"We will never be silent!"
Killing El Mozote's Dead All Over Again
There were two El Mozote commemorations this year, the 40th anniversary of the massacre of over 1000 elderly men, women, children, and infants during a military operation titled "Rescue".
One event was unilaterally planned by President Nayib Bukele and was boycotted by the victims and survivors. The other, a somber and tearful gathering of nearly 500 Salvadorans and visitors from abroad, was attended by representatives of the U.S. Government to include personnel from the ICE War Crimes Unit, and the United Nations.
Below is the public relations video that the presidency made of the visit.?
https://twitter.com/nayibbukele/status/1470169113918124035?t=FPVjHuOGBU8vCrYwAcorgw&s=09
President Bukele arrived on the 10th, with four helicopters in tow.?The first was red and the others were military.?There was no advance notice to the El Mozote Victims' Association of his visit.?He trucked in public officials from the area, including the mayor of the zone who is with his political party, Nuevas Ideas.?Cars also arrived at 2PM from San Salvador to fill the seats the government set up in the main plaza.?
The victims and their families did not attend this public relations stunt. They had spent months organizing their own celebration ceremony after the Bukele government stopped the trial, fired the judge, and refused to pay for the El Mozote commemoration for the first time in years. Bukele then inserted himself into the mix, turning this sacred reminder of 1000 Salvadorans having been slaughtered by the Atlacatl Immediate Reaction Battalion into a self-promoting political sideshow.
Observations coming from the victims and survivors tells a far different story than the Bukele propaganda machine.
The President said in his speech that he was responsible for paving the roads, especially in Rancheria and other places after 2019.?However, the roads are still not paved.
The vendors, who had spent months on their artwork, were removed from their stalls by the military.?One of the kiosks was destroyed.
The Community House, where people have gathered ever since it was built, was destroyed. The rumored "plan" is to rebuild it bigger and better. But like the roads, there is no indication this will occur any time soon. In the meantime there is now no Community House in El Mozote.
460 people attended the Victims Association memorial. This was a very large number for this remote, unpopulated area.
The Acting US Ambassador, Brendon O'Brien, laid flowers at the site and attended the community celebration instead of Bukele's photo opportunity.
It is interesting Bukele is alleging the US is funding the ongoing demonstrations against his policies. He is offering these are communist inspired. An interesting observation coming from someone who started his political career with the FMLN and during his political campaign for president promised that Justice would be done regarding the massacre.
The military Presence at this and the demonstrations in San Salvador was meant to intimidate, harass, and remind people who is in charge...and that is "the coolest dictator in the world".
Justice undaunted in El Salvador
“They want us to be afraid.
They want us to be afraid of leaving our homes.
They want us to barricade our doors
and hide our children.
Their aim is to make us fear life itself!
They want us to hate.
They want us to hate 'the other'.
They want us to practice aggression
领英推荐
and perfect antagonism.
Their aim is to divide us all!
They want us to be inhuman.
They want us to throw out our kindness.
They want us to bury our love
and burn our hope.
Their aim is to take all our light!
They think their bricked walls
will separate us.
They think their damned bombs
will defeat us.
They are so ignorant they don’t understand
that my soul and your soul are old friends.
They are so ignorant they don’t understand
that when they cut you I bleed.
They are so ignorant they don’t understand
that we will never be afraid,
we will never hate
and we will never be silent
for life is ours!”
―?Dr. Kamand Kojouri, Poet
Author profile
Greg Walker is a retired U.S. Special Forces soldier and decorated veteran of the war in El Salvador.
Mr. Walker retired from the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office in 2006.
Today he lives and writes from his home in Sisters, Oregon, along with his service pup, Tommy.