...“ I beseech you, I beg of you, I order you in the name of God: stop the repression”-Oscar Romero El Salvador is a country plagued with gangs and poverty due to overpopulation. This is a country that has been in a constant struggle to maintain a stable government ever since their civil war from 1980-1992. It has been a constant struggle for El salvador to deal with old issues from that dark time and new ones that are arising because of it.. Gangs have taken over the small country of El Salvador and poverty continues to be a problem for the civilians. Even after the Civil War, El Salvador is recovering slowly from the destruction left from the war.The inequality of social classes, poverty,and military rule led Salvadorans to revolt against their own government. El salvador’s downfall first began in 1932, when the Central American Socialist Party was created. The peasants replied with...
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...Abby Salinas Professor Ruiz LAST 1020 18 February 2016 Fools Without Borders: A Conversation in Transnational Identity Politics Sin Nombre confronts its viewers with more than the harsh realities of crime and violence in Latin America. Cary Fukunaga intertwines the lives of Sayra – a young Honduran immigrant looking to reach the United States – and Willy – a Mexican gangster whose cognitive understanding of community has shattered and turned into his worst nightmare. The result is a potent exposition of the effects of globalization on transnational interactions, community identity, and urban space. Paired with Zilberg’s ethnographic study of Maras and Marreros across borders, Sin Nombre suggests that forced trans-nationality and the associated evolution of multifaceted identity politics are propelling modern society away from an identification of individuals based on nationality (where they live) and instead by Benedict Anderson’s concept of imagined communities (who and what they live with). The characters presented in both the movie and Zilberg’s study represent threats to their respective social orders and are therefore confronted with a forced separation from their communities and homes. Willy (the gangster in Sin Nombre) threatened the hierarchical structure of the Mara Salvatrucha (MS) by killing his superior. His options were to attempt exile or to accept death. Weasel (a subject in Zilberg’s study), proved to hold a disregard for American laws by ending up in...
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...War in the early 1980s in El Salvador cost the lives of about 100,000 people. Besides, two million people are reported to have immigrated to the United States, due to the uncertain political and social conditions there. A big chunk of the refugees arrived and settled in the Rampart area of Los Angeles. They needed low cost housing and employment. That area was already afflicted with gangs and crimes. For the local population of Mexican-Americans, this was the most unwelcome development. The combustible youth immigrants from Salvador took the problem of their survival in response to the victimization at the hands of local gangs, as a serious challenge and formed a new gang by name Mara Salvatrucha, popularly known as MS-13. “Las-Mara” is a notorious street gang that engages in violent crimes in El Salvador. Salvatruchas, refers to the members of the political entity, styled Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front. This is a group of Peasants from Salvador, trained in guerilla warfare. The number 13 refers to the California prison gang, the Mexican Mafia. A youth facing the unemployment problem, not getting support from the government and the society, when he is constantly nagged, abused, condemned and ostracized by the society, turns into a viler and bitter individual. With no authority to show heartfelt care and concern, and an understanding approach to the problems of teeming millions of refugees, the frustrated immigrant youth formed a new gang and began to engage in violent...
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...El Salvador is a very colorful and unique country. What makes El Salvador different is the way that it is able to still function with high crime rates and an economy struggling with poverty. The government of El Salvador wants to make improvements in order to evolve but there are a lot of problems holding it back. Salvadoran politicians are exploring many ways to save the country but some could cause even more harm. Principle among these is gold mining. El Salvador has vast deposits of gold in their soil. However, in March of 2017 “Lawmakers in El Salvador voted overwhelmingly ...to prohibit all mining for gold and other metals, making the country the first in the world to impose a nationwide ban on metal mining” (NYT Anti Gold). So the question is, should El Salvador consider gold mining as an improvement that could help the country or would it just create more problems. El Salvador's land is very rich with minerals that may be harder to find in other places. A big part of the economy for decades had been mining of those minerals, mainly tin. This process had worked for a long time until tons of the miners got laid off. These miners were laid off because all the metals were disappearing, so they had nothing left to mine. Since a huge part of the population was in the mining industry now they are all unemployed and are searching...
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...| Social characteristics of Poverty, Illiteracy and the Civil War in El Salvador: | EL Salvador | | BY: Yvette Rodriguez | | While El Salvador is the smallest nation in Latin America, it has been plagued with a myriad of issues that affect many third world countries. The social issues stem from a long history of violence and government mandated reforms. Civil unrest for decades led to a twelve year civil war, this being the most defining issue in El Salvador’s history. The affects of the war are still present today, such as high poverty rates, illiteracy, high crime rates, and public health concerns. Michael Ring, director of U.S. El Salvador Sister Cities is quoted saying; Since the January 1992 signing of the historic United Nations-sponsored Peace Accords, El Salvador has experienced a series of dramatic changes-some contributing to peace and development, other’s threatening the lives of El Salvador’s majority. The sociological perspective of El Salvador is formed by these effects, as that they are still prevalent today. Conflict and revolution are significant factors in shaping a national consciousness in third world countries; consequently the consciousness of the people of El Salvador is still divided. Externally, the large group of migration to the United States in the last two decades has added to the sometime rocky relationship between the U.S. and El Salvador. Aid from the United States influences current practices in the struggling nation and have...
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...a whole new country by yourself? This happens everyday, dozens of kids from Central America illegally cross the border to get away from gang violence in their home countries. Most of the immigrants come from Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras (pg. 9 Junior Scholastic). An astonishing amount of 63,000 unaccompanied children have crossed the border illegally since October (pg. 6 Junior Scholastic). A child crossing the border alone is very dangerous, risky and illegal. First of all, a majority of these children are born into poverty, with most of their families living on $2 per day (pg. 7 Junior Scholastic). This causes them to not have...
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...unaccompanied children (UACs) from Central America and Mexico were apprehended by U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the U.S.-Mexico border between October 1, 2013 and August 31, 2015" (Pierce, 1). The MPI also established that "most of these children came from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico respectively," countries that are plagued by gangs, violence and corruption. "The number of unaccompanied Salvadorian minors apprehended in the US jumped to 17,019 in 2014 from 1,466 in 2011, according to the Department of Homeland Security." (Watts). An ABC News article gives staggering insight as to why these children seem to be fleeing their home country by revealing that "a murder is committed just about every hour and the murder rate is 22 times that of the United States" (Harris et al) in El Salvador. Therefore, it is not surprising that parents sacrifice everything to obtain the funds to pay for their children to be brought across the border in hopes of avoiding gangs or becoming a casualty to gang violence. Parents are aware that once their sons and daughters reach adolescence, they will most likely join a gang due to intimidation and threat. But what awaits them in their home country, perpetual gang violence and poverty, is feared more than the dangers they may encounter trying to escape. The perils these children encounter as they make their way from border to border include "child prostitution, organ trade trafficking and child labor" (Watts). The only way for parents...
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...Mara Salvatrucha gang originated in Los Angeles, in the 1980s by Salvadoran immigrants in the neighborhood between Pico and Wilshire also know as the city's Pico-Union neighborhood. They immigrated to the United States Due to a 12-year civil war in El Salvador, which resulted in over 100,000 deaths and over a million refugees(www.ms13gang.com). The Salvadorian refugees and immigrants predominantly settled in southern California and Washington, D.C. Some of the refugees and immigrants had ties with La Mara, a violent street gang from El Salvador. Others had been members the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMNL) during the El Salvadorian civil war(Rimmer, 2009). FMNL was made up of Salvadorian peasants who were trained as guerilla fighters. Many were adept at using guerilla tactics and working with explosives, firearms, and booby traps. Salvadorians were not accepted into the Los Angeles Hispanic community, and were frequently targeted by local Hispanic and African American gangs notably the 18th street gang. Due to this suffering, in the late 1980s, some refugee members of La Mara and FMNL formed what is now known as the Mara Salvatrucha (MS) street gang. Like many other street gangs, MS initially formed for protection, but quickly developed a reputation for being organized and extremely violent criminal enterprise. The gang’s rivals took note. One, known as the Mexican Mafia, or “la eme” for short, and is one of the most storied of California’s gangs, decided to integrate...
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...MS-13, short for Mara Salvatrucha, is a criminal organization that operates in at least forty-two states and has about 6,000-10,000 members nationwide (The MS-13 Threat: A National Assessment ). This infamous gang – primarily made up of Salvadorans, Hondurans, Guatemalans, and other Central/South American immigrants – has ignited terror and havoc in communities throughout the United States by committing heinous crimes, such as drug distribution, murder, rape, home invasions, immigration offenses and many more. The notoriety of MS-13 and the level of violence that has ensured has captured the nation’s attention, as well as the president himself to which he has branded these gang members as “animals.” CNN and The New York Times have commented on the situation: CNN explaining Trump’s attempts to rid the nation of MS-13 members, while The New York Times described how Trump has exaggerated false claims regarding MS-13 deportation numbers. This current spectacle relates to Leo Chavez’s Latino Threat Narrative in the sense that the gang and criminal activity demonstrated by MS-13 is being associated with any person who crosses the border, and the immigration and deportation measures being taken is negatively affecting those entering the United States with good intentions....
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...Overview & Theory The Mara Salvatrucha, known as MS 13, is one of the world’s most infamous street gang. They steal from people, force and intimidate their way into neighborhoods and have progressively turned to international crimes such as human trafficking and drug smuggling. Their activities have helped make the area of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras the most brutal places in the world that are not at war. The US Department of the Treasury labeled the group a "transnational criminal organization," the first title for a US street gang in October of 2012. This paper will discuss the history of MS 13 and use theory to describe the reasoning behind MS 13. (“MS 13” n.d.) In the course of El Salvador's Civil War, children as young...
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...Wehmar Marks HST 208 Salvadoran Migration to the US El Salvador was ravaged by a nasty civil war. During this time, several hundred thousand Salvadorans escaped to the United States, settling primarily around the Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. areas. Many of them entered the country illegally via Mexico. Odyssey to the North portrays the Salvadoran-American experience using collective reminiscence and a series of flashbacks to illustrate the impact of immigration on the psyche of Salvadorans who embarked on a journey outside their homeland to the US during the 1970s-1980s. Emphasis is placed on the reasons immigrants ran away from their home country rather than their desire to go to the United States, lending a better understanding of the new comers’ outlook on the American dream. Salvadoran identity and the inevitability of maintaining ties between immigrants in the US and their country of origin is characterized by the protagonist, Calixto. Although he was physically away from his land, he firmly believed that he would always hold it in his heart (50). His situation exposes the suffering of tens of thousands of Salvadorans caught up in Civil War violence. Calixto reflects on the devastating violence of El Salvador, stating, “I picture my country as one enormous cemetery” (152). Government forces sought after Calixto, a construction worker, falsely accusing him of being a rebel sympathizer. Despite his lack of political involvement, he was denounced as a revolutionary...
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...Roger Rouse, an anthropologist, researched about the Mexican-Americans in Redwood City, California and the Mexicans in Aguililla City, Mexico, hundreds of miles from each other and found out that both people have traded ideas, money and people for years. With regards to this, Hector Ricardo Silva, a US educated medical doctor and mayor of San Salvador, El Salvador from 1997 to 2003, was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, thus, making him a dual citizen. He visited the Salvadoran community in Los Angeles, talked with its mayor about many issues, one is about gang violence prevention. In his trip he stressed the importance of cultural ties between El Salvador and the United States and fostering closer economic ties by inviting them to invest in his country. The US based Salvadorans remitted $1 billion a year, a great help in uplifting El Salvador’s economy. Hiroshi Motomura, a University of Colorado School of Law professor...
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...Security Threat Gangs In Prison Name Tutor Course College Date There has been a major concern of gangs in correctional facilities. This phenomenon has been common in prisons since 1960s, and continues to be a major problem over the years in correctional structures. In the year 1920, the number of prison gang was over 1300 in Chicago city and many other cities liked Los Angeles had started witnessing prison gangs. To critically understand this problem, it is important to explore the history and type of prison gangs that exist. In most prisons there is frequent unruly behavior and violence because of the prison environment. The kind of lifestyle among inmates makes a society of its own. The modern gangs have distinct colors of clothing’s particularly for identification. They come from all race, black, Asian, Hispanic and Caucasian. The Aryan brotherhood gang originated in 1967, California’s San Quentin state prison was the hub of this gang. The gang was set up to protect white inmates from other dangerous gangs of the African and Hispanic origin. Initially, the gang was known as the “bluebird” or “Nazi gang” and most of its members were from the white supremacy, Irish and Germany origin. The group received money from drug traffic to sustain its source of operations in the prisons. The condition that required an inmate to join the AB group was to murder one person that was targeted by the group (Parenti, 2000). On the other hand, members of the gang who were freed...
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...Immigrants Need Support The dangers that are seen on the border have increased drastically year by year. The U.S. Border Patrol has impacting gangs, cartels and immigrants on the Mexican border. The U.S. Border Patrol faces danger when they go up against the drug cartels at the border because the people the drug cartels send across the border sometimes carry firearms, making it difficult for the border to determine if they should open fire on the person. There are many places along the U.S. border where these groups are put at high risk for safety. There is no guaranteed safety for either side, therefore based off the decision, to cross or not to cross, the consequences of what happen depends on the individual. There are people, coyotes, who know of certain parts of the border where they can help immigrants cross but they do not guarantee that they will make it across safely. Immigrant families Immigration from the Southern Mexico to the United States occurs on a freight train, “La Bestia” which takes passengers directly to the United States border, starting in Chiapas and crossing all of Mexico until the border (Watson and Jerrreat). These passengers ride on top of the train or in the freights, putting their life at risk to the point of death. One important aspect of this train is that drug cartels are in charge of the fees mounting the train. They charge what is equivalent to 100 dollars (Watson and Jerreat). Once that is paid in some form or another, they still pose many...
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...Korean children. Even though the agreement was informal, it fixed the issue for the time being. In today’s society we are not only dealing with mass illegal immigration but also adding in the potential of violent gang members in the mix, makes it a little more complicated. Issue number 7 in Taking Sides: Clashing views on Latin American Issues, sets up each side of the spectrum with valid and convincing points. The question asked, should illegal immigrant gang members be grated legal clemency from U.S. law, and is a tough one to answer. At first, one would say no because they are committing a crime because they are illegally in the U.S. and on top of that they are bringing in gang related violence into the mix. As an overview Greg Campbell’s article, “Death by Deportation” spoke about the story of Edgar Chocoy. Chocoy lived a troubled childhood and ultimately joined, what came to become an infamous gang, the Mara Salvatrucha controlled his life the second he made eye contact with an existing member. In the end, Chocoy realized that he no longer wanted to be in the gang, which meant that he either needed to pay up or eventually get killed or was not safe, anymore, especially not where he came from, El Salvador (115-117). Edgar’s story may have been sincere but any other gang member can plead the same exact story and possibly win but not have the right intentions and end up staying...
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