Compassion for CA
A new month, and soon a step into yet another life chapter. Now I've revolved a big 30 years around the sun, and find myself on the cusp of venturing back into 'my other home' of latin america. I've been delving into the history books and sussing out the complex dynamics of what has made each country a unique story... Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Honduras will all be places I'll be exploring with five students and my co-leader under the banner of Carpe Diem International.
I grew up in a home which we opened up to (what at that time were called) 'illegal aliens'-- Central Americans fleeing harsh, oppressive regimes in their homelands. These regimes yielded weapons and utilized tactics supplied by the US government, which it doled out for fear of rising communism. Essentially, at that time (as has been often repeated) the US government chose what it considered a matter of 'security' over supporting principles of democracy. In turn, thousands of innocent people were tortured, terrorized, killed or displaced... while handfuls of the governing elite benefited from their close cooperation with the US.
Growing up watching films such as El Norte, and vicariously registering the flowing of the Sanctuary City movement in Allentown, I lived a certain quality of personal experience with this painful saga in the 80's. A compassion, particularly for people of this region, has nested in me and slowly I've gained wider lens by which to envisage the roots to the tremendous suffering there.
As I visit the region in 2009, I'm looking to develop an understanding of the extent to which there has been healing from this time and/or how the violence then has rippled into the present generations. News of Central America faded from our US media after the end of the Cold War and as the axis of global war economy shifted to Iraq and Afghanistan, but this certainly does not correspond with relief to a region troubled with extreme inequality and impoverishment. In many cases, literature speaks of drugs and gangs that have taken hold, showing how the horrors of the past are too often replicated in the present, just wearing different masks.
But perhaps those nuggets of healing we are able to find on our travels will have a certain essence that we, as visitors, can attempt to understand and in turn bring back with us to the US as we embark on our own quest for healing.
After all, the era of "we, as the more 'developed' nation, have a duty to help them, the less capable" is long gone. Indeed, our Central American brothers and sisters, who have endured tremendous hardship and pain, have the potential to impart to us vital wisdom.
I ask your prayers for safety and growth as we seven pack our backpacks and venture off... I'll be carrying you all in my heart as well...
I grew up in a home which we opened up to (what at that time were called) 'illegal aliens'-- Central Americans fleeing harsh, oppressive regimes in their homelands. These regimes yielded weapons and utilized tactics supplied by the US government, which it doled out for fear of rising communism. Essentially, at that time (as has been often repeated) the US government chose what it considered a matter of 'security' over supporting principles of democracy. In turn, thousands of innocent people were tortured, terrorized, killed or displaced... while handfuls of the governing elite benefited from their close cooperation with the US.
Growing up watching films such as El Norte, and vicariously registering the flowing of the Sanctuary City movement in Allentown, I lived a certain quality of personal experience with this painful saga in the 80's. A compassion, particularly for people of this region, has nested in me and slowly I've gained wider lens by which to envisage the roots to the tremendous suffering there.
As I visit the region in 2009, I'm looking to develop an understanding of the extent to which there has been healing from this time and/or how the violence then has rippled into the present generations. News of Central America faded from our US media after the end of the Cold War and as the axis of global war economy shifted to Iraq and Afghanistan, but this certainly does not correspond with relief to a region troubled with extreme inequality and impoverishment. In many cases, literature speaks of drugs and gangs that have taken hold, showing how the horrors of the past are too often replicated in the present, just wearing different masks.
But perhaps those nuggets of healing we are able to find on our travels will have a certain essence that we, as visitors, can attempt to understand and in turn bring back with us to the US as we embark on our own quest for healing.
After all, the era of "we, as the more 'developed' nation, have a duty to help them, the less capable" is long gone. Indeed, our Central American brothers and sisters, who have endured tremendous hardship and pain, have the potential to impart to us vital wisdom.
I ask your prayers for safety and growth as we seven pack our backpacks and venture off... I'll be carrying you all in my heart as well...
posted by Amanda Joy at 4:34 PM
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