Our work for 2022

US-El Salvador Sister Cities uses its broad network of organized people to advocate for issues that are identified by both our US and El Salvador bases as critical to human rights and dignity.

During the civil war our advocacy focused on seeking protection for the people or El Salvador and stopping US aid to the Salvadoran military, and throughout the years the focus of our advocacy has changed as the global and local contexts shift. In different moments we have focused on issues such as fair elections, protecting water as a public right, harmful free trade policies, labor issues, immigrant rights, anti-mining campaigns, and organic alternatives to harmful agricultural practices.

In October 2021, the board of USESSC agreed that changes were needed in the work that we do. Due to its limited resources (including staff time), the organization has decided to use the subject of “migration” as the core of work, especially because we seek to challenge the racism and inequality in the U.S. policies that have an impact on internal and external displacement.

EQUITY, INCLUSION AND ANTI-RACISM

USESSC wants to take concrete steps to become anti-racist, more inclusive and equitable in all the work that we do. One of our goals for the upcoming year is to develop a stronger relationship with Salvadorans in the U.S. who are still seeking for a better society with dignity and justice for themselves and the country they were forced to leave or did not have a chance to know.

In the upcoming year, our main work will revolve around four areas, that we consider critical for the survival of the organization:

Although the Salvadoran staff will not be able to accompany the different working groups, as they have done in the past, the groups are encouraged to continue meeting every month.

Delegations and popular education schools are still on hold due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.