Peace Corps suspends El Salvador operations
An unfortunate development:
It has relocated PCVs to safer parts of the country. It has altered the way in which PCVs travel to the capital. And it has changed the manner in which staff travel out to the countryside to check on PCVs.
I hope that nothing has happened to volunteers and that this decision is more proactive rather than reactive. In either case, it's still obviously a sad day for the Peace Corps and US-Salvadoran relations.
Hopefully, the suspension of Peace Corps' operations does not impact other programs that send US citizens to El Salvador. El Salvador is a dangerous country right now but the risks to Americans living, working and visiting the country, are less than those confronted by Salvadorans on a day-to-day basis.
The Peace Corps today announced the suspension of its program in El Salvador due to the ongoing security environment. The agency will continue to monitor the security situation in collaboration with the U.S. Embassy in San Salvador to determine when the program can resume.
The Peace Corps has enjoyed a long partnership with the government and people of El Salvador and is committed to resuming volunteers’ work there in a safe and secure environment.
Volunteers’ health, safety and security are the Peace Corps’ top priorities. More than 2,300 Peace Corps volunteers have worked on community and youth development projects in communities throughout El Salvador since the program was established in 1962.I get the impression that Peace Corps has done everything possible to maintain its operations in El Salvador and the rest of the region. When the murder rate surpasses 100k per 100,000 people and mobility is limited to the extent that Oscar Martinez describes, there's only so much that one can do.
It has relocated PCVs to safer parts of the country. It has altered the way in which PCVs travel to the capital. And it has changed the manner in which staff travel out to the countryside to check on PCVs.
I hope that nothing has happened to volunteers and that this decision is more proactive rather than reactive. In either case, it's still obviously a sad day for the Peace Corps and US-Salvadoran relations.
Hopefully, the suspension of Peace Corps' operations does not impact other programs that send US citizens to El Salvador. El Salvador is a dangerous country right now but the risks to Americans living, working and visiting the country, are less than those confronted by Salvadorans on a day-to-day basis.
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