D13 Colón, La Libertad EL SALVADOR 1886

‘Vivo por mi madre, muero por mi barrio. . .’ It's a promise to defend the community from abuses. . . .    

But I think the problem of violence has many causes, social, familial and economic. We've always said: The violence doesn't exist because of the gangs. The gangs exist because of the violence. . . .    

But here is a curious fact: Some of the victims of violence, who are poor, working-class people who have been kidnapped or lost someone to murder, the response they give is a positive one.    

Forgiveness.     

Wanting justice and an investigation, but with respect towards human rights, looking for reconciliation. And it's the ones who have not been victims, especially those in the upper classes who see it in another way: Exterminate them.

— Gerardo Mendez in “How El Salvador Fell Into A Web Of Gang Violence,” 2015

back to All