WOLA: Advocacy for Human Rights in the Americas
11 Nov 2009 | News

International Delegation Visits Storm Damaged Areas in El Salvador

Rep. James P. McGovern, accompanied by a delegation of U.S. citizens, will examine storm damage in the city of San Salvador on Wednesday around 3:30pm.  Last weekend's rains caused landslides and damage in San Salvador, San Vicente, and several other areas in El Salvador.  They caused over 130 deaths, and left thousands homeless.

As the Salvadoran government and the international community respond to this natural disaster, Rep. McGovern will look at storm damage and meet with affected community residents, and express his concern and support. The McGovern group will stop to visit neighborhoods near the parish of Mary, Mother of the Poor, in San Salvador. 

The remainder of the trip will focus on the commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the slaying of six Jesuit priests and two women on November 16th, 1989.  On Monday, November 16, President Mauricio Funes will present El Salvador's highest award to the six Jesuit martyrs murdered in 1989 by the military during the country's civil war. The ceremony marks a sharp break with the past, in which conservative post-war governments ignored the Jesuit case. In addition, during his trip, Rep. James P. McGovern, who played a key role in policy toward El Salvador during those years, will receive an honorary degree from the Jesuit University of Central America.

The delegation of 20 people will also include Geoff Thale, Program Director at WOLA; William LeoGrande, Dean of the American University School of Public Affairs; and Fr. Charles Currie, S.J., Pdte, Association of Jesuit Schools and Colleges, among others.

 

For more information contact:
Rene Zuniga, 503-71-10-6757
Geoff Thale, WOLA's Program Director, (503) 7637 7221
Kristel Mucino, WOLA's Communications Coordinator, kmucino@wola.org; +617-584-1713.