CHAPTER FIVE: 1975 - 1978
El Salvador
El Salvador was a dramatic contrast to Venezuela, and Elizabeth enjoyed the smaller country and the very friendly people. As the boys were now 7 and 8, she had more time to develop her friendships and pursue her professional career. She really enjoyed the beautiful scenery, the lovely beaches and the pleasant climate. Unfortunately, in the background was the deteriorating security situation and the knowledge that a civil war was looming, but we were fortunate to leave just before the war fully broke out.
Life in El Salvador
El Salvador was a very small country, with beautiful mountains, lakes, and beaches. The people were very welcoming, and by now all the family were fluent in Spanish. Mike had a three year assignment with the Salvadoran Foundation for Low-cost Housing. We found a very attractive house with a large garden in a small colonia, where we inherited a live-in maid (Martha) and a gardener from the previous tenants. Martin and Martha’s son Alberto set up a small business selling green mangoes in a spicy sauce to the local security guards.
Elizabeth and Martha became good friends, and they would work together in the evenings making a large clipped wool carpet. The neighbors and the British community complained to Elizabeth that the wages she was paying were too high, and that maids did not need all of that money. Martha always referred to Mike as “The Doctor”, and she would ask Elizabeth things like “Could you please tell the Doctor that there is a dead mouse in the kitchen, and could he please remove it?”
We planned many fun activities for the boys including parties with creative games including relay costume races where the kids had to put on adult size clothes and race across the garden.
Enjoying El Salvador
A fisherman would arrive with fish he had caught that morning, and he would squat in the front porch and fillet the fish with his machete. It was forbidden to carry machetes in the city, and we learned later that he was given a machete permit from the police in return for reporting any suspicious people visiting the gringo families.
We now had a car, so we were able to travel all over the country and to neighboring Guatemala.
The British Club was close by and Elizabeth and the boys spent many happy hours by the pool. We also made many good friends there. Elizabeth performed in several of the Christmas pantomimes.
Although everyone was aware of the tense political situation, Elizabeth really enjoyed El Salvador. The boys were at school all day, and she had time to develop friendships and pursue her professional career as a public interpreter. She loved the beautiful scenery with lakes, mountains, accessible and beautiful beaches and a very agreeable climate.
Community and Friends
The Salvadorans were very welcoming and family oriented. The family were frequently invited to spend the day with Edgardo, a member of Mike’s research team and his family. We also visited Edgardo’s family coffee farm where Matthew and Martin, unbeknownst to their parents, were taught to shoot.
The housing program was similar to Habitat for Humanity, but working in a more dangerous environment as everyone knew that a civil war was looming. The city became very tense as the civil war approached, and several times the boys had to be driven home through streets filled with burning cars. By the end of the three year contract the family knew it was time to leave, although we left behind many happy memories.
In 1978 Mike was offered a job with the World Bank and in July the family moved to Washington DC. Soon after moving to the US, Edgardo, his wife and two small children were forced to leave the country because of the growing violence, and they stayed with us for several months.
