Tutela Legal

If liberty and equality, as is thought by some, are chiefly to be found in democracy, they will be best attained when all persons alike share in government to the utmost.

-Aristotle

On Sunday I attended a rally at the National Cathedral to support a policy called Tutela Legal. Tutela Legal was a policy started by Archbishop Oscar Romero, an incredible man comparable to Martin Luther King Jr. in the United States, only he was assassinated much more recently back in 1980.

Something you should know about El Salvador if you don’t already (I certainly didn’t): Before and during the Salvadoran Civil War, at least 75,000 civilians were killed. Civilians. Mothers, kids, fathers, students, innocent bystanders indiscriminately murdered, often through organized massacres on the part of the Salvadoran military and indirectly the US. The war ended in 1992. I was three years old.

(There is an excellent PBS Documentary that speaks more about the war and the US’ involvement: Enemies of War).

I realize this is not the usual chipper tone of my blog, but what I’ve had to acknowledge the past few weeks is that this is real. It’s not dramatic, it’s not over-the-top, it is very recent history. A good friend of mine here, only a few years older than me, remembers seeing bodies hanging in city centers or lying facedown in the streets.

Tutela Legal was created by Archbishop Romero to document all the instances of human rights abuses that occurred during and after the Civil War. So far, a pathetic few have been convicted because of an Amnesty Law the President created soon after the Civil War ended, in the name of “reconciliation.” Lawyers have been pushing for the repeal of this Amnesty Law on the grounds of unconstitutionality (and generally blatant corruption and injustice), and it looks like they might succeed! Here’s the problem… the current Archbishop decided that last week would be an excellent time to close the Tutela Legal office and take all these public records and suddenly make them unavailable. Because he can. Without this evidence, those guilty of committing these murders, organizing and ordering the massacre of thousands, cannot be called to account for their crimes. Perhaps more importantly, families of the disappeared stand no chance of finding out what happened to their loved ones.

I joined thousands on Sunday to protest the Archbishop’s actions, surrounded by batucadas (groups of Brazilian drummers), young academics with large painted signs, groups of women dressed in purple who had traveled hours to represent their small village in Usulután… We encircled the cathedral in a large abrazo (hug) just as the Archbishop was beginning his morning mass, holding hands and chanting Queremos obispos a lado de los pobres! (We want Bishops who stand on the side of the poor!)

And we will also rob your history!

Respect for the victims, the archives, and the employees of Tutela Legal!

People carry signs of Archbishop Romero and other martyrs during the rally.

There is much the international community can do. The Archbishop continues to ignore the calls of the public, but he cannot ignore his own Church. If you feel moved to act, please contact your Bishop and ask him to send a letter to the Pope condemning the closure of the Tutela Legal Office. It may seem like a tiny action, but if there is anything I have learned in the last few weeks (or from the Little Mermaid), it is to never abandon my voice, no matter how small it may seem.

Thank you for reading,

Hannah