My husband mentioned this week that our brother in law wants to bring his daughter over to the U.S. She is a pre-teen. “Bringing her over” must be in quotes because of the journey it entails. He will not fly down to El Salvador to go pick her and her suitcases up. “Bringing her over” means getting her here the long way.
I spoke with his sister at a party last night who has a pre-teen, too. The urgency of their family situation unfolded for me.
From FOTONICA.TV: guerreras-mujeres-y-violencia-en-el-salvador/. Click on Photo to link to site.
She also wants to bring her daughter over here, because she is “metiendo en la mara” and is “mas tremenda” than my brother in law’s girl. Her daughter is more the rebel, and starting to run with a gang. She wants to get her out of there before it’s too late.
These cousins live in close conditions and are near each other all the time.
Running with the wrong crowd in America can mean screwing up your life – getting bad grades in school, maybe not making it to college. In some cases it can mean getting into drugs and possibly dying.
Running with the wrong crowd (La Mara) in El Salvador is several notches higher – very often it means death down the road for your child and/or anyone who lives or spends time with them – even ones who want nothing to do with the gang.
As much as I’d like them to remedy the situation there, in this case I agree – Get the Girls Out of there Before It’s too late.
El Salvador from the Inside 
It is very sad that the conditions there are in many cases worse than the civil war days. One issue is that depending on how far the girls are now in the gang, they may be expected to join an affiliate group upon reaching the States. I really hope they get them out and that there is no retribution for it.
My brother-in-law successfully got a son and a daughter out of El Salvador within 2 1/2 years time. Another daughter wants to come up but we think it will be tough with the new presidential administration. But we’ll see.thanks for your comment and apologies on the delayed reply. Lots of spam in my email and too much time working. God bless
HI Gringa! I love your blog and have nominated you for a Liebster Award. Check it out http://internationalsocialworker.com/officially-accepting-the-liebster-award/
Jodi, thank you for your Liebster award nomination. I am flattered to have gotten this from you – thank you.
Have two bloggers already that I will nominate for the award. I liked your article on Remembering Refugees – what a story Gaspar has!
I hope all works out with that situation. I have family in the Colonia Suiza, which is slightly north of Los Planes, but never had to deal with that as all my cousins are a lot older and wiser. The gang problem has gotten bad down there.
It actually has been working out – brought his daughter up a few months ago. A much better place for teenagers. I hope the gang problem gets better over the next few years.
Well I would not suggest anyone to settle in El Salvador. I am salvadoran and I moved to Canada. Sad but true..
The best thing you could do is take out your teens from El Salvador. I have two kids and I moved to Canada just the last year. I pray every day to take them out with me.
Great idea to get them out of there. I hope you’ve already got them to Canada. And things are getting tougher with the Trump administration.
Some beautiful photos, I love mountains and I would love to have that experience there! Thanks for sharing