Because this weekend was very full and busy, we took it a little slower today and only visited one organization. Today we went to El Espino, which is a juvenile detention center in El Salvador that holds around 100 boys ranging from 14-21 years old. All of them are members of the '18' gang, but they had to be divided because the 18 gang split this past year, and it was dangerous to let them all be in together. These boys are in for various reasons like theft, murder, arson, assault and kidnapping.
I was quite nervous before we went in because even though I really like working with children and youth, it was a little intimidating knowing that they were all members of a gang, and had grown up around such violence. I knew that our professors wouldn't take us somewhere if we weren't safe, but it was still a little nerve wracking Once we got into the detention center we made our way through the three separate sectors, and we had a little more than 15 minutes in each one to talk to the boys about their lives, the center, and what they want to do afterwards.
Since I am a 'spanish speaker' in the group, I was off on my own trying to translate what the boys were saying, and communicating our questions to them. It was a little difficult at first because I have learned 'perfect, textbook spanish' not child, slang spanish, so it was sometimes hard to understand them. But after awhile it got easier and easier, and it was really interesting to hear what they had to say.
In the first sector, Jane and I spoke with a boy named Rene. At first he seemed a little reluctant, but once we started asking questions, he would go on and on and barely even give me time to translate to Jane! Even though it was frustrating at first, I stopped to listen to what he was saying and it was amazing. Here was this boy, tattoos and all, who was very soft spoken, kind, and when he smiled you could see it in his eyes. He talked about how he knows that he made mistakes before, but he is paying the price for them, and now that he has had time (only 2 months so far) to reflect on his life and future, he has decided that when he gets out he wants to change for the better, get a job and leave the gang life. He talked about the dangers out on the street, and he said that he actually felt safer inside the detention center because it is so easy to get into trouble or get hurt when you are on the streets. It was very apparent when he spoke that he was being very honest with us, and that he was excited about starting a new life. While he was talking, even though Jane doesn't understand Spanish, she started to cry because she said she could just TELL that he had a beautiful soul, and a kind heart, and it was radiating when he spoke to us. I felt the same way; and it made me think about how easily we judge people because of their past, their looks, or who they associate with. I realized how important it is to just stop, and get to know someone before jumping to any conclusions, or making any judgements about their character.
Each sector at the detention center was a little different than the other. In the second sector, there were a LOT more boys, and they were much more interested and talkative. They came right towards us and formed circles around us talking and asking lots of questions. I ended up being by myself and eventually just talking one on one with a boy named Juan, who was excited that we came because he said they almost never get visitors, and he was really interested in learning more about me, the United States, and even asked me in Spanish, "so what have you learned so far on your trip to El Salvador, what have you learned about yourself?" I was a little taken back, and wasn't sure quite what to say to him, but that got us talking about how there are unique, different cultures even within El Salvador from the city to the countryside, and I talked about the importance of being competent and understanding different cultures because there are so many people in the United States who view "hispanics" as one culture, when they are really all so unique and have unique histories and tragedies as well.
After the detention center we were able to go to the artisan market and go shopping for awhile, as well as visit a famous Salvadorian artist's collection. It was nice to have the afternoon off and be able to do a little shopping =)
Beautiful, bright market
Comparing everything we bought!
Lookout over the city
San Salvador
I am getting to the point now where I feel very comfortable here; the heat is less bothersome, and I'm eating food that I would normally REFUSE to eat at home (my mom can vouch for that). Even though I am missing my friends and family, it is going to be hard to adjust BACK to life in Michigan, because I have grown to know and love many of the aspects of El Salvador. I'm definitely going to miss walking by complete strangers who say, "Hola! Buenos dias!" with a smile....whereas in Grand Rapids you are lucky if people even make eye contact with you when you walk by because they are so busy texting, talking on the phone, or just plain uncomfortable. I am also loving getting to know the girls on this trip, and learning more and more about each one because we all have such unique backgrounds and goals, but yet we all get along so well.
Day 9: Scary, surprising, pulling at the heartstrings. Success.
No comments:
Post a Comment