On silences: Salvadoran refugees then and now

Abstract

US military and economic intervention in El Salvador has set the conditions for mass migration since the 1980s. Both then and now, despite well-documented human rights abuses, the US government refuses to categorize Salvadorans as refugees. Weaving in personal and political narratives, this essay examines the parallels of violence against refugees in the 1980s and the present. It also analyzes the silences created through the denial of state terror and the political and collective consequences of these silences for Salvadorans in the US.In a recent conversation during a visit to my grandmother's house, my mother mentioned that one of her Facebook friends who lives in San Martín, our hometown in El Salvador, had posted alarming information the night before. Her friend, Amanda, updated her status to relay that gunshots were being fired nearby as opposing gangs were attacking each other. The drama unfolded on Facebook as Amanda continued to post on this thread, asking for prayers and describing how she and her kids hid under the bed to wait out the shooting.Like many people who fled war in a previous era, my mom rarely shared stories with her kids about the state terror she had witnessed. Her Facebook friend's posts, however, got her to reminisce out loud about having been in a very similar situation over thirty years earlier. Upon hearing bombs nearby, like Amanda, she hid in the bedroom with her children; my sister was a newborn and I was almost five years old. Still recovering from giving birth days earlier, my mother recounted, she stood up and felt warm globs of blood sliding down her leg. Amid the surrounding explosions, her & Leisy J. Abrego

Voces de Resistencia: Exploring Salvadoran Students’ Experiences and Needs in Higher Education

“…Rather than these stories being part of the spoken family history and cultural narrative, there was a sense of silence, which left many craving more information on their history, culture, and identity. The lack of discussion about the trauma is not uncommon among refugees (Abrego, 2017; Alvarado et al, 2017). For Salvadoran students, processing these narratives of familial trauma occurred in spaces where they felt supported (Alvarado et al, 2017).…”

“…In the current context of violence and unrest, many continue to migrate to the United States. The perpetual fear of migration can lead to high levels of stress and affects their overall mental health triggering anxiety and depression; stressors are exacerbated by poverty, which is commonly experienced among refugees (Abrego, 2017). About 20% of Salvadoran Americans live in poverty (Pew Research Center, 2015).…”

Contesting Trauma and Violence through Indigeneity and a Decolonizing Pedagogy at Rio Hondo Community College

“…Indeed, Indigenous peoples still suffer from heartbreak and envy, the consequences of losing their tribal ways (Avila & Parker, 1999). When a young family from El Salvador flees to Los Angeles in response to the invasion of their farms and cities by US paratroopers (Abrego, 2017), some obvious war trauma is brought with them that teachers then observe in the classroom. Of the Yaanga (Los Angeles) area, respectfully, members of the Tongva (Gabrielino) have yet to receive federal recognition by the US government.…”

"They Can't Expect to be Treated Like Normal Americans so Soon": Reconceptualizing Latinx Immigrants in Social Studies Education

“…Second, the narrative criminalizes Latinx immigrant children. This criminalization is then used to justify mass deportations, even when it puts children at risk for injury or death (Abrego, 2017;De Genova, 2002;Linton, Griffin, & Shapiro, 2017;Martinez, 2016). For this reason, TEP faculty must include material from contemporary Latinx studies in their courses.…”