FMLN.woman fighter ROSA ELENA is a member of the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front of El Salvador, and was interviewed in Mexico earlier this. year by JILL BARCLAY.
You have said, Rosa Elena, that you want peace for your country. you are fighting?
In El Salvador struggling for more than years. Our high They tured, whom allow callc Can you explain to us then why tion we have been fifty people have tried by every possible means to obtain their just demands for peasants to have land and for workers to have enough salaries so that we can live in peace without hunger. We have the same basic needs as the rich.
The government and the oligarchy have never allowed the development ot our country and have never resolvThey prave mevr en wergeto at.
encouraged development of industry.
Instead our people have been tormassacred have peared' cycly time they tried change things by peaceful means. For example the massacres of 1932 when 30,000 people were killed including women, children and old people We are not against the elections. What we say is that in El Salvador fair elections are not possible. lhe people have never been allowed to have their voices heard in elections. auc us blatant example was that of Duarte the people voted But what happened? There was a fraud and people were kidnapped and killed.
Ninety per cent of natural deaths in El Salvador are from things that could be cured, especially diarrhoea. But there aren't medicines and there aren't hospitals.
We believe in peace. We are a people who love peace. For years we have veen exoneo oa l• wa work ing for miserable wages which do not cal. But there a moment when 'Enough is enough. We won't take more of this exploitation and repression' and we began to fight.
What do you think when you hear Reagan savino that the struoge in H Salvador is a result of the East/West conflict?
We know that imperialism will do everything it can to hold back the revolutions in Central America. And that they will use every justification that they can.
But Reagan knows what our fight s about. It is clear that our struggle i part ot the East/ west contiict revolutions cannot be transported. The conditions and process of revoluin each country is different. Although it's certain V revolutions in other countries can make our own easier. But the process is not automatic.
Why is imperialism so keen on maintaining the social structure of Salvador' Imperialism has learnt from the Vietnam war that a whole people in arms camoi be cereated What .they hope Salvador is to hold back our revolution. They know that in the end we are going to win because we are united ir the determination that we are going to triumph.
Imperialism feels its interests in El 'disapSalvador strategic economic — our's is a small country -but of course it has economic interests here. But they are scared that if they lose Salvador America anO America will follow.
What about the role of the solidarity movements in the imperialist counfor. tries?
If the people of the world do not supDolL us we de zome toose ue wor Solidarity is all the type of direct intervention that happened in Vietnam. announced conditions on US aid to E Salvador came pressure: it wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for solidarity.
The people of the world are not at the stage they were at the beginning of the Vietnam war. Now the peoples of said: mne world nave a clearer understan ding of what imperialism is. They will not allow direct intervention What is the overall women in w savador There was always an attitude in our country that women weren't capable of doing anything to do everything for women. result of this there was always a lot oa suffering on the part of the women: we were paid less and little possibility of realising participation.
But now we are coming to realise all this. We are realising. can't fight for our liberation. So we urselves into the struggle at all levate decision thai of participation.
There are women who lend their houses for meetings, or who help with food for all the companeros who are militants. Then there are women who help at the level of propoganda. Some WOlCT and military levels:
EI -JICCLIHEA tignung though at developing. do El are involved evervone l rather than Central eventually Latin double day she who cooking, that is holding back develop.
The recently as a result of this zones?
Life for cities thirteen casallls situation O1 fields.
and that men hac and had worse work adults that men integrate land everyone society.
are militants at the political ticinate to the participating in capable our army, this time women's parSocialist Action 29 July 1983