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Youth, Women,
and the Culture of Peace:
an Interview with Yanira Nolasco The Coordinadora works hard to build local leadership. Yanira Nolasco Castro is the young woman who stole the show at March's Judeo-Christian Peace Conference, eloquently describing the Zone of Peace to an international audience. Although she is only fifteen, she is one of the board members of the Local Zone of Peace Project in El Salvador and plays an important role in the Culture of Peace workshops. I had the opportunity to interview her during my visit to El Salvador in May. --Sean Hale.
What kind of changes would you like to see in the communities? There are many conflicts in the communities. So, I would like to see communities with more peace and tranquility, so that development would improve, as would everyone's well-being. How has the Culture of Peace changed women's roles? Many women aren't allowed by their partners to leave their homes, which is a type of conflict. Now we're getting into conflict mediation. I've intervened in two household disputes. It's difficult, but you get better at it. People get interested when you visit their home and tell them about what we're trying to do, and people see how you're behaving, because one of the first things we learn is to be well-mannered and good examples. This serves as an example to other women, it motivates them to participate, and it demonstrates that this sort of conflict between spouses shouldn't exist, and that women shouldn't be trapped in their homes. And that's what I tell them. Couples will always have disagreements, but they shouldn't attack one another or stay angry for a long time. A young woman came to the last workshop, even though her husband wouldn't let her. Carmen, one of my companions in these workshops, and I told her not to worry and explained that the workshop would help her personal growth and help her to understand that there is equality between men and women. We all have the right to participate, to go anywhere, have the same things. Her husband would go wherever he wanted, but he didn't want her to leave the house! She has learned quite a bit since then, and he isn't the same as before. For me, I'd like to see all of the communities' women grow and develop, so that they can learn, participate more in meetings, in workshops, and in their homes. What are your goals for yourself and your community over the next five years? I would be very proud to work for our communities, and work with the youth so that they don't hang out it gangs, and so they don't fight each other. In my own community, there's quite a bit of youth violence. They hang out in gangs and get in fights instead of playing soccer. I'd like to help them to do what I do, and to spend their time helping the community instead of getting themselves into trouble. Those kids who have their future ahead of them need to spend their time doing something beneficial For myself, I started working in the fields when I was eight years old. I used a hoe, cleaned, cut sugar cane, spread fertilizer, sowing, everything that had to do with crops. When I was younger, thirteen, I loved to work in the fields: I didn't feel the sun. I still love working in the fields, but now it really effects me because it's hard, forced work. It has really done a lot of damage to my body. I think I like fieldwork too much, but it would be better for me to work for some organization or institution, or any work that's not forced, that damages my body.
Special Thanks: In addition to private contributions, we want to thank the following organizations for their generous support of the FSSCA over the last several months: the US Institute of Peace, the American Jewish World Service, the Jewish Coalition for Hurricane Mitch Relief, and the Shefa Fund. The Coordinadora
Since Hurricane Mitch When Mitch hit, we were an organization without experience, without administrative and technical capacity, without economic resources. Most of all, we were a grassroots organization, made up of campesinos, facing everything and everyone. I won't give details here. Our survival has cost us plenty because, if it has to be said, many bet that our organization would die. During the commotion following Mitch, we made three decisions, three goals. 1. Transforming all the humanitarian aid we could into development projects. That is, demonstrating clearly that we can really transform the conditions of poverty that our population faces, within a truly alternative model. The results are visible to everyone. 2. The second decision was to realize our own development as an organization, creating our own legal body, which is the Mangrove Association (Asociación Mangle). It is an institution of and for the service of our communities. With pride I can tell you that our assembly of founders is made up purely of people from the communities. In less than a year, our Association has administrated more than 3,000,000 colones ($345,000) and has successfully raised more than 7,000,000 ($690,000). To date, the only comments that we have received from donors are congratulations for the proper and efficient management of funds. But I have to say, with all fairness, that this help would not be possible without women and men with a strong spirit of solidarity and trust in our abilities. When I say "our," I mean the people's abilities, because all of us are no more than a people. Without this, groups like ACSUR-Las Segovias, the American Jewish World Service, Oxfam-Quebec, and the Foundation for Self-Sufficiency wouldn't have been disposed to help us. Here, before the compañeras and compañeros with us today, I want us to commit ourselves maintaining their trust; that we will fulfill our pledge to struggle for our communities; that we will not abandon our grassroots character. 3. Our third objective was the most complicated. We proposed to win the local governments of Jiquilisco and Puerto El Triunfo. This required us to become a strongly organized force, broad and flexible, facing with firmness the vices of the previous government that, unfortunately, was from the FMLN. Our two marches of 1999 demonstrated our ability to convoke and organize people. In summary, I just want to say that our mission was accomplished, our victory total, without false promises, without money, without corruption. We faced everything and everyone. Not even our worst detractors can find a smidgen meanness or private interest in our effort. In order to make this truly heroic process possible, it was necessary to have a more flexible organization, capable of building organization and participation. We achieved this goal. Arístides Valencia, the Executive Director of the Coordinadora - Mangrove Association, made this analysis as part of a quarterly report delivered to the Coordinadora's General Assembly, June 13, 2000.
THE COORDINADORA GOES TO WASHINGTON
An invitation from United States Institute of Peace occasioned Valencia's initial journey to the United States. He was accompanied at the USIP symposium on conflict management by FSSCA president, Jose Alas, and Rabbi Joshua Saltzman from the staff of the American Jewish World Service. Afterwards I joined them to meet with various governmental and non-governmental organizational officials. Whether Valencia was talking to Con. Lane Evans (D- Ill.), the House leader in the efforts to ban land mines, or to Rabbi David Saperstein of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, what caught their attention were the details regarding how this peasant organization had put together its own plans both to mobilize its members and to utilize technical resources and assistance. They clearly heard that the Coordinadora emphasized solutions rather than problems. Cardinal William Keeler, Archbishop of Baltimore and President of the National Council of Bishops, was intrigued by the interreligious cooperation around this work and offered his support. Given this jump-start in getting this story out in the United States, we ought to keep the momentum going. I am asking the supporters of FSSCA to join us in spreading the news about the Coordinadora as a solution in the making. Please contact me or Chencho Alas. -- Hal Baron, Chair The Foundation for Self-Sufficiency in Central America Newsletter, Summer 2000 The Foundation for Self-Sufficiency in Central America is a US non-profit organization (501c3) dedicated to supporting the movement for Peace and Justice in El Salvador and the rest of Central America. 1411 Lisa Rae (512) 388-7957 http:
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