This week we successfully
completed our fourth and final week at La Plataforma Global—it has been a very
busy, productive month!
As promised, I have an update
on our campaign that we spent countless hours planning last week! We decided as
a group that we wanted to educate the young adults of El Salvador, specifically
students at the University of San Salvador, of the effects of extractive
industries on the land and on the people, and to mobilize them in joining our
cause. So, on Tuesday morning, we drove to the capital and executed our
peaceful demonstration on the campus of the University of San Salvador. In
flash mob style, we would casually walk in small groups until we were given the
signal to drop to the floor and place our hand-made skull masks on our face.
One of the students was designated to sound a siren and, from a megaphone,
dramatically announce our names and that we had all been killed from
contaminated water and other pollution caused by mining companies contaminating
our water and land. After the dramatic eulogy, we would rise, take off our
masks, and do a brief, fun dance singing what it would be like if there were a
law in place against mining that protected water rights. We then distributed
pamphlets to the students and faculty educating them on the conflict of land
grabs in El Salvador and invited them to sign a big banner that stated, “Estoy
con una ley contra la minerÃa,” (I support a law against mining).
Planning and executing this
campaign was more challenging than I had expected, but it was also very
fulfilling. The students and faculty of the University of San Salvador were
very receptive and supportive of our campaign. I especially enjoyed working
with my fellow Action Aid activists on this campaign from beginning to end; it
was such a great opportunity to put the theory of nonviolence and social
movements into practice.
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