A group of concerned U.S. citizens founded Voices in 1987 as a campaign in solidarity with the Salvadoran refugee community of Colomoncagua, encamped across the border in Honduras. Refugees established the Colomoncagua camp to escape the massive Salvadoran military operations in Morazán, which included numerous massacres such as the 1981 massacre in El Mozote in which over 1000 non-combatant men, women, and children were killed. Following the 1986-87 repatriation of other refugees living in Honduras (the “Going Home Campaign”), the Honduran authorities and U.S. Embassy increasingly pressured the Colomoncagua refugees to repatriate or face relocation within Honduras or to other countries. As the encircling Honduran military placed increasing pressure on the refugees, the Salvadorans put out a call for international support and solidarity.
First Years
Barbara Wein and others accepted the challenge of starting a U.S. campaign to provide “moral, material, and political support” to the Colomoncagua refugees. Barb and photographer Steve Cagan made the first official campaign trip to Colomoncagua in January 1988. The name Voices on the Border came out of conversations with refugees on that trip.
- The original campaign included four components:
- Education and outreach;
- Emergency response;
- Material aid; and
- Delegations to the camp.
Activities included providing written and verbal updates about the camp to supporters and Congress; establishing an emergency response network and linking it to larger networks; raising and channeling funds and materials to the refugees; tabling and selling crafts made by the refugees; organizing delegations to the camp; and obtaining foundation support. The dynamic of Voices’ work at this time was largely one of responding to the needs articulated by the refugees, and attempting to address the various requests and initiatives of the Voices network of supporters.
Colomoncagua did not fit the dismal image of a refugee camp; instead it was a model of community-amidst-hardship, and a society transformed from previously illiterate peasants to one possessing the skills and creatively to confront the “powers that be.” These attributes of the refugee community were important to Voices’ early survival and success; people who visited the camp or heard presentations by returned visitors were invariably inspired by the stories from the camp and became involved.
In the summer of 1989 the refugees decided to repatriate to El Salvador. In response, Voices shifted our efforts to providing support and accompaniment for their return. Between October 1989 and February 1990 the refugees repatriated, and in doing so founded Comunidad Segundo Montes in northern Morazán.
Reassessing the Mission
Even before they repatriated completely, refugees and community representatives in northern Morazán asked Voices to expand and support the needs all those in eastern El Salvador with international solidarity. In April 1990, the board and staff decided that Voices would expand its mission to support other communities-in-development, but due to limited resources, focus only on northern Morazán. At that time, the Board approved the following Statement of Identity:
“Voices on the Border is a national organization which supports democracy, self-determination, and grassroots development in El Salvador. Based on our special historical relationship with the repatriated community of Ciudad Segundo Montes, we focus our work primarily on this community and the grassroots development efforts of communities in Northern Morazán.”
Expansion to the Lower Lempa
In 1990, Comunidad Segundo Montes asked Voices to support the repatriation of another community, Ciudad Romero, returning from Pánama. Ciudad Romero planned to settle on fertile lands in the Lower Lempa of Usulután, which had been distributed as cooperatives following the land reforms in the early 1980s. Despite concerns about being spread too thin, we could not refuse the request. Ciudad Romero was joined by others moving into the area, including the Nueva Esperanza community, which returned from Nicaragua, and additional settlers from Morazán, and this solidified the dual focus on the Lower Lempa and northern Morazán regions.
Evolution of Voices on the Border's Work (1990-present)
Following the repatriation and expansion to the Lower Lempa, the partner community program became a major focus of Voices' work. Over the years, U.S. partner communities have been an essential part of our identity and facilitated many projects in our Salvadoran partner communities. During this time of expansion, Voices also chose to forgo larger foundation grants for regional projects to focus on providing administrative training and strategic planning assistance with our Salvadoran partners, and funding and facilitating small projects.
In 1990 and 1991 Voices hosted national speaking tours for Salvadoran activists and organized other efforts to provide information on issues affecting our partner communities to Congress and the Voices’ network. The information included reports on the implementation of the peace accords, electoral issues leading up to the 1994 presidential elections, and other topics. In the mid-1990s, Voices continued focusing on the partner community relationships, and even began to support to communities beyond our traditional areas through the Libros para Niños project, initiatives with Father David Blanchard, Jennifer Casolo’s work in Honduras, and most recently the aftermath of the 2001 earthquakes.
Wes Callender became the Voices director in 1995 and began increasing Voices’ in-country presence. Wes also increased our involvement in policy and advocacy work, and collaborations with other organizations. During this period, we helped facilitate shipments of material aid through Father David Blanchard, even before Hurricane Mitch caused havoc throughout the region in 1998. Since 1995, Voices’ funding for Salvadoran projects more than quadrupled.
In response to Hurricane Mitch in 1998, Earthquakes in 2001, and frequent flooding in the Lower Lempa, Voices’ has invested significant resources in “emergency response.” We have also assisted our Lower Lempa partners create United Communities, a local development organization. Since 1998, United Communities has grown to serve 28 communities in the Lower Lempa. They develop and organize community projects, provide many services that the local and national governments fail to provide, and serve as a counterpart for international aid organizations working in the region. United Communities and Voices have recently secured funding for projects that address issues such as public health, alternative forms of agriculture, economic development, micro-lending, and many others. At every step Voices provides organizational and financial support, advice and assistance with grant-writing, and facilitation of partnerships and relationships with other communities and organizations.
Character and Style
Over the years, Voices has become known as a solidarity organization and promoter of small, grassroots development. This was a result of our initial vision in supporting refugees in the Colomoncagua camp – providing support so they could develop their skills and community; achieve a just and equitable level of development; and contribute to a healthy Salvadoran society.
Voices is a nonprofit organization that is open to work with any individual or organization committed to social justice. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, gender, nationality, sexual orientation, or any other criteria. We do not support any political party or politician in the U.S. or El Salvador. While we partner with religious institutions and people of faith, we do not promote any religion or religious belief. Voices strives to be an accurate, credible source of information on El Salvador and the communities we serve. Avoiding political rhetoric, we choose simplicity and empowerment over self-promotion.