A History Lesson

Our first stop in El Salvador was Perquín. It’s a lovely town and it has a very nice hotel, but our main purpose in going there was to visit the Museo de la Revolucion Salvadoreña, Homenaje a los Héroes y Mártires. It’s in Perquín because that was where the headquarters were for the FMLN during the war.

The museum is housed in a couple of small buildings. It occupies several rooms, each presenting a different aspect of the conflict. One is devoted to the conditions and events leading up to the war, another to daily life in the guerrilla camps, one or two to the weapons used, one to the rest of the world’s reactions during the war, and one to Radio Venceremos, the official voice of the FMLN. None of it was showy or professional, but all of it was very real.

One of the above-mentioned weapons was a de-activated 500-pound bomb. It was on display next to the large crater left by another such bomb, dropped some thirty years ago. Weather has filled it in a bit and softened its edges, and the jungle encroached on it somewhat. It was still scary.

The gentleman who met us at the museum’s entrance, guided us through the various rooms and described the exhibits, was a veteran of the war. He was polite, serious and soft-spoken, and about my age. Perhaps a few years younger. He told us a little bit about his experiences, and described his injuries. At one point he also mentioned that nobody in El Salvador blamed the American people for supporting the military regime, just the American government.

Despite this reassurance, I left the museum shaken. I remember the war, the sense of foul deeds being done in my name, and feeling unable to stop them. I remember learning of the Salvadoran military’s atrocities, of feeling horrified and powerless. One thing I hadn’t remembered was a quotation from Ronald Reagan, included as part of one of the displays:

I thought that the 1980’s were a time to stop apologizing for America’s legitimate national interests, and start asserting them.

Swell.