Our Trip for the El Salvador Elections

Some of us will be travelling to El Salvador in March to participate with the Lutheran Synod of El Salvador in the oversight of the Presidential elections. We just received the information and the trip will be over the week of March 8th to the 17th, 2009.

At this point, it looks like there are six of us going on this trip. We have room for more if you are interested in joining us. Just drop us an email here and tell us you want more information.

We have published two previous stories about the elections and they can be found by clicking here.

Many of our friends and families have asked us why we are going to El Salvador during the elections. They ask things like "what can you do to help?', "isn't the UN doing that?", "why would you want to go then, it could be dangerous?". I suppose all of these are valid questions, but the answer for us is simple.

On our last visit to our friends down south, we met with Bishop Medardo Gomez and a representative of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal. They explained that in the past, the elections were very vulnerable to fraud. They told us how the ruling ARENA party had already changed some of the voting laws, like splitting the elections over two separate months, in an effort to slow down the momentum that the opposition FMLN party was gaining. They told us the history leading up to this year's elections, the challenges and hopes their nation had, and they described this election as a crossroads. They then invited us to come and stand with them.

In the moment of that invitation, it was immediately clear to my wife and I that we WERE going. We did not confer with each other, we did not ask any questions, we just knew that we would be there.

We are going because we believe in accompaniment. We believe that relationships are built on and grow through our ability to show up in one anothers lives when something important is happening. Life is not always smooth. There are challenges and bumps along the way. When we are willing to walk with one another, to show up and support each other in the bumps, we know that we do not walk alone.

We will be posting more news and information about the elections as we get it.

U.S. Economic Downturn Felt by Families in El Salvador

According to an article on WashingtonPost.com, the effect of the downturn in the U.S. Economy is impacting families directly in El Salvador and all of Central America. At least 18% of the gross domestic product of El Salvador comes from remittances, or money sent back to families by people now living and working in United States. Due to the weakening dollar and the increase of living costs here, there is less money being sent to E.S. This decrease in remittances comes at a time when costs are rising in El Salvador as well. Less money, less buying power, increased poverty. What a vivid reminder of how connected we all truly are on this planet. Click here to read the article.

President Bush Extends Temporary Protected Status to El Slavadorans Living in U.S.

According to the White House web page, President George W. Bush extended TPS status to El Salvadorans for 18 months in a meeting with El Salvador's President Antonio Saca. This announcement was made on September 24th at the Council of the Americas in New York City where the two leaders met.

TPS status, according to the Federal Register found on the US Dept. of Justice web site is defined as:

a temporary immigration status granted to eligible nationals of
designated countries or part of a designated country. During the period for
which the Attorney General has designated a country under the TPS program,
TPS beneficiaries are not required to leave the United States and may obtain
work authorization. The granting of TPS does not lead to permanent resident
status. When the Attorney General terminates a country’s TPS designation,
beneficiaries return to the same immigration status they maintained before TPS (unless that status had since expired or been terminated) or to any other status they may have been granted while registered for TPS.

According to the same document, this status is usually reserved for Nations
which

are experiencing ongoing armed conflict, environmental disaster, or other
extraordinary and temporary conditions.

While I would like to think that President Bush had the best intentions at heart, I can't help but wonder if this gesture isn't intended to be a boost for Saca and the ARENA party in the upcoming elections. I hope that it is truly a humanitarian gesture on the part of United States.