Walking With El Salvador

It was during the war.  The Grandfather had been detained several times by the military, but thankfully he had always been released.  The military conducted their operations in the zone, and The Grandfather conducted his operations as well.  His work was the work of the church - to accompany the people and defend their human rights. One day, The Grandfather went to a small town to check on his people.  A military squad had arrived early, while it was still dark.  The soldiers conducted their "operation" of knocking on doors, pulling people out of their homes, rummaging through people's belongings, tossing belongings into the street, and supposedly looking for weapons.  It was "pure harassment," according to The Grandfather.  When The Grandfather arrived, soldiers detained him at the edge of town.  The Grandfather tried to convince the soldiers that he had a right to be with the people because he was their pastor.  The soldiers refused to ...

It was early morning.  The Grandfather sat in the passenger seat.  His son drove.  We headed out to the region in which The Grandfather established a new mission church.  A health promoter and president of the local water board met us near the turn-off from the main road.  The purpose of the journey was, for us, to learn about the process of testing the municipal water system in the area.   On a water mission We walked a bit and turned down a section of newly paved road.  The Grandfather gestured to the north.  The road was hardly more than a muddy path.  "This is the original Troncal al Norte (highway to the north)," he said.  The paved section stretches through a small gathering of homes and little stores.  We were told that the road stretches from Acajutla to Chalatenango.  Back in the day, the road was busy with trucks and "so many" buses.  Now just a few buses pass by during the whole day.  It was h...