Week 3 - Education to the Rescue?
As I wrap up my third week at USIP I cannot help but be filled with gratitude for this opportunity. The individuals that I have been able to connect with through this internship have been inspiring. Their wisdom and experience is uncanny. Every time I sit down with someone new for a coffee chat, I am blown away by their story and the unique path that led them to USIP. Their passion for their work reminds me of why I decided to go to law school and inspires me to continuously strive for excellence in everything that I do.
This week I have continued my research into El Salvador, its history and its current approach to gang violence. My research has made me pose the question; how can a country be stuck in this continuous cycle of violence? In theory, it seems that there should be some viable solution to curb and eventually eliminate gang violence, however El Salvador’s struggles seem to disapprove that theory, at least for now.
This is not an issue that is unique to El Salvador, in fact it is a challenge that many countries, including the United States, are working to overcome. Although solutions, such as the strict crack down currently going on in El Salvador, seem to be working, these solutions have proven to be temporary band-aid solutions. Furthermore, they raise other serious consequences such as the mass incarceration of innocent individuals and the suspension of basic human rights for ALL citizens. So how can El Salvador and other countries work towards adopting more long-term solutions for these issues?
An option that seems to have been working in other similarly situated countries is the introduction of inmate education programs. Although this seems like a straightforward solution, cooperation from various parties is required for successful implementation. Given that the benefits of these programs tend to be long term and it can prove difficult to convince the government and its citizens of the necessity of these programs as they endure daily violence. In addition, the overcrowded prisons make it not only difficult to find room to host programs but also make it difficult to provide enough resources to all the inmates that may wish to participate. Nonetheless, despite these obstacles, after reading about the positive impact that programs like these have had in other Latin American countries there is hope that one day the cycle of violence El Salvador has been experiencing can be broken.