The 100th anniversary of the birth of Archbishop Oscar Romero will be celebrated across the world this weekend, no more so than at Chigwell Convent in leafy Essex.
The Sisters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, whose base is the Chigwell convent, have strong links with El Salvador and particularly the martyred Archbishop Oscar Romero.
Sisters Anne Griffin spent many years working amongst the poor in El Salvador, carrying on the legacy of Archbishop Romero to be the voice of the voiceless.
The sisters also have a strong link to the ongoing judicial process that will bring justice relating to the murder of Archbishop Romero.
Sister Anne returned from El Salvador two years ago, after working in the war torn country since 2002. She will return to the country in the next few weeks for one of three visits she makes annually to see the ongoing work.
The sisters run the El Mozote Human Rights Project in the north of the country, which accompanies hundreds of victims in their pursuit of justice. In the capital San Salvador the nuns participate in health and social projects that help the poor and marginalised.
Sister Anne tells how despite having died in 1980, Archbishop Romero is still ever present in life. “Every single day you hear his voice still, “ said Sister Anne, who told of the huge power of the Archbishop’s radio broadcasts that people tuned into every week across El Salvador.
Sister Anne tells how the people’s hopes were in Archbishop Romero. “That is why his beautification is so important, he speaks for the poor and oppressed,” said Sister Anne.
The murder of the Archbishop is widely known but there is still an accounting to take place in El Salvador. The war between the US backed government and liberation forces ended in the early 1990s. The peace accords saw a truth commission process set up which unveiled some of the atrocities that had gone on. However, there was also an amnesty law passed, which ensured those giving testimony would never be prosecuted.
Sister Anne was based in the village of El Mozote in the north east of the country, where in 1981 an appalling massacre of 1,000 men, women and children took place. “It was the biggest massacre in Latin America but because of the amnesty law could not be investigated,” said Sister Anne, who recalled two lawyers coming to her and asking whether she would help identify the victims and bring people together. This was 25 years after the massacre, when the memories were still raw and people did not want to talk about what had happened. “I said I would speak to people. It was a divisive thing, with half on the government side and half with the rebels,” she recalled. “I went from house to house, people were saying it was all lies., eventually people began to talk. We arranged meetings between the victims and the lawyers so that statements could be taken. Young students were helping out.”
The El Mozote Association for the Promotion of Human Rights was formed. It was claimed that the people who had died were caught up in cross fire but this was clearly false. “The men were put in one place, the women in another and the children in the church,” said Sister Anne. “The women the soldiers fancied were taken, raped and tortured, before being shot. Other women were machine gunned.”
The children were killed in the church, then grenades were thrown in the windows to destroy the evidence. However, the grenades brought down the walls, which then covered the bodies, effectively preserving the evidence. “The bodies of 148 children were found, 140 under 12. Most of the children were bayoneted and shot through the head,” said Sister Anne, who recalled the way the investigators built up the evidence, often having to go to church records to try to identify the victims. This all took years but in 2012 the case was brought to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) in Ecuador.
Sister Anne helped three victim survivors who had witnessed what happened to be party to the proceedings. “One woman said they ran, when the soldiers came. They were away two weeks and when they came back, she said they could only find the skulls of the babies.”
The Chigwell sister recalled the impact of the testimony. “The massacre happened 30 years before, yet they spoke as though it only happened yesterday,” said Sister Anne.
The IACHR ruled in 2012 that the case must be investigated and the perpetrators brought to justice. The ruling meant that the amnesty law had to be repealed, which happened in 2015. As a result the El Mozote case and others, including that of the murder of Archbishop Romero, are proceeding in El Salvador. “The door was opened to look at war crimes and crimes against humanity , including that of Romero,” said Sister Anne. Now ex-ministers and generals are being brought before the courts, with the hope of some sort of justice for the victims hopefully around the corner.
A number of those who committed the crimes have died over the years, but others remain. El Salvador though remains governed effectively by 14 families, who were directly implicated back at the time of the war but whose younger generation now hold great influence in the country. “There is a lot of corruption in the justice system, with the same families in power today,” said Sister Anne.
“Romero is an important figure for the whole of El Salvador. He’s become a focus of hope for the poor and marginalised – all those groups who have suffered injustice in any way,” said Sister Anne, who recalled on the day of the beatification, how even the gangs called a truce, so people could walk in peace through the streets of San Salvador. “There were half a million at the service, that’s in a country of 5 million,” said Sister Anne, There are between 12 and 15 murders a day in El Salvador.
When Sister Anne goes back this time, she will
be visiting the Sister’s project in San Salvador, run by Sister Daisy. “There
is still lots to do. There are special needs in education and little is being
done for the elderly,” said Sister Anne.
Sister Daisy works in a clinic, which treats
members of local rival gangs.
So still much to be done in a country racked with poverty but beginning to get back on its feet.
*published - Universe and Catholic Times 22/9/2017
*published - Universe and Catholic Times 22/9/2017
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