A Country of Opposites

Mark and I had a short day on Friday with some meetings at the Fiscalia (Public Prosecutor’s Office) and at a Family Court in the morning, so our co-workers Luis and Ricardo suggested we go to one of the many malls in the area for lunch. Off to the Multi-Plaza we went to get some very tasty Mexican food at the food court. When I first walked in I swore I had somehow been transported back to the States. I was met with a Papa John’s, Pizza Hut, Quiznos, Subway, KFC, Burger King and the list goes on. We did go to one of the few stands that was not an American brand. Afterwards Mark and I decided to wander around the mall for a couple of hours shopping and relaxing. The mall is beautiful, modern and fairly new from my understanding.

After wandering around for awhile we walked onto a terrace to look around and directly across from this affluent mall filled with designer brands of clothing and shoes we saw a shanty town. Just one of many communities in and around San Salvador that live in true and utter poverty, this little community had several chickens roaming free, a number of pathetic looking stray dogs and men and women coming and going steadily. There could hardly have been a more striking contrast between the lives of the affluent and the poor in such close proximity. This scene got me to thinking about the many examples of extreme opposites I have noticed here.

Despite the almost overwhelming friendliness and openness the Salvadoran people are known for, almost every imaginable shop or business you can think of has a heavily armed guard due to the high crime rate. In fact, Thursday night Mark and I were treated to a traditional Salvadoran meal at a famous place called Arbol de Dios (Tree of God). This place is the local gallery of the artwork of Fernando Llort, a famous Salvadoran artist, and it houses a very good pupusaria. The warm and welcoming atmosphere of this lovely place is offset by one’s immediate encounter with a guard armed with a large shot gun at the door.

Another example I thought of revolved around children in El Salvador. I have noticed the wonderful “kid-friendly” nature of the Salvadoran culture and I admire it immensely. There are tons of family restaurants equipped with play areas for children (including Pizza Huts and KFCs) and children are allowed a great deal more space to simply be kids in public than I think is generally found in the US. Despite this kid-friendly environment, I have also noticed that there are no laws about child car seats and seatbelts. More than once I’ve literally seen children hanging out the windows of moving cars. Somehow that just seems contradictory.

I by no means intend this to be judgmental. These are just some things I have noticed as an outsider that I’m sure many Salvadorans are so used to they no longer consciously see. Sometimes I wish I could get into the heads of visitors to the United States to see our country through their eyes. My hope is that our work here can somehow help all Salvadorans have greater access to justice and improve the rule of law here.

There is one final note that I wanted to share, if only to ensure that I never forget it. While visiting the mediation center at the Fiscalia one of the public defenders who work in the center gave me and Mark a remarkable welcome. She thanked us for making “sacrifices” to come to El Salvador to help her country and she expressed her hope that our work will have a positive impact on her country. The sincerity of her message and its sentiments really made an impact on me. She made me realize the extent of my initial selfishness in coming. So much of my attention was on my need to gain experience and skills and, frankly, to improve my resume that I lost track of the real reason I should want to be here and the potential for what I do to have a real impact on the future of justice in El Salvador.

This was an unexpected but positive and even necessary wake-up call for me. What I do and where I go in my career can never be just for me and I ALWAYS have to remember the people of my host countries so that I never forget why I started pursuing this field. I always knew this experience was going to be an invaluable learning opportunity and in just three short weeks my expectations have already been surpassed.