El Salvador: Aid Not Getting to Those In Need Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit Centro de Intercambio y Solidaridad January 22, 2001 ACTION ALERT: SALVADORAN EARTHQUIAKE AID NOT GETTING TO THOSE IN NEED Many affected communities have not yet seen any aid. It is feared that, as was the case with the disaster after the tropical storm Mitch, the central government and its allies will make out with large profits and use the aid money for campaign purposes. According to official statistics given in El Diario de Hoy on January 19, 2001, there are 97 municipalities that were damaged by the earthquake and the government has attended to only 28 of them. In addition the government will not release the names of those communities, which it has aided. The government has set up CONASOL (Committee of National Solidarity) to be in charge of receiving aid. But to many, the very nature of this new committee is at the very least questionable. First, according to Juan Hector Vidal, coordinator of CONASOL, the only responsibility that the committee has is to "channel the aid to the hands of the government. From then on, the government assumes responsibility." (La Prensa Grafica, Friday, January 19, 2001) The committee does not decentralize the aid or act as a "watch dog" it only adds another step in the bureaucratic process. Some believe it acts as a filter, keeping some of the money for itself. Hector Silva, the mayor of San Salvador, says the only ones involved in managing aid are ARENA "party members and sympathizers." Roberto Murray Meza, one of the wealthiest men in El Salvador and the ARENA pre-campaign candidate for presidency is the President of CONASOL. CONASOL has come under heavy criticism from various sectors. Oscar Ortiz, the mayor of Santa Tecla (where thousands of people were buried in the worst landslide) has only communicated with him once and since then has not heard anything (La Prensa Grafica, Friday, January 19, 2001). In addition Silva also stated that things were not functioning well. Furthermore, many communities have expressed their rage due to the fact that they have received no aid. Conflicting statements given by CONASOL in the press have also provoked criticism unto themselves. For example, Roberto Murray Meza, says that there is too much need and the money doesn't cover the necessities. "According to CONASOL statistics the country has obtained around 3 million 701 thousand 250 colones in donations." (El Diario de Hoy, Friday, January 19, 2001) That would be far too little money, but in the same article one can see the contradiction. For example, in the same article the Foreign Relations Minister, Maria Eugenia de Avila confirmed that the country did receive a donation from Spain that amounted to 17 million 500 thousand colones ($2 million dollars 8.75 colones = 1 dollar). Furthermore, on the previous page of the El Diario it states that various countries "have confirmed" their offers of donations to the government of El Salvador: Japan $500,000; Italy $50,000; Finland $158,000; Sweden $528,000; South Korea $50,000 and the United States $800,000. This money is money that is going directly to the government. Donations in the form of goods have also come into the country. Germany and Spain for example have already sent tons of aid. Countries such as Italy have already sent $2 million dollars through independent organizations such as Catholic Charities. Even if the government did not receive enough aid, they propose nothing to come up with the needed money. For example, they could use the $1.8 billion dollars destined for dollarization for reconstruction instead or they could have changed the budget to more address the need. It is more important for them to go on with their neoliberal agenda. Note: a series of measures will be raised in the Assembly that would address the needs of those who suffered at the hands of the quake. We will send another action alert asking to support those measures. Not only has CONASOL come under attack, but also COEN the government organism responsible for national emergencies. Troops from the Mexican army are in the country helping with disaster relief and even they strongly criticize the government and COEN. General Victor Gutierrez of the Mexican troops that are stationed in El Cafetalon, the largest refugee camp in the country with 11,700 people, stated, "The government has not brought any aid." He continued saying that since the beginning they had been working "independently" and "sovereignty" and they fault COEN for the lack of coordination (La Prensa Friday, January 19 2001). Oscar Ortiz, the mayor of Santa Tecla also has stated they have not received any aid or coordination from COEN or the government. The community and municipal government coordinated all work that was accomplished. Hector Silva, in an abnormal show of anger, railed against the government saying that the process of attending to the victims of the earthquake is bureaucratic, ineffective, and discriminatory. Silva went on to say that many municipalities wanted to get involved with the CONOSAL but the government never gave them an answer. Channel 12 has been trying to act as a means of expression for the many affected people. Channel 12 has been the only station to provide in depth coverage of the rural zones, showing a broader scope of the earthquake's impact. In response their has been an attack on Channel 12. For example, according to Mauricio Funes, director of Channel 12, the phone lines to his talk show were being blocked because so many critical people were calling in to voice their anger with the government. On Thursday, January 18, 2001, El Diario de Hoy ran an editorial against channel 12 and Mauricio Funes. The article accused, among other things, that "Channel 12 exhibits real or supposed victims of the earthquake, puts them in front of the camera to cry, denounce injustices, and interferences in rescue efforts." The article also accuses Channel 12 of using their vehicles to pick up women and children from the marginal communities around San Salvador and bringing them to the Feria (where COEN and CONASAL are stationed) where they "put together their pathetic scenes." On Friday, January 19, 2001 the Prensa Grafica ran an interview with Mauricio Ferrer, Director of COEN. When asked why the population was upset with COEN he stated, that the population of El Salvador likes to be treated paternalistically and that "many people take advantage of the situation by trying to make themselves look like victims." Therefore, due to the government's actions and attitude it is crucial that the international community pressures for the implementation of steps that would assist in creating a more honest and efficient distribution of aid. WHAT YOU CAN DO: Write/faxthe president of El Salvador urging the construction of a reconstruction fund with diverse social representation and urge him to transfer all aid to local governments. Sample letters in English and Spanish follow. Casa Presidencial Avenida Los Diplomaticos Final Calle Mexico Barrio San Jacinto, San Salvador, El Salvador, C.A. Fax: 011-503-281-0018 Fax/call the U.S. embassy in El Salvador demanding that all U.S. money be given directly to municipalities. Fax: 011 503 228-1857 Phone: 011 503 278-4444 SAMPLE LETTER: Casa Presidencial Avenida Los Diplomaticos Final Calle Mexico Barrio San Jacinto, San Salvador, El Salvador, C.A. Fax: 011 503 289-0018 Dear President Flores, I deeply regret the tragedy that El Salvador is living through in these times. As someone who is concerned about the well being of the people of El Salvador and who has sent a monetary donation, I would like to see all aid being used in the most effective manner. I would like to suggest two steps that would help to assure a more rapid and effective disaster relief effort: 1) aid should be directly channeled through and handled at a local level through the mayor's office; 2) an emergency fund for reconstruction should be established, with a mix of government money and international aid, that is representative of all sectors of society (workers, churches, social sectors, private business, etc). Thank you for your time and consideration regarding these important matters. Sincerely, Dear Ambassador Likens, As someone who has deep feelings of solidarity with the people of El Salvador, I would like to express some concerns to you, our representative. As you probably know aid is not getting to many communities badly affected by the earthquake and there are concerns about corruption. I would like to see our money be directly distributed at the local level avoiding the long bureaucratic and possibly corrupt process. This way, aid would arrive more rapidly and have a better chance of serving its purpose. As the Ambassador of the United States in El Salvador, you could have influence in this area and I believe as our representative you have the responsibility of representing the interests of the people of the United States. Needless to say, people would like to see their money arriving quickly and efficiently to the disaster areas. Thank you for your time and concern, EN ESPANOL: Estimado Presidente Flores, Lamento profundamente la tragedia por la cual esta pasando El Salvador actualmente. Como alguien que esta preocupado por el bienestar del pueblo Salvadoreno y quien ha enviado una donacion monetaria, me gustaria ver que se utilice la ayuda de la manera mas efectiva. Me gustaria sugerir dos pasos que asegurarian una distribucion mas rapida y efectiva de la ayuda: 1) la ayuda debe ser canalizada directamente a traves de y administrado por las alcaldias, es decir, a un nivel local; 2) debe crearse un fondo de emergencia para la reconstruccion, conformado por una mezcla de dinero del gobierno y ayuda internacional, en el cual participen todos los sectores de la sociedad (trabajadores, iglesias, sectores sociales, empresa privada, etc). Gracias por su tiempo y consideracion al tomar en cuenta esta propuesta importante. 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