Building the New El Salvador

Los Amates is a small village in the mountains of Chalatenango, the north eastern department of El Salvador that suffered so much of the violence of the 12 year civil war. This community shares a sister city relationship with a Coalition of people and groups from across New Jersey.

The three part mission of the Coalition is:

Support the repopulated community of Los Amates in their efforts to reconstruct their village in the war weary department of Chalatenango.
Educate North Americans and Salvadorans living in our communities about post-war El Salvador and its connections with the US.
Accompany the people of El Salvador in their struggle to build a nation of peace, not only free of war, but with social justice.

In support of these, our program goals for 1995 are as follows:

Funding a chicken farm which will produce eggs for use and for sale
Support the community's organizing workfocusing on women's issues across the region
Hosting a visitor from Los Amates the second such visit to New Jersey

Read on for a short history of the Coalition. You may also link to our current action alert. If you'd like to help, or just want to learn more, please feel free to contact us at:

Los Amates and the Garden State:
Building the New El Salvador
c/o PeaceWorks
15 Prospect St.
Morristown, N.J. 07096
voice 201-765-9102 fax 201-765-0732
e-mail peaceworks@peaceworks.org

PeaceWorks webs woven by Guy R Talbot - last edited March 30th, 1997

A brief history of the Los Amates Coalition

The signing of the 1992 Peace Accords opened an enormous opportunity for the people of El Salvador to put down their arms and explore peaceful means of addressing their nation's problems. With this opportunity came new challenges for those struggling for peace and social justice in the country, as well as for those working in solidarity in the US. Los Amates and The Garden State: Building the New El Salvador formed in 1992 in response to these new challenges. The Coalition, as it has become known, brings together members of NJ's Salvadoran community with North American peace and solidarity activists.

In March 1993, the Coalition participated a national caravan to El Salvador. The Coalition purchased a 13 ton truck and filled it with medical supplies, clothing, sporting goods, lanterns, and even an outboard motor. Tom Mahedy of Pax Cristi drove the truck to San Salvador, where he was met by the Coalition's first delegation. Tom, the truck and the delegation then made the long, dusty trip to Los Amates. An emotional two day visit may have concluded the trip, but the journey had just begun.

After raising money to buy land for the new school, the Coalition prepared for March 1994's "Election of the Century". The Coalition's 15 member delegation joined thousands of international observers to witness El Salvador's historic election. And witness they did. Los Amates and the municipality of San Isidro became ground zero in a dispute over the location of polling places in several repopulated communities. Members of the Coalition stood shoulder to shoulder with Los Amates residents as they struggled into the eleventh hour to get the right to vote in their own community. These and other observations caused the Coalition to report back on elections that were not so free and fair; a point that would have surely been missed by New Jersey's otherwise indifferent press.
Kids pose under one of the remaing Amate trees (88k JPG)

Since the election, the Coalition has raised money for the new day care center, hosted a visit by community organizer Efain Caravantes, and accompanied Los Amates in the successful struggle to get debt free ownership of their land. The Coalition has sent six delegations to Los Amates, including the 1997 visit described herein.

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