San Salvador museum retells brutality of nation's civil war

Published: 2003-12-24

SAN SALVADOR (CNS) -- The Museum of the Word and the Image (Museo de la Palabra e Imagen) in San Salvador brings to life the brutality of El Salvador's 12-year civil war in which some 75,000 people were killed, 1 million fled the country and 1 million more were left homeless. In one exhibit a rifle hanging from the ceiling points toward blood-stained campesino clothing. The items are displayed as if they were a group of people, reminiscent of a common scene during the war. Carlos Henriquez Consalvi, museum director, ran an underground radio station during the war. The museum includes a recreation of one such station run by rebels in the area they controlled. The goals of the stations were to "inform and agitate" and to denounce the human rights violations of the army, Consalvi told a group of visiting journalists. The first broadcast was on Jan. 10, 1981. The station was constantly attacked by the army, and the government tried to interfere with the frequency. Broadcasts were made four times a day, with 90-minute programs that included news, a daily editorial and political soap operas. At Consalvi's station, 14 people were killed during the 11 years of broadcasts. Some 4,000 hours of tapes are housed in the museum's archives.

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