Given the political tensions in my community, several friends here and at home have suggested that I request a site change. Honestly, I really don´t consider that an option. Certainly some volunteers have moved and found success at their new site, but others are shocked to discover that their new community also has problems, as though PC is hiding the good sites from us or something. No, I would only move if they made me, and that would only be for security or health reasons. Given everything I´ve been through in the last year, I can´t imagine starting over again, figuring out a new community and its problems, and actually having time left in my service to do anything. Plus I´m 100% sure I would not find another counterpart as awesome as Roxana in any other community anywhere else in the world. Besides, the people in my community are still really good to me; they just have a lot of issues amongst themselves. That´s really why I joined PC in the first place. Yes, I´d love to be able to do big projects, but if that´s all I wanted to do, I could have found a job with a different organization instead of waiting forever on PC. I wanted to live in a community and form relationships, understand the culture better. Yes I´ve had to lower my expectations as far as work goes, but that´s okay.
I´m sure most of you have heard by now that I´ll be home again this Friday. I look forward to seeing any of you can make the trip to Atlanta. Thank you for supporting my family and me.
23 November 2010
10 November 2010
Life continues to get crazier...
I think it´s time I explain better what´s happening in my community. It´s a very long and complicated story, but I´ll do my best.
First of all, I need to explain what I mean by ¨local government.¨It´s more local than the mayor - he´s doing just fine in my municipality. It´s my community´s government. It´s called an ADESCO, an acronym for Association for Community Development. It´s not a given that all communities have one; they have to want one, and it often takes years to get enough community members involved and to apply for legal standing. Mine is actually one of the oldest ones around and for years was respected for being well-organized.
As it happens, my ADESCO is in charge of the water project, which was completed only a year or two ago. Before that, all the women had to go to the river to wash and bring back water. Now they have clorinated water piped into their homes. Like my places in El Salvador where water comes to the houses, it´s not available all day. Instead, it comes for a little while and people fill their barrels or pilas during that time. Clearly it´s a wonderful thing to have the water project, but the management of it has created a lot of tensions in San Juan, in addition to the normal political squabbles. Upon receiving the water, everyone in the community agreed to a set of rules, but of course that doesn´t always hold up. That´s why the rebel government was formed. Well, actually there are a number of reasons, but water is the big thing. Both sides have points in their favor. Understandably people need water for everything, but if they don´t pay for 3 months, their water gets cut off, which is also reasonable. Then they say they´re paying too much or not getting enough. It´s hard because it´s such a basic necessity.
I tell you all of this because things got even crazier last week when the rebel government broke into the water system and put their own locks on it, placing themselves in charge of the water project. The mayor tried to send one of his men, the social promotor, to the community, but they put up road blocks. Supposedly the major himself is coming for a meeting later this week and bringing the police and church leaders with him. We´ll see.
This whole situation breaks my heart on a lot of levels, but what most gets to me is the break down of families here. Everyone in my community is related somehow, and this mess is dividing them. It´s even infiltrated the Seventh Day Adventist Church in my village, and probably would the Catholic if there were a priest here regularly.
All that being said, the people here are still really good to me. Right now I feel frustrated but content.
Mom asked if other volunteers have these same problems here. Certainly all ADESCOs have issues, but mine is unique. I can´t really point to one reason why my community is the way it is, and in what ways the people are different from other Salvadorans, but it is what it is.
I hope I explained this somewhat. Like I said, it´s a crazy, complicated mess. I know y´all are inclined to worry, but don´t! I don´t tell you this to scare you but because you said you wanted to know.
First of all, I need to explain what I mean by ¨local government.¨It´s more local than the mayor - he´s doing just fine in my municipality. It´s my community´s government. It´s called an ADESCO, an acronym for Association for Community Development. It´s not a given that all communities have one; they have to want one, and it often takes years to get enough community members involved and to apply for legal standing. Mine is actually one of the oldest ones around and for years was respected for being well-organized.
As it happens, my ADESCO is in charge of the water project, which was completed only a year or two ago. Before that, all the women had to go to the river to wash and bring back water. Now they have clorinated water piped into their homes. Like my places in El Salvador where water comes to the houses, it´s not available all day. Instead, it comes for a little while and people fill their barrels or pilas during that time. Clearly it´s a wonderful thing to have the water project, but the management of it has created a lot of tensions in San Juan, in addition to the normal political squabbles. Upon receiving the water, everyone in the community agreed to a set of rules, but of course that doesn´t always hold up. That´s why the rebel government was formed. Well, actually there are a number of reasons, but water is the big thing. Both sides have points in their favor. Understandably people need water for everything, but if they don´t pay for 3 months, their water gets cut off, which is also reasonable. Then they say they´re paying too much or not getting enough. It´s hard because it´s such a basic necessity.
I tell you all of this because things got even crazier last week when the rebel government broke into the water system and put their own locks on it, placing themselves in charge of the water project. The mayor tried to send one of his men, the social promotor, to the community, but they put up road blocks. Supposedly the major himself is coming for a meeting later this week and bringing the police and church leaders with him. We´ll see.
This whole situation breaks my heart on a lot of levels, but what most gets to me is the break down of families here. Everyone in my community is related somehow, and this mess is dividing them. It´s even infiltrated the Seventh Day Adventist Church in my village, and probably would the Catholic if there were a priest here regularly.
All that being said, the people here are still really good to me. Right now I feel frustrated but content.
Mom asked if other volunteers have these same problems here. Certainly all ADESCOs have issues, but mine is unique. I can´t really point to one reason why my community is the way it is, and in what ways the people are different from other Salvadorans, but it is what it is.
I hope I explained this somewhat. Like I said, it´s a crazy, complicated mess. I know y´all are inclined to worry, but don´t! I don´t tell you this to scare you but because you said you wanted to know.
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