There has been some groundbreaking stuff happening in El Salvador recently. As a group, we PCVs have received flak from PC staff and RPCVs for gossiping and speculating as to what is going to happen to us. I’m going to do it anyway because, quite honestly, Peace Corps is my entire life right now, so even the smallest change will affect literally every minute of every day. Also, I think my friends and family in the US have a right to know what is happening with me here in El Salvador. So here goes the rumor spreading and speculating…
In the wake of the robbery in my site and my general freak out, Peace Corps El Salvador hit us all with some very surprising news. Last Friday, as we were all arriving to San Salvador to spend the weekend together, we received an email from our Country Director and the Central America Director. This email was sent to all volunteers in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras and basically informed us that all new training groups had been cancelled (so much for the fringe benefits of living near the Training Center and spying on new volunteers…) and that new safety and security policies were going to be implemented soon. Cut to: about 15 PCVs hanging out at the hotel speculating as to whether or not we’re going to shut down (overwhelming majority: yes definitely) and what the hell they’re gonna do with us in the event of a shutdown (new country assignment? Send us home with our payout?). Since Friday we have received an email from our Country Director telling us that shut down is not on the table at the moment, but that PC El Sal is going to be a “whole new ballgame” after the changes that are going to be made.
Yesterday I received the news from a friend that PC Honduras has been suspended for 30 days while all volunteers get sent home and PC conducts evaluations on whether it can continue operating safely. What brought this on? And why isn’t El Salvador going through the same process? The only conclusion that we can reach is that recently a volunteer in Honduras was shot in the leg during a bus robbery, which really brought to the forefront the danger in Honduras, maybe causing Peace Corps to take more immediate action there than anywhere else. Honestly though, I would be none too shocked if something like that happened here. Obviously I don’t know all of the facts and I don’t know what specific factors played into Honduras being suspended and El Salvador not, but if it is based on anything like that I would have to say they’re splitting hairs between Honduras and El Salvador safety.
While talking to the other El Sal PCVs, the overwhelming sentiment has been “yeah, it’s really dangerous here, but I always feel safe in my site. ” Unfortunately, for me that is no longer the case. Tuesday the PC safety and security coordinator and one of my bosses came out to my site to check out where I live so that I can stop worrying all night every night about every sound I hear outside my door. Their assessment was that the house that I’m sleeping in is safe, aka once I’m in there no one’s going to get me. Their suggestion was that if I still feel endangered I either look for a new family to live with or consider a site change, but that in general my site has always been very calm and safe and I shouldn’t be too worried. I related this to my host mom, who answered “Yeah, you brought the violence with you. When the other volunteers were here it was very calm. Now it is very dangerous.” Another comment I got the other day from a 9th grader here in Santa Paula was “The gangs have arrived in San Vicente.” Oh joy. Yesterday morning my host mom informed me that a family in the caserío over from us, right next to my school, was robbed at gunpoint the night before.
So this is my thinking about the whole safety and security in El Salvador issue… I have only been in my site 3 months. That gives me 21 months left of service. Do I stick it out in my site and try to make it work, with the niggling thought in the back of my mind that I probably won’t see any of my projects to fruition because we’re going to get shut down? Or do I consider a site change and go somewhere else in El Salvador where I don’t have to worry about my safety? And if I do that, am I just going to settle into a new community and then be sent home because the country is closing down?
I imagine that 3 months into site is a hard point in anyone’s service. I don’t quite feel comfortable in my community, I miss training and all my friends, and I am casting about fruitlessly looking for some inspiration for a project to start. Add to that the constant worry that we are going to be shut down, suspended, or prohibited from riding buses every again, and it is just impossible to muster the motivation to get anything done. One way or another, I hope that Peace Corps can make a decision soon and stop sending us cliffhanger emails that lead me to waste hours of the day in phone calls with various volunteer friends and renew my internet subscription every day in case we get the email today.
Some light reading on the subject:
Oh Elsa! What turbulent times for you! I am especially happy for you that your family will be with you for the next 10 days! Best of luck sweetie!
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