Feature Article

In the shadow of the gun

Lawlessness in El Salvador has reached new heights with nearly 1,800 people murdered in the first five months of this year alone. A local parish pastor sheds light on life under the threat of corruption, criminal gangs and the drugs trade

One night in August, a man and a woman in their late twenties sat on a bench outside the makeshift chapel of the community of Alta Vista in El Salvador. They were not known in the neighbourhood and, as it began to rain heavily, people headed for their homes, ignoring them.

At about 7.30 p.m., shots were heard but nobody ventured out because of the fearful atmosphere, the heavy rain and the isolation of the particular place. It was not until the next day that two bodies were found exactly in the spot where Sunday Mass is celebrated.

Preliminary police investigations did not shed any light on the identity of the two victims. Instead, they were classified as two more unknown persons killed in the violence that is endemic in much of El Salvador. The only recognition of them as people came with the Mass that the people of Alta Vista in the sprawling parish of San Bartolo, Ilopango, attended to mark their deaths.

The Mass of Reparation had a larger than usual congregation and the bishop, Gregorio Rosa Chávez, presided and spoke of the two unnamed victims as symbols of the many people of all ages who are being killed daily in El Salvador, many of whom also remain nameless. The Mass highlighted that the Church will not remain silent when faced with this senseless loss of life.

Violence in El Salvador has escalated so much that last year there were 3,179 murders in the country of 5.7 million, and already by May of this year official figures show that last year’s total is likely to be exceeded. The UK, with a population more than 10 times greater, had 648 murders last year.

The people most affected by El Salvador’s daily killings are the poorest, who also suffer from the regular incidents of violence by gangs who live in the same poor communities. There are two major youth gangs with a total estimated membership of between 15,000 and 30,000. In the area of the parish where I work, the gangs demand a “rent” of US$4 from every unit of public transport in the area. If this is not paid, the bus driver and his assistant can be killed. However, many wonder whether the reasons for the killings does not reach far into the institutions of the state.

On 2 September this year, a Franco-Spanish photojournalist, Cristian Poveda, was murdered. He was well known for his video La Vida Loca, depicting the gangs. Five gang members have been arrested for his murder and one agent of the National Police is being held as an accomplice. There are reports that up to 21 police agents are being investigated for their connections with the gangs.

Fr Domingo Solis, the Salvadorean Franciscan parish priest of the area, has worked for more than four years in the parish and has taken a stand against the acts of violence and injustice committed especially in poorer communities. It was he who had immediately contacted the church authorities when the two young people were killed outside his community’s makeshift chapel.

A few days after the Mass for the victims, the parish celebrated the Feast of St Bartholomew. On that occasion, Fr Domingo looked at his large congregation, pointing out the resilience and faith that the communities were showing even in the face of the violence.

Back in July 2006, the National Police entered another makeshift Mass centre in the same parish of San Bartolo while a traditional Salvadorean “wake” was being held for three young men killed the previous evening. On this occasion Fr Domingo and the Christian communities denounced the profanation of the Mass centre and the searching of the coffins of the victims.

Other priests are similarly concerned. A few weeks ago I attended the monthly meeting of the priests working at the grass roots in our area. The mood was sombre, even pessimistic. Each had a different tale to tell of the murders that were affecting his community. In our own parish of Soyapango, there are similar stories of murders and extortion.

The new reform-minded President, Mauricio Funes, addressed this issue of violence when he took office in June, saying: “The time of patronage and impunity has ended. We will face all forms of crime, especially organised crime and the drug trade.”

Funes called for “structural change” and “an ethical revolution”. After 100 days of government, he enjoys a high popularity rating, according to a poll conducted by the Jesuit university in San Salvador. However, the biggest problem facing the country mentioned by those interviewed is the lack of security.

When I visited the office of sub-commissioner Hugo Ramirez of the National Police, I noticed a helmet from the Lancashire Police given to him on the occasion of his participation in the El Salvador Community Policing Course in March 2000. Under the plan of the new Salvadorean Government, his job is to establish stronger ties between the police and the local community.

Ramirez is aware that the problem of violence runs deep in Salvadorean society. For him, there is a threat that organised crime could penetrate into the very institutions of El Salvador, including the judiciary, the public prosecutor’s office and the police. In one part of the country, he says murders are being committed by businessmen involved in “social cleansing”.

Many others agree with this analysis and point to countries such as Guatemala where organised crime seems to have already penetrated deep into public institutions. The archdiocesan legal advice centre points out that of 195 homicide cases investigated by them in 2008, only 30.26 per cent could be attributed to the gangs, whereas 69.74 per cent are committed by non-gang-members or described as “extra-judicial executions”. Some commentators question the effectiveness of the Salvadorean police. They point out that many crimes have not been investigated thoroughly and go unpunished.

“The richer elements have their own private security,” says Fr José María Tojeira, rector of the Jesuit university. “There are 32,000 private security guards in El Salvador, compared with 17,000 police. The richer people are protected, so there are very little resources left available to the police.” Fr Tojeira mentions other factors that contribute to the violence – “structural causes and the excessive social differences – those who live in luxury and those who are excluded”.

At the Mass in Alta Vista, Bishop Rosa Chávez’s attendance was a reminder that we live in the country of the murdered Archbishop Oscar Romero, who preached the reign of God even in the darkest moments of the history of El Salvador. Bishop Rosa Chávez himself became an outspoken defender of human rights following Romero’s death in March 1980. Days earlier, Archbishop Romero had said that “a bishop will die but God’s Church, his people, will never perish”.

But the road ahead is difficult. Bishop Rosa Chávez has since been informed that the murdered woman has now been identified. “Her name was Reina Elizabeth. She had four children, the youngest aged five. She worked in a factory. It appears that they were after her partner, not her. She died because she accompanied her partner to the place of his death,” the bishop told me. Speaking of the violent situation of El Salvador, Archbishop Romero said: “The death (of the poor) goes straight to God’s heart”. This is still true for El Salvador almost 30 years after his death.