How many times have we all heard about the starving children in Africa? Or the gang violence in Central and South America? It impacts us for just a second, then we go back to living in our little elitist bubble. The news outlets always comment on how sad it is and that "these people" need help.
No.
Picture this: someone goes away to "help" the starving children in Africa by going to build a school. They bring their materials, carry jugs of water, and get a few well-timed pictures of them playing with the children. They profess on their social media about how much the experience changed them and made them better people.
I'm calling bullshit.
This is charity. Charity is vertical with the American saviors on the top and people in developing countries on the bottom. We need solidarity. It's horizontal. It's more subtle. It makes one question every idea and premise that they hold true. It's about listening to other people's experiences and not pretending to understand. It's about using your platform and audience to spread their stories.
This past winter break, I went with my Global Outreach team to El Salvador to stand in solidarity with the countless Salvadorans impacted by their Civil War in the 1980s. We partnered with an organization called CRISPAZ to go on one of their delegations to get closer to standing in solidarity with marginalized people in El Salvador. We didn't build any schools or drill a well.
The truth is that El Salvador doesn't need cheap labor.
It has a whole workforce that is willing and able to work if given the opportunity. Having Americans come in temporarily is not a solution. It doesn't empower people to create a sustainable income. Rather, it truly hurts the economy because fewer people are working because there are literally fewer jobs to be had.
Instead, we listened to countless people tell their horrifying and gruesome stories about the war.
We met with organizations that are trying to rebuild the country. For example, COFAMIDE is an organization that works with the families of missing or deceased migrants in order to give them closure and a proper burial. Pro-Búsqueda is an organization that works to find and reunite missing children with their families from the Salvadoran Civil War. Programa Velasco works to empower women through entrepreneurship in order to foster strong familial bonds. These are just a few of the wonderful organizations I had the honor to speak with and this article marks the start of a journalistic series I'm calling Salvadoran Solidarity. They told me their stories and I'm using my platform to bring awareness about the Salvadoran Civil War, the atrocities committed by the government, and the role the United States played in funding the war.
So, stand in solidarity with El Salvador and come along on this journey.
Listen.
Have courage because your heart will be broken.
Have courage that it will mend again.
And have the courage to be ruined for life — because I sure as hell am.
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