Remeber All the Martyrs of El Salvador

December 2, 1980.

Dorothy Kazel, O.S.U.

Jean Donovan

Maura Clark, M.M.

Ita Ford, M.M

A letter to her niece from Maryknoll Sister Ita Ford, killed in El Salvador on Dec 2, 1980.

This is a terrible time in El Salvador for youth. A lot of idealism and commitment is being snuffed out here right now.

The reasons why so many people are being killed are quite complicated yet there are some clear simple strands. One is that many people have found a meaning to life, to sacrifice, to struggle, and even to death! And whether their life spans sixteen years or sixty, they are fortunate people.

Brooklyn is not passing through the drama of El Salvador, but some things hold true wherever one is and whatever age. What I am saying is I hope you come to find that which gives life a deep meaning for you. Something worth living for, maybe even worth dying for, something that energizes you, enthuses you, enables you to keep moving ahead.

I can’t tell you what it might be. That’s for you to find, to choose, to love. I just encourage you to start looking and support you in the search.