Return to El Salvador

Last updated
Return to El Salvador
Return to El Salvador.jpg
Directed by Jamie Moffett
Written byJulia Shields,
Betsy Morgan
Narrated by Martin Sheen
Release date
  • January 1, 2010 (2010-01-01)
Running time
68 min
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Return to El Salvador is a 2010 documentary film directed by Philadelphia filmmaker Jamie Moffett and narrated by Martin Sheen. It chronicles the rebuilding of El Salvador in the years after the Salvadoran Civil War, and explores the impact a lasting legacy of violence and unrest has had on those who survived, fled, and are now seeking to return.

Contents

Background

The Salvadorian Civil War was a 12-year conflict (from 1980 to 1992) that killed over 70,000 people [1] and displaced nearly one-quarter of the population. [2] The fighting, which took place between the Salvadoran Army and the leftist guerrilla organization, the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN), resulted in civilian deaths as the Salvadoran Army bombed and raided villages thought to be sympathetic to the FMLN. Many of these Salvadoran Army soldiers were trained and supported by the United States military at its School of the Americas (now known as WHINSEC), located in Ft. Benning, Georgia. [3] The Revolutionary Government Junta in power targeted many well-known figures. Óscar Romero was the fourth Archbishop of San Salvador and spoke out against the poverty, social injustice, assassinations, and torture caused by the U.S.-backed El Salvadoran government. [4] He was assassinated on 24 March 1980. Other victims included six Jesuit priests of the Universidad Centroamericana (UCA), their cook, and her daughter were also shot and killed in 1989. The El Salvadoran army had branded the university as the intelligence behind the guerilla army. Later, the military told American advisers that a guerilla operating station had been established at the university. The ensuing raid, which found no evidence of a commend post, resulted in the massacre of the priests and their two female co-workers. [5] In 1991, Colonel Benavides and Lieutenant Mendoza of the El Salvadoran army were found guilty of the crimes. In 1992, a U.N. peace accord formally ended the El Salvadoran Civil War. [6] The ruling government remained conservative until 2009, when Mauricio Funes won the elections to bring the left-wing FMLN into power. [7] Before his entry into politics, Funes gained popularity through his twenty-year career in journalism, working with CNN Español and Canal 12, among other programs. [8]

Summary

Return to El Salvador explores the reconstruction of El Salvador, post-civil war. The film revisits the struggles of the nation and examines what drives over 700 Salvadorans to flee their homeland each day, often risking their lives to illegally enter countries in search of a better life for their families. The film also profiles a number of Salvadorans effected by the civil war. One couple, who fled death threats in the 1980s, finds asylum and a political platform in the United States. The film also follows a different couple who, after escaping the war, returned to El Salvador to work with churches and poor communities.

The film also interviews a family that speaks about their continued hunt for the truth about a murdered anti-mining activist, Marcelo Rivera. Rivera began speaking out against a mining project proposal by the Pacific Rim Company before his death. On June 18, 2009, Rivera's body was found at the bottom of a well. Although the police and attorney general inferred that Rivera had been drinking and was killed by blows to the head from gang members, Rivera's family maintain that he did not drink. The formal autopsy also showed the cause of death to be strangulation, not blunt force trauma. Moffett's film suggests a correlation between the way in which Rivera was killed and the death squad murders of the civil war, suggesting that El Salvadoran history may be repeating itself. [9]

On the official website, Return to El Salvador is described as such:

"[The] film explores the hopes of the Salvadoran people and walks with them in their journey. Return to El Salvador represents the power and audacity of solidarity and challenges North Americans to question the global impact of their government on struggling nations." [10]

Publicity and screenings

The film has been featured in many periodicals and news sites, including Philadelphia City Paper , [11] Washington City Paper , [12] The Toronto Sun , [13] The Kansas City Star , [14] and The Huffington Post . [15] [16] Return to El Salvador has also been highlighted on several television programs and radio stations, including Oprah Radio. [17] The film was screened at the 3rd Philadelphia Independent Film Festival and in other major U.S. cities such as Washington, D.C. and Kansas City. The movie also toured Canada, screening in the cities of Toronto, Ottawa, Mississauga, Halifax, Vancouver, and Edmonton.

Featuring

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Armed Forces of El Salvador</span> Combined military forces of El Salvador

The Armed Forces of El Salvador are the official governmental military forces of El Salvador. The Forces have three branches: the Salvadoran Army, the Salvadoran Air Force and the Navy of El Salvador.

<i>Salvador</i> (film) 1986 war drama film directed by Oliver Stone

Salvador is a 1986 American war drama film co-written and directed by Oliver Stone. It stars James Woods as Richard Boyle, alongside Jim Belushi, Michael Murphy and Elpidia Carrillo, with John Savage and Cynthia Gibb in supporting roles. Stone co-wrote the screenplay with Boyle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front</span> Salvadoran political party and former guerilla organization

The Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front is a Salvadoran political party and former guerrilla rebel group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chapultepec Peace Accords</span> 1992 treaty ending the Salvadoran Civil War

The Chapultepec Peace Accords were a set of peace agreements signed on January 16, 1992, the day in which the Salvadoran Civil War ended. The treaty established peace between the Salvadoran government and the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN). It was signed in Chapultepec Castle, Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">José Napoleón Duarte</span> Salvadoran politician

José Napoleón Duarte Fuentes was a Salvadoran politician who served as President of El Salvador from 1 June 1984 to 1 June 1989. He was mayor of San Salvador before running for president in 1972. He lost, but the election is widely viewed as fraudulent. Following a coup d'état in 1979, Duarte led the subsequent civil-military Junta from 1980 to 1982. He was then elected president in 1984, defeating ARENA party leader Roberto D'Aubuisson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roberto D'Aubuisson</span> Salvadoran politician

Roberto D'Aubuisson Arrieta was a Salvadoran military officer, neo-fascist politician, and death squad leader. In 1981, he co-founded and became the first leader of the far-right Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA) and served as president of the Legislative Assembly from 1982 to 1983. He was a presidential candidate for 1984 presidential election, losing in the second round to José Napoleón Duarte, the former president of the Revolutionary Government Junta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Revolutionary Government Junta of El Salvador</span> Three military dictatorships in El Salvador

The Revolutionary Government Junta was the name of three consecutive joint civilian-military dictatorships that ruled El Salvador between 15 October 1979 and 2 May 1982.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christian Democratic Party (El Salvador)</span> Political party in El Salvador

The Christian Democratic Party is a Salvadoran political party. From 2011 to 2012, the party was renamed to Party of Hope before reverting to the Christian Democratic Party. The PDC has been led by Reinaldo Carballo since 2023.

Tenancingo is a municipality in the Cuscatlán department of El Salvador.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salvadoran Civil War</span> 1979–1992 conflict in El Salvador

The Salvadoran Civil War was a twelve-year period of civil war in El Salvador that was fought between the government of El Salvador and the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), a coalition or "umbrella organization" of left-wing groups backed by the Cuban regime of Fidel Castro as well as the Soviet Union. A coup on 15 October 1979 followed by government killings of anti-coup protesters is widely seen as the start of civil war. The war did not formally end until after the collapse of the Soviet Union, when, on 16 January 1992 the Chapultepec Peace Accords were signed in Mexico City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arturo Rivera y Damas</span>

Arturo Rivera y Damas was the ninth Bishop and fifth Archbishop of San Salvador, El Salvador. Msgr. Rivera's term as archbishop (1983–1994) coincided with the Salvadoran Civil War. He was the immediate successor of Archbishop Óscar Romero. During Romero's archbishopric (1977–1980), Rivera was Romero's key ally. He had been the auxiliary of Romero's long-reigning predecessor, Luis Chávez y González (1938–1977). He was also a friend of Mother Teresa, who stayed at his family home on her visit to El Salvador

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jamie Moffett</span> American film director

Jamie Moffett is an American independent motion picture director, producer, and social activist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1989 murders of Jesuits in El Salvador</span> Massacre of civilians by Salvadoran soldiers

During the Salvadoran Civil War, on 16 November 1989, Salvadoran Army soldiers killed six Jesuits and two others, the caretaker's wife and daughter, at their residence on the campus of Central American University in San Salvador, El Salvador. Polaroid photos of the Jesuits' bullet-riddled bodies were on display in the hallway outside the chapel, and a memorial rose garden was planted beside the chapel to commemorate the murders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Truth Commission for El Salvador</span>

The Truth Commission for El Salvador was a restorative justice truth commission approved by the United Nations to investigate the grave wrongdoings that occurred throughout the country's twelve year civil war. It is estimated that 1.4 percent of the Salvadoran population was killed during the war. The commission operated from July 1992 until March 1993, when its findings were published in the final report, From Madness to Hope. The eight-month period heard from over 2,000 witness testimonies and compiled information from an additional 20,000 witness statements.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Final offensive of 1989</span>

The final offensive of 1989, also known as the ofensiva hasta el tope, was the major engagement of the Salvadoran Civil War. The battle, fought between the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front Marxist guerrilla and the Salvadoran government, lasted from 11 November to early December 1989. Sometimes referred to as "Ofensiva fuera los fascistas. Febe Elizabeth vive", in honor of an assassinated union leader, it was the most brutal confrontation in the entire conflict, amounting for seventeen percent of the total casualties in ten years of warfare.

Lil Milagro de la Esperanza Ramírez Huezo Córdoba was a Salvadoran poet and revolutionary leader, a founding member of the first guerrilla organizations that would come together in 1980 to form the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN). She was captured by agents of the National Guard in November, 1976. Her detention was kept secret and from that moment on she was considered "disappeared" until she was murdered inside the clandestine jails of the National Guard on October 17, 1979, after being tortured for three years. She is now remembered for her courage and determination in favor of the unprivileged lower classes.

The 1979 Salvadoran coup d'état was a military coup d'état that occurred in El Salvador on 15 October 1979. The coup, led by young military officers, bloodlessly overthrew military President Carlos Humberto Romero and sent him into exile. The National Conciliation Party's firm grasp on power was cut, and in its place, the military established the Revolutionary Government Junta of El Salvador (JRG). The junta was composed of two military officers and three civilians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Death squads in El Salvador</span> 1960s–1990s paramilitary groups in El Salvador

Death squads in El Salvador were far-right paramilitary groups acting in opposition to Marxist–Leninist guerrilla forces, most notably of the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), and their allies among the civilian population before, during, and after the Salvadoran Civil War. The death squads committed the vast majority of the murders and massacres during the civil war from 1979 to 1992 and were heavily aligned with the United States-backed government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa Rita massacre</span> Massacre in El Salvador in 1982

The Santa Rita massacre occurred near the municipality of Santa Rita in Chalatenango, El Salvador, on 17 March 1982. During the massacre, soldiers from the Atonal Battalion attacked and killed four Dutch journalists and a disputed number of guerrillas from the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN).

The final offensive of 1981, also known as the general offensive of 1981, was the unsuccessful first military offensive conducted by the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) during the Salvadoran Civil War. The objective of the offensive was to initiate a popular revolution to overthrow the Revolutionary Government Junta (JRG), which had been ruling the country since the 1979 Salvadoran coup d'état. The FMLN hoped that the government would be overthrown by 20 January 1981; the date Ronald Reagan was to be inaugurated as president of the United States.

References

  1. "Enemies of War - el Salvador: Civil War". PBS . Archived from the original on 2012-10-29. Retrieved 2017-09-10.
  2. Todd, Molly. Beyond Displacement. The University of Wisconsin Press, 2010, p. 54
  3. "Supply Line for a Junta". Time . 16 March 1981. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  4. "Romero's Letter to President Carter". Archived from the original on 2011-02-05. Retrieved 2011-06-03.
  5. Christian, Shirley (30 September 1991). "Colonel Guilty In Jesuit Deaths In El Salvador". The New York Times . Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  6. "Peace treaty on El Salvador conflict signed in Mexico City." United Nations Chronicle, 29.2 (1992): 29. EBSCO MegaFILE. EBSCO. 3 June 2011
  7. "Leftwing journalist Mauricio Funes wins El Salvador presidency". The Guardian . 16 March 2009. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  8. "Leader Biography." El Salvador Country Review (2011): 55-56. EBSCO MegaFILE. EBSCO. 3 June 2011.
  9. "El Salvador: The Mysterious Death of Marcelo Rivera". Upsidedownworld.org. 6 August 2009. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  10. "About". Return to El Salvador. Archived from the original on 2011-08-26. Retrieved 2011-05-31.
  11. "Down the Well :: News :: Article :: Philadelphia City Paper". archives.citypaper.net. Archived from the original on 7 July 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  12. Little, Ryan (8 July 2010). ""This Is about Us": A Chat with Return to El Salvador Filmmaker Jamie Moffett". Washington City Paper . Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  13. "A tale of hope in 'El Salvador' | Movies | Entertainment". Toronto Sun . Archived from the original on 2010-10-11.
  14. http://www.kansascity.com/2010/07/29/2114271/return-to-el-salvador-is-fueled.html [ dead link ]
  15. "Filmmaker Links Bloodshed of El Salvador to Washington (VIDEO)". HuffPost . 6 April 2010. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  16. "Still a Nation of Immigrants (VIDEO)". HuffPost . 11 June 2010. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  17. "The Derrick Ashong Experience 2/06/2010 - Hour 2". Archived from the original on 2011-06-17. Retrieved 2011-06-07.