El Salvador

The Salvadoran Civil War (1979-92) was an intense regional conflict between civilian militia groups and the Salvadoran government. Like much of Latin America, El Salvador was gripped with a paralyzing fear of communism, and swept up in Cold War rhetoric and taken over by a military government. The military presence in the government and presidency quickly spiraled out of control and civil war broke out. An already tenuous situation was made worse by guerilla fighting, protests and violence. The situation deteriorated further as extrajudicial killings began, committed in many instances by the government. Killing squads roamed the street and people were "disappeared."

The situation was not unique to El Salvador as other countries were also suffering from militarized governments and widespread "disappearances." The United States' involvement in El Salvador also contributed to the political decay. US Governmental intervention through troops and training made the situation even more deadly. The Salvadoran government continued killing its own citizens and waged war against the guerilla militias in the countryside.

From this civil war, Liberation theology emerged as an alternative to the violence. Pioneered by Archbishop Romero, liberation theology and religion became a source of support for the local populations in the war torn region. Religion united people and formed an opposition to the government. As religious movements gained support, an violent opposition manifested. Archbishop Romero was assassinated saying Mass in 1980, and later that same year four church women were brutalized and murdered, their bodies left in an open-pit as an example.

Needless to say, this situation created a intense situation of need and aid. Various religious orders, including the Sisters of the Holy Cross, sent members of their congregations to support the local displaced populations. The war raged on, and the need continued, as humanitarian religious workers worked to protect populations and provide the services that they needed.

Between 1983 and 1987, the Sisters of the Holy Cross joined forces with Catholic Relief Services (CRS) in El Salvador to provide emergency aid to those affected by the civil war in El Salvador. Desplazados, or the Salvadorans displaced by the war, found themselves forced out of their homes by the violence. Left no choice but to move into temporary shelters and homes, many desplazados had to take up residence in multipurpose structures such as unfinished churches or retreat centers. To offer relief, Holy Cross sisters worked with individuals who ran food distribution centers and shops out of their homes in addition to grant writing and clerical work. Education, too, guided their cause: Sr. Maryanne O'Neill, for example, recalls her time teaching displaced adults to read and write in a center with "concrete floors and chicken wire walls" as "one of the happiest experiences of [her] life." In 1986, a large earthquake hit the country, leading Sr. Maryanne to return for a third time to provide emergency aid to those affected.

While the CRS office was primarily based in San Salvador, the sisters also lived and worked in remote villages and locations where desplazados gathered, including the famed Aldeita (where the four American churchwomen were murdered just a few years earlier). Similar to the precarious conditions in Beirut, life in San Salvador and nearby villages required that the sisters exercise extreme caution, particularly at night, when death squads were most active.