If you haven't read the first article in this series, check it out here: https://www.theodysseyonline.com/salvadoran-solidarity-part-one

Remember that violence is never justified.

Remember that people are trying to move on, despite being subject to horrific atrocities in the past.

Remember their names.

On my Global Outreach experience to El Salvador, this past winter break, my team and I learned about the Salvadoran Civil War, in hopes that we can stand in solidarity with Salvadorans. I attend Fordham University, which is a Jesuit institution. In particular, we learned about the six Jesuits that were massacred in the UCA El Salvador and the deaths of the four American nuns.

In broad strokes, the Salvadoran Civil War was between the US-backed government and the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN). The Jesuits, who taught at the University of Central America (UCA), advocated for peace between the two sides, but the government of El Salvador believed that the UCA, and by extension the Jesuits, were supporters of the FMLN and needed to be silenced. An elite unit of the Salvadoran Army, trained by US troops, was sent to kill the Jesuits and pin the murders on the FMLN. It was gruesome and horrific. The priests were forced outside in the middle of the night and forced to lie on the ground in the garden. They were subsequently executed. Two women were staying in a room close to the Jesuits because they had cooked for the men the night before. It was a woman and her daughter: Elba and Celina Ramos. Elba died with her body wrapped around Celina's. It was a final act of a mother protecting her child. Remember their names.

Remember the names of the Jesuits that were killed simply because they spoke out for human rights and compassion. Remember Ignacio Ellacuría Beas Coechea, Ignacio Martín-Baró, Segundo Montes, Juan Ramón Moreno, Joaquín López y López, and Amando López. Never forget that they were killed in cold blood and that the people responsible are still free. When the Salvadoran Civil War ended with the Peace Accords in 1992, the government passed an amnesty law, meaning that anyone who had committed war crimes during the Civil War was largely protected and would face little to no legal pushback.

This case of the elite units of the Salvadoran Army killing people they wanted to silence is not isolated.

In 1980, there were four American nuns that were helping Central American people. They were on their way to the airport, where they were kidnapped, brutally raped, and murdered. Their bodies were dumped and discarded like garbage. This was the doing of the Salvadoran National Army. Remember their names: Maura Clarke, Ita Ford, Dorothy Kazel, and Jean Donovan. In their order of nuns, they are buried in the last place they served. Maura and Ita last served in Chalatenango, El Salvador and I had the honor of visiting their graves. The graves were explosions of colors, bright whites, and pretty pastels. There were flowers everywhere, both fake and real, both appreciated and fragrant.

Remember that these twelve people are just a fraction of the people who died in this violent and bloody conflict. The Truth Commission by the United Nations estimated that over 1.4% of the population of El Salvador were killed during the war. Remember that this violence was senseless and not justified in any way. Remember that the people who committed these atrocities are free. Remember that the United States sent 1.1 million dollars a day to El Salvador to support the government, and it's National Army during the Reagan Administration. Remember that the elite army unit was trained by US military.

In my last article, I told you to remember these three things:

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.

Stand in solidarity with El Salvador and join this journey. Thank you; Part Three will be coming out next week.