wfn.org | FEATURE: The Many Faces That Fled, Disappeared, Never Returned

["Frank Imhoff" <Frank.Imhoff@elca.org>]

FEATURE: The Many Faces That Fled, Disappeared, Never Returned
El Salvador : A Prophetic Church Marked by Suffering and Solidarity

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador/GENEVA, 17 November (LWI/ALC) - Cecilia Alfaro has
seen too many faces to remember them all. It is 12 years since civil war
ended in her country, leaving more than 75,000 people dead and over 1 million
displaced and homeless.

The 52-year-old Lutheran pastor and mother of two shared her testimony with
Lutheran World Information/Latin American News Agency when the president of
the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), Bishop Mark S. Hanson, his wife Ione and
leaders from Latin American Lutheran churches visited El Salvador's Faith and
Hope community, which sheltered scores of internally displaced persons (IDPs)
during the 1980-1992 conflict.

Alfaro was one of the first Salvadoran Lutheran Synod (SLS) volunteers who
welcomed hundreds of IDPs who arrived in San Salvador terrified, hungry and
defenseless, fleeing persecution and death by the military. "I still think of
the faces of young people, of people with whom I went to school, and members
of Bible study groups who are no longer with us." 

The guerrilla Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) launched its
armed struggle against government forces early 1981. Its operations aimed at
crippling the economy included such actions as destroying bridges and coffee
plantations, cutting down electricity lines, and killing livestock. The
military responded by attacking villages and killing the inhabitants. Death
squads set up by the extreme right in 1982 to eliminate suspected leftists
and trade union members, left thousands dead. In 1989, a major FMLN offensive
on the capital San Salvador failed, and this prompted both the government and
rebel forces to begin peace negotiations under the United Nations' mediation.
An agreement reached in January 1992 provided for military and political
reforms. 

A Healing Community Built on Faith and Hope

Alfaro, who grew up in a devout Roman Catholic household vividly recalls one
major blow of the military repression - the March 1980 murder of Monsignor
Oscar A. Romero while he celebrated mass in the La Divina Providencia
Hospital chapel. With his death the "voice of those who have no voice" in the
largely Roman Catholic country was silenced, and "the link between grassroots
sectors and the government was broken," she told LWI/ALC. One of the
military's tactics was to target entire populations it suspected of being
linked to insurgents. 

Alfaro was studying sociology at the national university in San Salvador when
the government shut it down, considering it to be a subversive focal point
and bastion of opposition groups. At the university, she got to know one of
the lecturers, Victoria Cortez Rodriguez, a social worker and active member
of the Lutheran church. "Victoria invited me to be a volunteer with the
church's social work and I accepted." 

Meantime, the Roman Catholic Church's shelters were overflowing with IDPs *
mostly elderly men and women, and sick and hungry children. Someone mentioned
the SLS' La Resurreccion Lutheran church in the city. Soon Alfaro and other
volunteers met with Rev. Medardo E. Gomez Soto to discuss the best way to
care for such a large number of needy people. 

Although the church could only offer shelter for 25 people, it needed to take
care of a much higher number. The Salvadoran Lutheran Aid was created, run by
Alfaro and Cortez, among others. Faced with the urgent task of offering
practical and immediate responses to the IDPs and with ecumenical support,
the SLS purchased a piece of land at Galera Quemada in Nejapa, some 24
kilometers from the capital city. With precarious structures set up by the
displaced themselves, the "Faith and Hope" (Fe y Esperanza) shelter was
established, a name that reflects the spirit that motivated the church. 

Everyone Put Their Gifts at the Community's Service

The first 400 IDPs arrived on 5 May 1982 from San Vicente and San Sebastian,
rural areas close to San Salvador. Faith and Hope eventually housed between
1,500 and 1,700 people. The center somewhat developed itself. The inhabitants
put up a bakery, made shoes for the IDPs, everyone put their gifts at the
service of the community. Years later, Cortez, now LWF Vice-President for the
Latin America and Caribbean region, would open a Lutheran project in Managua,
Nicaragua, with the same name.

Vilma Rodriguez, a psychologist, explained how difficult it was at first for
the children and the elderly to share their traumatic experiences and to
grieve. As a result, a crisis intervention program and post-traumatic therapy
for the IDPs was developed. The SLS became a therapeutic and healing
community.

But the war and displacement also left indelible marks on the church and
Faith and Hope community. The center's kindergarten was attacked, and Bishop
Gomez and Dr Angel Ibarra were kidnapped and later released.

Today, the SLS continues to carry out its pastoral and social work including
speaking out about social problems, poverty and exclusion that are
perpetuated by economic globalization. Each Monday, Gomez offers a press
conference to address current concerns and give pastoral advice.

With 12,000 members, the SLS joined the LWF in 1986.*(845 words)

(By Peru-based LWI correspondent, Fernando Oshige.)

*This article is part of the ongoing LWI Features on Healing, focusing on the
LWF Tenth Assembly theme, "For the Healing of the World."

(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran
tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund, Sweden, the LWF currently has 138 member
churches in 77 countries all over the world, with a membership of nearly 65
million Lutherans. The LWF acts on behalf of its member churches in areas of
common interest such as ecumenical and inter-faith relations, theology,
humanitarian assistance, human rights, communication, and the various aspects
of mission and development work. Its secretariat is located in Geneva,
Switzerland.)

[Lutheran World Information (LWI) is the LWF's information service. Unless
specifically noted, material presented does not represent positions or
opinions of the LWF or of its various units. Where the dateline of an article
contains the notation (LWI), the material may be freely reproduced with
acknowledgment.]

*    *	   *

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