Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Older kids watch younger kids while dads scavenge and moms walk for water.
have speed bumps in front of their fancy houses, forcing angry bomb-throwers
to slow down long enough for guards to get their license-plate number. I've
seen it in Java, hanging out with rich Chinese behind designer fortii cations.
And I've seen it in Dallas, driving out to Plano past ten miles of fortii ed front
yards with chicken wire over the top to protect relatively wealthy children
from the have-nots who roam those i ne streets.
Feeling the breeze of the chopper as Santa climbed back in and it l ew
away, I took another sip of the drink I just paid half a day's local wages for.
Pulling out my little notebook, I added a few more observations, and con-
tinued my education.
In 1492, Columbus Sailed the Ocean Blue…
Our Salvadoran hosts gave us a history lesson unlike any I got in my school-
ing. In 1524, the Spaniards arrived in El Salvador. h ey killed people, burned
villages, and named the place “h e Savior” after Christ. Enslaving the locals—
branding them with hot irons like cattle—those i rst conquistadors estab-
lished a persistent pattern.
Under the Spanish, land long used to grow corn (the local staple) was
re-cultivated to grow indigo (a better cash crop for export). As indigo needed
l at land, locals were displaced and pushed into the hills. Later, when the
