Call Congress by August 12 to push for truth about Salvadoran disappearances
Update: Representatives McGovern and Torres have informed us of an extended deadline of August 12 for getting signatures from members of Congress. Please call your member today! As of July 26 we had seventeen members signed up. See below for that list.
Breaking news! Two leaders in the US Congress have taken action on El Salvador’s disappeared, but we need your help today to make it succeed.
In response to our request during our recent visit to Washington DC, Representatives Jim McGovern and Norma Torres drafted two letters to President Obama and President Sanchez Ceren of El Salvador, and asked their fellow members of Congress to add their names in support. These letters call for a national commission for investigation into forced disappearances in El Salvador, as well as the declassification of related documents in El Salvador and in the US. (See letters here.)
We’re elated! However, the letters must be signed by other members of Congress by the extended deadline to August 12. This is where we need your help – by making a few quick calls you can make sure that friendly members of Congress know about these letters and sign them. We just need to bring it to their attention!
As you know, an estimated 10,000 people, including my father, were ‘disappeared’ during the war financed by US military aid. Not one single investigation has taken place. It’s time that families are able to find out the truth, bury their loved ones and honor their names. One or two phone calls from you can make this a breakthrough for the truth in El Salvador, just as we’ve seen recently for Guatemala and Argentina.
It’s easy, and your phone call can make a huge difference.
HERE’S HOW:
- Decide who to call: Find your Representative here, and also select additional names from the list of likely supporters below.
- Call the Capitol Switchboard (202) 224-3121
- Ask for the Representative you wish to speak to
- Introduce yourself, and then say:
“My name is _____, and I am a voter concerned about the ongoing lack of information about the forced disappearance of thousands of innocent people during the war in El Salvador, financed by US tax dollars. I urge you to sign the two letters circulated recently by Representatives James McGovern and Norma Torres who are leaders of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission and the Central American Caucus. These letters are addressed to President Obama and the President of El Salvador, and they call for a national commission on the disappeared and for declassification of related documents. ”
- Call again to a different Representative from the list below and repeat the process for as many as you can.
- Tell us you made the calls by emailing [email protected]. That’s it!
We want to focus our calls on likely supporters. Below is a list of members of the Central America Caucus who we want to reach. In addition you can click here for the members of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission.
DO call these founding members of the Central America Caucus who we want to have sign:
Ruben Gallego (AZ-7)
David Valadao (CA-21)
Xavier Becerra (CA-34)
Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-40)
Alan Lowenthal (CA-47)
Juan Vargas (CA-51)
Rosa DeLauro (CT-3)
Joe Kennedy (MA-4)
Jose Serrano (NY-15)
Eliot Engel (NY-16)
Joaquin Castro (TX-20)
Reid Ribble (WI-8)
List of signers: Do NOT call these members who have already signed!
As of July 26, 2016:
James McGovern (MA-2)
Norma Torres (CA-35)
Barbara Lee (CA-13)
Anna G. Eshoo (CA-18)
Zoe Lofgren (CA-19)
Sam Farr (CA-20)
Michael M. Honda (CA-17)
Grace Napolitano (CA-32)
Maxine Waters (CA-43)
Alan Lowenthal (CA-47)
Jared Polis (CO-2)
Jan Schakowsky (IL-9)
Donna F. Edwards (MD-4)
Peter A. DeFazio (OR-4)
Steve Cohen (TN-9)
Beto O’Rourke (TX-16)
Mark Pocan (WI-2)
With a grateful heart,
Alexandra Aquino-Fike