Congressman Moakley: From South Boston to El Salvador

Maurice T. Cunningham has a post on the late Joe Moakley, a Democratic Member of Congress from Massachusetts in Joe Moakley’s Journey: From South Boston to El Salvador on a blog hosted by a number of Massachusetts political scientists.

Among his constituents were liberal activists and it was a visit from Jamaica Plain constituents seeking his help for El Salvadoran refugees at risk of being deported that propelled the man from Southie into foreign affairs. Upon hearing their story of violence against innocent civilians, Moakley asked his aide (now congressman) Jim McGovern to check it out. When McGovern reported back that tales of horror were indeed true, Moakley told his visitors that he would help the Salvadoran refugees stay in America. The visitors left somewhat stunned by his immediate commitment. Moakley was to devote years to securing safety for the refugees.

In 1989 six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper and her daughter were murdered by units of the military. The Salvadoran government engaged in a cover-up and Moakley was charged by the House speaker to investigate. Moakley traced the murders to the highest reaches of the government. His work led to a reduction in U.S. aid to the right wing government and eventually to a peace accord. He then worked toward relief assistance for the poor in El Salvador, suggesting that the U.S. spend at least a fraction of what we contributed to destroy the country toward rebuilding it.

Friends of El Salvador will be familiar with the important role that Representative Moakley played investigating the murder of the Jesuits at the UCA. I remember heading the Congressman speak in 1997 at the UCA in San Salvador. He was humble and did not feel all that comfortable with the strong ovation that the audience had given him. They had suffered so much during the war and had worked so hard to bring about its peaceful resolution through negotiations. At the same time, he was very forceful in his condemnation of the US and Salvadoran governments stonewalling of the investigation into the Jesuits' murders.

What I've never been clear on is Congressman Moakley's relationship with El Salvador before he was asked to investigate the Jesuits' murders. In A Question of Conscience: The Murder of the Jesuit Priests in El
Salvador, Congressman Moakley gives the "Who me? Why would they ask this Southie to investigate a bunch of murders in some country that I'd never heard of?" The response was that he hadn't formed an opinion on the controversial role of the US in El Salvador and that he had the type of personality to get through the bull**** from all those who had and were likely to throw up road blocks in his way. At other times, however, it appears that Congressman Moakley knew much more about El Salvador given his work with refugees who had fled the violence and ended up living in his district.

You can read more about the late congressman in Joe Moakley’s Journey: From South Boston to El Salvador. Maybe this book has the answer to the congressman's interest and knowledge about El Salvador prior to the Jesuits' murders.

Guatemalan massacre suspect goes to trial in California

The trial against former Guatemalan second lieutenant Jorge Sosa began last week in a California courtroom. Sosa moved to the US in 1985 but once his request for asylum was denied, he continued northwards to Canada. He then returned to the US, married a US citizen and became a US citizen himself. He is charged with lying on his immigration paperwork because he did not disclose his involvement in the Guatemalan army. If Sosa is convicted of making false statements and obtaining citizenship unlawfully, he could be sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Sosa's arrest and trial are making news because he is accused of having led the slaughter at Dos Erres in Guatemala in 1982. Approximately 200 men, women, and children were killed during the attack. The soldiers were allegedly looking for stolen weapons when they entered the village but upon not finding any, they proceeded to rape the women and kill all the witnesses. All the soldiers were forced to participate so that they were all equally guilty.

I've only read a few of the stories this week but the media needs to add a line or two about US support for Guatemalan forces, sometimes just stronger wording. They also need to explain that this massacre was one of hundreds carried out between 1981 and 1983. Dos Erres might have been one of the larger and uglier massacres, but it was not unique by any stretch of the imagination.

I was also surprised that neither this National Post nor this AP article found it relevant to mention the recent trial against Efrain Rios Montt in Guatemala. He was convicted of genocide and crimes against humanity before a questionable constitutional court ruling threw out his conviction and sent the case back to an earlier period in time. They had a perfect opportunity to do so as several news stories mentioned that Guatemalan prosecutors are interested in charging Sosa. They could have simply added a line or two connecting these prosecutions.

The US comes out looking way too clean in these articles. The US is portrayed as vigorously pursuing a bad guy who committed some dastardly deeds and then dared to try to seek refuge in the US which is, uh, not quite accurate.

Farmers adjust to climate change in El Salvador

Nelson Renteria has an interesting article on how Salvadoran farmers are changing their approach to agricultural production because of the effects of climate change. El Salvador is typically listed as one of the countries most vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

Some farmers are going organic. The FMLN government is investing over $30 million in projects to strengthen food security, to improve innovation, and to improve the links between the agricultural sector and industry and commerce. When I was in El Salvador in 1997, the FMLN criticized ARENA over and over again for neglecting the agricultural sector and forcing the country to import basic foodstuffs.

Other farmers have attended seminars where they are learning traditional cultivation practices used by the Nahuat-Pipil indigenous people who occupied the land prior to the arrival of the Spanish.

Amadeo Martinez, head of the Indigenous Council of Central America (CICA), said ancient people understood their environment, the weather and the best growing seasons.

The Nahuat-Pipil used natural fertilizers and pesticides to protect plants without damaging crops, and tended the forests and river basins because the ecosystems helped preserve the life of the community.

“Beyond planting, indigenous practices in agriculture are related to a spiritual relationship with the earth,” said Martinez.

While their efforts should be encouraged, the low yields of indigenous farming practices mean that El Salvador is going to have to continue to pursue other paths to try to provide for their food security.

Thank you Mariano Rivera

The greatest reliever in baseball history played his final game at Yankee Stadium last night. I typically don't enjoy the tributes and pageantry around professional sporting events but I loved watching Andy Pettitte and Derek Jeter go out to the mound to remove Mariano Rivera with one out remaining in the ninth inning.

The New York Times has a good story on the boy who used to play baseball on Puerto Caimito beach in Panama during low tide and is now retiring after nineteen seasons closing for the most storied franchise in sports - the New York Yankees.

But when Rivera was growing up, groomed grass fields were hard to come by in the little Pacific fishing village in Panama. The best playing surface in the area was a vast expanse of hard, white sand that revealed itself at low tide, a field strewn with rocks, shells and remnants of abandoned fishing vessels.

“That beach at low tide, that was our Yankee Stadium, that was our Maracanã,” Rivera said, referring to his place of work in the Bronx and to the soccer palace in Rio de Janeiro. “The tide went way, way out and gave us a huge field right there. But when the tide came in, there was no more field.”

At that point, as the waterline crept back to shore, the children said goodbye to one another and, depending on the time of day, went home, to school or to work on the fishing boats.

 Thank you Mo from Yankee fans everywhere.