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The U.S.-El Salvador sister city movement was organized by U.S. citizens who
were concerned about U.S. intervention in the Salvadoran civil war
(1980-1992) which devastated the country. During the war, over a
fifth of the population had to flee their homes. After several years
in refugee camps, some displaced peasants decided to organize into
groups in order to return to their rural communities. Their goal
was both to restore their lives and their livelihoods as subsistence
farmers, and to assert their right to be treated as civilians and
not military targets. In the U.S., the sister city movement was
founded to partner with these "repopulated" villages and support
them in rebuilding.
Since 1988, the Arlington-Teosinte Sister City
Project has worked with Teosinte in four major ways:
- Fostering people-to-people connections and cultural exchange
Our projects have included a children's letter exchange, children's
programs at Robbins Library, delegations to Teosinte, and visits
to Arlington by citizens of Teosinte and neighboring villages.
- Raising funds to support humanitarian and sustainable
development projects in Teosinte and the broader province of Chalatenango,
where it is located
We have raised money for Teosinte's midwife
and health clinic, various infrastructure projects, and a children's
scholarship program.
- Providing a market for Teosinte's women's sewing cooperative
A group of women in Teosinte have become skilled tailors of handwoven
cloth that they buy from a women's weaving cooperative near Lake
Atitlan, Guatemala. Most of the members of each of these cooperatives
are widows from the war or political violence, and this work provides
them with vital income. Their products include handbags, backpacks,
placemats and children's garments made of brightly-colored handwoven
Guatemalan cloth. The Arlington-Teosinte Sister City Project participates
in several craft sales yearly to sell their beautiful products at
a fair-trade price to benefit both the Teosinte tailors and the
Guatemalan weavers.
- Education and political advocacy
In order
to raise awareness about U.S. policy in El Salvador and Central
America, we hold educational forums and write articles for the town
paper. Recent topics include immigration and free trade. We lobby
our elected officials in pursuit of just and sustainable policies
toward El Salvador. |
