, the day military forces raided the CRIPDES’ offices and captured him, then-president Isabel Hernandez and others. Our talk has been condensed for clarity.   We were in the middle […]

Miguel Mejía – La redada en CRIPDES

El 2 de octubre del año pasado me senté a platicar con Miguel Mejía de SALVAIDE. En esa conversación hablamos de aquel 19 de abril de 1989 en que las autoridades hicieron una redada en las oficinas de CRIPDES, en la que lo apresaron a él y a varios más, incluyendo a Isabel Hernández, entonces […]

Memoria histórica en la asamblea de Ciudades Hermanas 2018

Originalmente escrito por Jacey Anderson (VIEW ENGLISH VERSION HERE)   “Recuerdo cuando huíamos de la guerra, nos agarrábamos del delantal de nuestra mamá y ella sostenía nuestros dedos para que no nos perdiéramos cuando caminábamos de noche”. Bernardo Belloso al ver una foto del projecto fotográfico solidario “Fluye”   Era un húmedo domingo de octubre […]

The 34th Anniversary Celebration March, Thursday March 6th.

34 Years of Agrarian Reform: A New Path Forward

On Thursday, May 6th, the MPR-12 member organization The Confederation of Federations of the Salvadoran Agrarian Reform (CONFRAS), celebrated 34 years since the first agrarian reform was approved and implemented in El Salvador. The following is a press release breifly detailing the history of the agrarian reform, the challenges that the Salvadoran agricultural cooperatives have […]

A Summary of El Salvador´s Electoral Context and US Intervention

By Cori Ring, Sister Cities Volunteer   For the United States government, Central America remains a key strategic region for a variety of factors, including US business interests couched in terms of ¨progress and development¨ and the continuing ¨War on Drugs¨ that provides a convenient and important justification for continued US military aid to countries […]

Burning History in San Salvador

Destruction of Historical and Human Rights Archives by SARAH MASLIN   At the crack of dawn on Thursday, Nov. 14, three armed men broke into the offices of Pro-Búsqueda, a non-profit in San Salvador that reunites families with children who went missing during El Salvador’s 1979-1992 civil war. They beat up the guards, poured gasoline […]