In El Salvador, Fear and Silence Shroud the Dead

Wednesday, May 29, 2024
Efren Lemus
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“We searched carefully to gather these papers to prove that Francisco was innocent, but they wouldn't let him leave. They didn't even tell us he was sick, and when they returned him to us, he was already dead. They’re the only ones who know why they did not let him out, so we are not interested in talking about the case.”

The man speaking was Daniel, in his 60s, with neat, gray hair. Daniel is the uncle of Francisco, a 30-year-old former private-sector employee and the father of a little girl. Francisco was arrested in January 2023, in the tenth month of the state of exception, with a group of other young people a few blocks from his home in a town in central El Salvador, alongside a busy logjam of motorcycles, buses, cars, and street vendors selling clothes, shoes, vegetables, and trinkets. Over a year later, he returned home in a coffin.

“He was my nephew, but I can't give you any information because that's what his mother has decided. I have to respect what my sister has decided. She has decided to leave this death alone because she is afraid. And I understand why, because she works, she rides the bus and they can follow her, they can do something to her, accuse her of something,” Daniel said from the threshold of his metal door.

I put away my notebook and pencil. I told Daniel that I understood his fear and that I would no longer ask for details about Francisco’s case, but that I was interested in clues to answer this question: Who would be interested in following a worker to her workplace for talking about her son’s death?

“The government. Now, things are like they were in the 1980s,” he replied.

More:
https://elfaro.net/en/202405/el_salvador/27429/in-el-salvador-fear-and-silence-shroud-the-dead