euskalkultura.eus

Joseba Etxarri/EuskalKultura.com. We spoke with Amaia during a recent trip to El Salvador, when the girl from Lesaka showed us some of the places in remote areas of this country where she has lived for 19 years sharing in its development and growth, alongside its residents and with a large number of cooperating partners.

-You came to El Salvador in 1995, at 24 years of age, just after getting a degree in Economics from the University of the Basque Country along with your sister and a friend, three from Lesaka on a Central American adventure.

-My sister convinced me Garbiñe and we came with another friend, Mertxe, with the idea of staying a few months. We felt like doing something and we joined the Askapena organization that gave us the opportunity to come to El Salvador or Guatemala.  Even though, at that time, they recommended that we come to El Salvador since the peace treaty between the government and the guerilla, FMLN, had recently been signed, while in Guatemala there was still war.  That is how we came here, kind of a coincidence.

-El Salvador then wasn’t what it is today…

-It was a country trying to leave behind a war and a difficult history of neglect of its people.  The war wounds were obvious and, for example, the infrastructure, deficiencies were very basic.  The first community where I lived and worked didn’t have running water, we got it from a well, and we didn’t have electricity, something that today, fortunately, has changed.  The basic services have spread, even though people are still in poverty.  Now, they have water and electricity but no money to pay for it, so I’m not sure if we have aggravated the problem instead of improving it.

-Was this your first time outside of Euskal Herria?

-Yes, except for one week in Brazil when I graduated.  Once I was here, everything was different, the weather, people, customs, food…but I must say I still fell in love with the country and I quickly adapted. If you ask me what I missed the most, I can say my family and the food.  The food here is much more monotonous, it's always beans, rise, chicken, corn, tortillas and on the other hand for the first two years here I was in a rural community, not in the city and there the food was much weaker, we never missed a meal but it was always the same, and so that’s why above all I missed the food.

-What was the first project you worked on?

-They offered several, and finally we chose one sponsored by a NGO here, the Center for Human Rights Madeleine Legedec, regarding the establishment of a youth center.  My sister Garbiñe studied fine arts and since I was a musician we began teaching kids, she was teaching screen printing and I music.  We also taught them management skills like how to manage money if they had it, and that’s how we built a youth center in Usulutan.

-How did they see what you were doing?

-They were very interested.  They were between the ages of 12 and 20-21.  You have to remember that for us they were still very young, but here at that age they begin to have families, and are seen as adults.  They were poor youth since they were in a poor repopulated community, that is people who had to flee Panama during the war and once it was over they came to this repopulation, Usulutan.

-How has the country faired in education and public instruction?

-There is a lot to do, but I would say that it has changed.  Before, it was common for people of a certain age not to know how to read or write, or having great difficulties in this respect.  The youth today, I think, have the opportunity to learn and go to university.  Some are in the middle of the road and have to help at home but I think that there is a clear difference between generations.

-After that project, were there others with other NGOs?

-After the first two years in Usulutan, I worked on Human and Civil Rights projects.  When the first elections were organized, the people weren’t accustomed, they didn’t know what it was about and I was part of a project to explain, disseminate information and promote voting and the right to vote.  Later, there were other projects on credit, how to create a cooperative, since I’ve been here, one after the other, until now.

-What do cooperating partners contribute, are you necessary?

-I think that help is always appreciated.  Maybe we end up owing more and needing more than the other way around.  We have made this country our life, at least in my case.  There are many capable people here, who with adequate training, could run the country perfectly, but support is always helpful and welcome.  For me, El Salvador taught me how to look at life differently.  If I had stayed in the Basque Country, I surely wouldn’t have the vital wealth that I have today.  I have known two worlds, both very differently, my son, Martxel was born here, i live here and now my life is here, this is where my desire lies, my love and solidarity.

-Your older sister went back home after two years here along with your friend.

-Yes and they say that the experience in El Salvador marked them as well, they have a valuable memory.  For me, I maintain regular contact with Euskal Herria and I follow the news.  For example, now we want to collaborate from here in the Human Chain for Gure Esku Dago on June 8^th.  I go to Lesaka every year and Martxel spends summers there, he has many friends and that is also his home.

-What would you say to a young person, maybe a recent graduate, that can’t find a job and is considering a change of scenery and working with an NGO, for example?

-If he/she can, don’t miss the chance.  It is always healthy to leave your surroundings or your country and coexist, and experiment with how other people live, to see for yourself what realities there are. If they can, of course I would encourage them to do so.