Sunday 7:12am

Sunday 7:12am

Greetings from Casa de Izel, where I am in my last few hours before heading home after the 2017 Bread Loaf – ConTextos Peace Literacy Conference. It has been an extraordinary week. I will do my best in this post to capture the last 48 hours.

On Friday morning, August 11, we left from the ConTextos offices at 6:15am for the five-hour drive up to Perquin, a rural area in the northeast mountains near the Honduran border, in the district named Morazon, to conduct a student workshop. It is an area deeply impacted by the civil war from 1980-1992, but not is considered “the forgotten place.” The town of Perquin has about 2,000 residents, a mix of agricultural workers, and a few wealthy folks who build nice houses in the beautiful area.

On the drive, we crossed the Lempe River, the most important river in El Salvador, and passed through the towns of San Salvador, San Miguel, and San Francisco. There is, of course, a heavy Christian influence here. Many churches, either Catholic or Pentacostal. Many busses and trucks have signs in the top of the winshield praising Jesus. Place names are generally either for saints, or are Nawat (indigenous) names. This was my 3^rd San Francisco – after the USA and the Dominican Republic. I wonder how many San Franciscos there are in the world?  We stopped in San Miguel at a place called Lorena’s for sweet breads – Pan Dulce.

Finally we arrived in Perquin, at the Amun Shea School. The name means, approximately, “soul of seeds.”  The school was founded by an American ex-patriate named Ronald Brenneman, who works with a group called the Perkins Educational Opportunities Foundation. Ron has been in El Salvador since the late 1980s and also owns the hotel where we spent the night. The school serves about 120 students from grades K-9, and is intended to be a model for the public schools in the area. They frequently host events such as this one.

We toured the school. The setting is gorgeous, nestled in the rural mountains. Several buildings constructed in an open-air format, amid nature. The school is also partially a farm, with grapes, corn, and other crops growing. They also have two greenhouses, one of which just opened on August 5, that grow tomatoes, carrots, chilles, and other crops, plus tilapia fish. The new machines recycle rainwater, purifying them through charcoal and ultraviolet light. There is also a community science facility on campus, which is open to the entire community, not just the school. The school is intentionally designed to serve the entire community, not just its students. From grades 4-9 they use a project-based model, grouping students by “cells” with names like dolphins, tigers, pandas, etc.

We had lunch in the open-air cafeteria. The food was tremendous – perhaps the best chicken I’ve ever had. But why does every school on the planet use those awful styrafoam trays? Could someone please invent an affordable, biodegradable lunch tray that does not dissolve in seconds?

We met the director (principal) – Victoria Argueta, and sub-director (vice-principal), Nelson Marquez – who could not have been more welcoming and kind. Three little girls – maybe six years old – sold bags of mango slices for 25 cents.

After lunch, students began to arrive from other places. In addition to the Amun Shea kids, students from all the surrounding schools were invited to attend. Three other schools sent students, who arrived walking and piled into mini vans. We were up to about 60 students, assembled in the lunch room, and I was eager to get started, but then the truck arrived. A large agricultural pickup truck, with about 20 students piled in the back, still in their school uniforms of dark blue skirts or pants and white shirts. They held on to the sides of the truck, and burst into smiles as they arrived. They had traveled for an hour and twenty minutes of bumpy back roads in the back of the truck, and could not have been more excited to arrive.

We ended up with about 80 students, plus 20 of their teachers who joined us for the day. Enrique opened the event by welcoming everyone and explaining the afternoon. I offered welcome from the Bread Loaf Peace Literacy Network, and told the students they were part of something special and world-wide. Enrique went over the Bread Loaf rules.  We adjourned to make a group picture, then divided the students into four groups for breakout workshops. Rex led a session on listening and writing; Maria and Lily on I am poems; Alan and Melvin on music and writing.

I worked with Enrique, Celena and Lorena on the Music and Theater workshop. We had 28 participants, including five teachers. Celena led theater games, then Lorena led an “I remember…” writing prompt. I led another round of theater games, then Enrique and in then demonstrated how to turn writing into performance, and the participants worked in groups of four to create. We had a performance session that was at times funny and at times serious.

At 4pm, the entire group reconvened in the lunch room for a sharing session, led by Enrique. Some small groups shared group poems; some read individual pieces (including “I remember…” and “I am…”). As the sharing session went on, students had to leave, but those who remained kept on sharing. By 4:30, it was time for all of the students to go. The twenty piled into the truck, smiles on their faces, thanking us profusely. It was a special afternoon.

We drove five minutes up to road to Perkin Lenka: Hotel Montana. It is a stunning place, a hotel of several buildings carved into the side of the mountain. The steps were steep, but the views of the mountains looking into Honduras were amazing. We checked into our rooms, lounged in the hammocks, and dined on pupusas. Conversation went well into the evening.

On Saturday morning, part of our group piled into the ConTextos pickup truck at 5am and headed 30 minutes down the road to the river and waterfalls to play and frolic. I choose to stay back and watch the sunrise over the mountains.

We then headed into town, to the Perquin Casa de Cultura (house of culture). There are cultural centers, funded by the government, in many towns. This is a particularly strong center, with two full time employees, and is a model for other centers around the nation. The building used to be city hall back in the 1970s. During the civil war in the 1980s it was occupied by various forces and was the site of a battle. Part of one wall has been preserved to show the destruction. Bullet holes are plainly visible. Today, the Casa has a library, meeting spaces, a small museum, and a collection of cultural artifacts that show the history of the area before, during, and after the war.

There were 17 of us: five from the US (Rex Lee Jim, Maria Tejeda, Amaryllis Lopez, Alan Nunez, and me), two Guatemalan-Starfish teachers (Celena Cuy and Ixkik Teny), nine ConTextos staff members (Anne Ruelle, Jenna Knapp, Jennifer Correas, Zoila Gomez, Enrique Quintanilla, Daisy Diaz, Esmeralda Zarceno, Melvin Moreno), and two teacher-leaders from local schools (Lorena Lima, Berfalia Castillo). We were sad to be missing Carlos Recinos, a ConTextos staff member, who was teaching his Curriculum Planning course as a professor at the University of Central America.

I led a reflection session, asking folks to write for a few minutes in answer to three questions: What did we learn? What does it mean? What do we do next? After folks wrote for about 15 minutes, we each shared our thoughts. It was a deeply moving session. I have asked each participant to type up their reflection and share it in this space – I will not attempt to capture the thoughts of others beyond this very brief summary: We learned how to communicate across difference and how to love one another more.

In my own reflection, I wrote about the model of a circle, an idea I got from my colleague Jim, who founded the Apple magazines. The idea is that a circle has both a diameter and a circumference. The diameter cuts across the circle – divides it. The circumference surrounds the circle – includes the entire circle. Thanks to math, we know that the circumference of a circle is always at least three times bigger than its diameter. In other words, that which surrounds us is more powerful than that which divides us.

I wrote that this week proves that people can communicate across difference. Our team included folks from four nations (Guatemala, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Navajo), ages 19-50s, from different professional backgroups, speaking four languages (English, Spanish, Navajo, Kaqchikel of Guatemala.) Nevertheless, we co-planned and co-facilitated classes and workshop sessions for teachers and students alike. It took work and time, but it’s possible. We also discovered how deep communication can be. For example: Berthalia testified that when Rex read a poem in Navajo during the sharing session at the teacher workshop, she did not understand the words, but began crying anyway, because she understood the emotion. 

What do we need to do next? I wrote five things:

1.     We need to take what we learned back to our own classrooms and other learning spaces

2.     We need to find ways to work together on a grass-roots level – teacher to teacher, student to student, using technology – email, Skype, whatever resource we need. In 2017, teachers and students need to be connected across borders.

3.     We need to reflect on the meaning of this week, for a long time. In just a few days, we will all be back to our homes and regular professional lives, and the memory of this week will quickly fade. We must keep it in the forefront of our minds, and reflect on the larger implications.

4.     We must tell the story. We need to write on the blog, to write articles, to present at conferences, to tell the story to others. This week created and illustrated models – but a model is only a model if it is shared continuously and loudly. If we keep it to ourselves, it is a missed opportunity.

5.     We need to follow up with each other, both to support each other, and to hold each other accountable.

Our sharing session ended about 10:30, and after a flurry of photos, we moved on to visit the Museco De La Revolucion Salvadorena – the musem of the Salvadroan revolution. The entrance fee was sixty cents. The war lasted from 1980 until the peace accords were signed on January 16, 1992. It was waged between the FMLN rebel forces in a fight for human rights against their own government. After the war, the FMLN became a recognized political party. The museum opened in December of that year. The museum was a remarkable place. It includes a Wall of Heroes, photographs of soldiers (including children and woman), posters used to advocate for the FMLN from South Africa, Germany, the USA, and other places. Also models of weapons  (which looked to me more like World War 2 surplus than 1980s-era – which is probably what they were), a destroyed helicopter, and an unexploded bomb manufactured in the USA. It was interesting to me to note that some of the exhibits were funded by and Irish organization.

On the way out the door, I was a bit startled to see armed soldiers, but quickly realized they were routine guards, protecting the place. There are a lot of armed guards around, even in the grocery store we visited on the ride home (although I suspect those weapons are not loaded). The police has been heavily militarized with US support to crack down on gang activity.

During the weekend, I had the chance to speak with Jenna Kilman. Originally from Indianapolis, she went to a Jesuit High School and first visited El Salvador as a high school student, and became inspired. She went to Notre Dame, spent a semester abroad in the country, and after graduation decided to return. Aside from a two-year stint back at Notre Dame to earn a master’s in Peace Studies, she has lived in a small community since, and works primarily running literacy programs in the prisons. The community, named Delores Medina, was founded after the war as a home for refugees who were displaced in the war and no longer had homes to go to. She just joined ConTextos in March. She told me many stories of what it’s like to be a young person, particularly a young male, in El Salvador. She told me stories of the brutality of the gangs, and the brutality of the crack-down against the gangs, which does not always move in the direction of justice. One recent study shows that 27% of the homicides in El Salvador (which has a very high homicide rate) are gang-related – which means that 73% are not. However, every violent incident is attributed to the gangs. It is a very complicated situation and I do not pretend to fully understand, but it’s clear there are few winners.

I also spent time with my friend Enrique Quinatanilla, ABL ’17, who runs literacy programs in a prison. They have their final exhibition and reading on Monday. I am deeply sorry that I will miss it. He expects 65 people to attend the reading, with nine students exhibiting their work. Enrique had to miss the teacher workshop to spend the day with those students, practicing. The students are very proud. As Enrique put it in an e-mail:

Find attached the link for the new release of our juvenile detention center students ilustrated memoirs. I know not everyone speaks spanish, but please take the time to go through these powerful stories and let the language be second.

https://issuu.com/contextos-sv

After the museum, we went back to Perquin Lenka for lunch, then headed back to Santa Tecla. At one point the traffic came to a total stop. We got out to see. There was a parade, in honor of Archbishop Oscar Romero, who was assassinated in 1980 for speaking up against human rights abuses, provoking the civil war. He is a considered a national hero. Two years ago, Pope Francis of the Roman Catholic Church “beatified” Romero – the first step towards sainthood. This coming Tuesday, August 15, would have been Romero’s 100^th birthday. In honor of his birthday, this group of people began a procession at the place where he was murdered in El Salvador on Friday morning, August 11, at 7am, and will march for five days, ending up at the spot where Romero was born on August 15, his 100^th birthday. Rumor is that Pope Francis will consecrate Romero as a saint soon – people are hoping that the announcement comes Tuesday. Whenever it does, there will be very large celebrations. This procession that we saw had hundreds of people marching and hundreds more riding in busses moving at walking speed. People carried signs and posters and cheered and prayed. It was moving to watch.

We returned to Santa Tecla about 6:30. Alan and I headed to the nearby shop to pick up the t-shirts that we had ordered as a gift to our team. We gathered at 7:30 at Esmeradla’s house, just a few blocks away (I managed to get crazy lost anyway), for Salvadoran bar-b-q, and one last chance to hug, take pictures, and say good-bye.

Ixkik and Celena left at 5am this morning for a 12-hour odyssey of busses to get back to their town in Guatemala. Rex left at 5:45 for a flight to Costa Rica, where he will lead writing workshops and be the featured poet at a reading on Wednesday. Amaryllis, Maria and I leave at 9:15 for a noon flight to Miami, where we will diverge – Maria heading back to the Dominican Republic, while Amaryllis and I fly on to Boston. Alan will spent the morning with Melvin, at his 6-yr-old son’s soccer game, before catching a 7pm flight to New York.

And so the next step begins.

Thanks for reading. I will post again from Andover.

Rich