Bangor-Carasque effort truly a two-way exchange

Editor’s Note: Student Union is written by students at Hampden Academy, Brewer High School, Old Town High School, MDI High School, Ashland Community High School and Schenck High School in East Millinocket. The weekly column is a joint effort among the schools, the Bangor Daily News and Acadia Hospital. This week’s column was written by a Hampden Academy student. Their adviser is Matthew Noon.

In the northern mountains of El Salvador sits the small Catholic town of Carasque. With a population of about 400 people, there are no paved roads and only a few motorized vehicles. In spite of the remoteness of Carasque, Bangor has had a very active, little-known relationship with this village for more than a decade.

In 1991, the U.S.-El Salvador Sister City office paired together Bangor and Carasque as sister cities, based on a list of criteria composed by each. In the United States today, 28 other cities have similar Salvadoran counterparts.

The program itself was established in order to break down cultural barriers, to strengthen the global community at large, and to provide mutual benefits. This has been accomplished mainly through the willing participation and travel of various mission-oriented delegations.

Over the past several years, many groups have materialized, their purposes ranging from health to education. In addition, a monthly informational phone call between the respective city councils has been taking place for the past 10 years. The anniversary was celebrated with a commemorative phone call Saturday between local peace activists and Carasque representatives.

In August 2000, a delegation composed of local teachers traveled to Carasque in conjunction with PICA (Peace through Interamerican Community Action), the 18-year-old Bangor-based organization. The group spent a total of 10 days in the village with the purpose of sharing educational techniques, discussing issues present in both communities and deepening the personal nature of the relationship. Along with time and advice, the group also brought a truckload of supplies, a luxury not otherwise risked for fear of theft in Central American mail.

Melinda Blake, a Spanish teacher from Hampden Academy and a trip participant, reminisced about her journey: “Money gives a little help, but mostly it’s moral support, [for them to know] that they’re not alone and forgotten, that people care about them as a model community surviving in certain [difficult] conditions.”

Many of the villagers from Carasque lost male relatives in a 12-year-long civil war ending in 1992, which caused many villagers to flee the country. The village also has suffered financial and economic neglect from its own government, whose assurances repeatedly have been left unmet.

The single school in Carasque, the focal point of the 2000 trip, was founded in the mid-1980s by amateurs, and has fought many years of governmental apathy. The school accepts students of all ages, in contrast to public schools where education ends after ninth grade, the highest level that the government will fund.

Traditionally, international sister city relationships have appeared to many U.S. citizens as a one-way type of “charity” or even an “obligation.” However, many people, both here and abroad, who have experienced firsthand the rewards of this sister city relationship, feel differently.

“We can learn a lot from them,” says Blake, “[about] the strength and power of community.” A few years ago, a small delegation of three youths from Carasque came to Bangor, organized by PICA’s Youth Adelantando. Their mission was to educate the Bangor teens about making the successful integration of young adults into positions of community leadership. The village council of Carasque is composed entirely of youth in their late teens to early 20s, a product of the town’s effort to keep young Carasquenos interested in their village, and ultimately from emigrating to the United States.

The next delegation scheduled to visit Carasque is a group from the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association in January 2003.

For more information on Carasque, or to find out how to become involved, visit PICA at www.pica.ws, or call at 947-4203.