Conflict

The rain has begun. The first day I was quite happy; by the 5^th straight rainy day I was cursing the same God I had been praying to for the rain to begin.

Like most weather, the rain is a blessing and a curse. It means cooler days, greener landscape, and the start of the planting season (very important in community that relies on agriculture for its well-being.) The rain also means laundry doesn’t dry and begins to smell musty, the dirt roads and pathways become mud pits and, most dangerously, the rain means flooding.

My house is located on the corner of the main road through my community (small dirt road), and a side road (smaller dirt road) to a group of houses down below. The natural run of the water is down the side road. At the end of last year’s rainy season, the people living down below built a cement ramp essentially blocking the water from running down the side road towards their houses. Not much was thought about the ramp until last week when it became apparent that without an exit for the water to run, a lake was forming on the main road. By the end of last week the lake covered the entire road for a stretch of 30 meters and a depth of 3 feet. The bus could no longer pass, horses and cows had to be coaxed/dragged through the water, and people were climbing through barbed wire fences to go through my yard and my neighbor’s yard in order to get to the other side. Obviously something had to be done.

On Friday, with the heaviest of the rains falling and the lake rising, a group of men gathered to help me and my neighbor build walls of mud to prevent the lake from overflowing into our yards. As we were standing around looking at our finished work, a woman passed by saying that if we weren’t man enough to break the cement ramp then she would do it herself. In the machismo culture of rural El Salvador, this was more than enough to get the wheels spinning. With much fanfare and lots of self-satisfied and manly grunting and back-slapping, it was decided that the cement ramp would come down at 8am the next morning.

I was very much in favor of draining the lake. Standing water brings mosquitoes and flies which bring Dengue Fever and Malaria. I was also in favor of banging sledgehammers and picks and shovels in a muddy, manly mess. My excitement for the next day came crashing down when a couple of the residents from down below came to my house to ask for help in preventing the destruction of the ramp. They told me they built the ramp to prevent the flooding of their houses. I told them we definitely have to figure out a solution, and that I would try to organize a meeting with the ADESCO (town council) before any action takes place. I ran around the rest of the evening talking to ADESCO members about planning a meeting. They all reassured me that it was all talk, and no one was going to destroy the ramp. They, of course were wrong.

The next morning at 8am sharp (the first time in my year in country that something has started on time) a group of 15 people showed up to bust up the ramp.

I watched (didn’t participate) as the ramp was busted, the lake was drained and people were happy. The people living down below didn’t show up, but everyone kept looking over their shoulders to see if they would arrive. Salvador is a violent country, and even though everyone knows and respects each other in my community, the possibility for violence can never be ignored.

I’m now in a position of trying to be the peacemaker. Both sides, as normal, are recruiting me to their side. There is no doubt that the ramp had to be busted, but I think something should be done in order to fix the side road so that it doesn’t flood. According to the ramp-busters, all that happens is the side road gets a bit muddy. According to the people living below, the water reaches waist level during the worst of the storms. Obviously, the truth lies somewhere in the middle. We shall see what happens.

More than anything, I was amazed at the lack of conflict resolution skills. Neither side directly contacted the other side to talk. The ramp-busters brought out as many people as possible to do a job that really only took 4 people. They encouraged everyone to at least move one shovel of dirt so no one could claim they had no part in it. The people down below are now saying that they are just going to rebuild the ramp. And the ADESCO, which I would expect to take charge of the situation, only claims that the people down below would refuse to show up to a meeting anyways, so why try.

I’m looking at this as a good opportunity. I’m certain we can figure out a cheap way to fix the side road and I’m hoping to get the ramp-breakers involved in helping the people below. I’m looking forward to easing some tension. “Just easing the tension baby, just easing the tension.”

**************************UPDATE********************************

I wrote this yesterday morning. This morning I woke up to see the people from below re-cementing the ramp. What will happen? We shall see.