Back in America people often complain about crime and will say that gang violence is unacceptable. I would often be warned by family members against just driving through certain neighborhoods after dark if I was coming home. Here I’m finding out that violent crime in America is nowhere near as bad as it is here. For those that may not know, Central America has a massive gang problem. It was a problem back in Honduras but we did not see much of that. It is just as big here in El Salvador and this time we see more of its presence. Here gangs control swaths of territory, including the place where my team is staying. It’s not as bad as it sounds. If I were given a choice between being within gang territory and living on the boundaries of gang territory I would choose the former. Why, because being on the boundary means you are in the crossfire between two rival gangs and the ones down here are worse than those in the United States. Down here the government ends up negotiating with the gangs rather than combating them. Back in America the government and law enforcement fights organized crime more effectively and there is no big sphere of influence for gangs to really coerce government officials. The strings that gangs can pull down here are of “Godfather” proportions.
My first visit to a men’s prison was very memorable. Nearly 95% of the inmates in the prisons here are in a gang. I got to personally meet with inmates and we played games and held bible studies with them. Even after multiple visits to the prisons, it is astonishing how friendly and welcoming they were, and in a way, they can be nicer than some Christians I know. When spending time with them, you feel like you are accepted in a way by these people who did terrible things to end up in there. It is a strange duality of human nature that I have seen while here. One inmate even served me Pepsi and it was an offer I did not refuse (it’s good to show respect).
On a funny note, I don’t understand what it is about El Salvadorans and pupusas. They refuse to believe that they exist outside their country. For those that don’t know, it is a dish with tortillas, cheese, and meat, or beans. Every time I tell a Salvadoran that I had them in other places they would emphatically say no you did not! They believe that they have the universal standard of pupusas and anything that is slightly different but also called a pupusa is not a real one according to Salvadorans. They are very prideful of this dish.
