Coming of Age in El Salvador

Jim Winship, Professor in the Social Work Department at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater had an op-ed last week on U.S. has some responsibility for child migrant crisis at the border.

Whatever short-term steps are taken, there also needs to be a long-term commitment to job growth in El Salvador, which would permit the re-integration of gang members into society. Of course, this is not just the responsibility of the U.S. The political parties in El Salvador, as polarized as those in the U.S., need to be able to work together. The Salvadoran elite, largely uninvolved to this point, needs to commit resources to a solution.

Without a concerted effort to change the dynamics of opportunity and security in El Salvador, I am convinced that the migration will not stop even if laws affecting unaccompanied minors change and there is expanded border control. Migrants will return to the dangerous routes through the Arizona desert or come by small boats up the California coast.

This short-term crisis will turn into an ongoing tragedy.

Jim also has a new book on Coming of Age in El Salvador (on which I gave him some feedback pre-publication)

Coming of age, becoming an adult, is difficult in any time in place. In El Salvador, there are a range of external forces—including the economy, violence, the pull of migration—that make this very challenging. In this book, Jim Winship combines his research and that of others, his experiences in El Salvador over the span of four decades, and stories of young people to produce a work that will lead to greater understanding of a country and its people.

Congrats on the new book and on your upcoming Fulbright to Colombia.