María Cristina Gómez

A copy of the 'Maria Gómez Cross' showing scenes from her life

María Cristina Gómez (c.1942 – 5 April 1989) was a Baptist primary school teacher and community leader in El Salvador who was abducted and murdered on April 5, 1989.

MARIA GOMEZ

[1]Maria gomez lived in EL Salvadar. She helped people in EL Salvadar by teaching them, so they can stand up for their rights.

The government wanted Maria Gomez killed because she was against them and wanted to help poor people. Maria Gomez is shown on the CROSS like Jesus because she story is similar to Jesus by helping ordinary people,

Abduction and murder

According to witnesses, on April 5, 1989, as Gómez was returning from the John F. Kennedy School in Ilopango, El Salvador, heavily armed men dressed in civilian clothing forced her into a van. Two hours later she was found dead on the side of a main road. On examination, her body showed signs of torture and burns, most likely caused by chemicals such as acid; she had been beaten in the face, and acid marks on her shoulders were found. She had been shot four times.

The murdered teacher had been taken from an area that was the operational base for the Salvadoran Air Force. General Juan Rafael Bustillo, the then-head of the Salvadoran Air Force, has been implicated in the murder.[2] The National Association of Salvadoran Educators (ANDES) has stated that General Bustillo had publicly threatened Gómez on previous occasions.[3][4]

ANDES ordered a two-day shutdown of all educational activities to protest Gómez's murder, and demanded that the country's chief prosecutor begin proceedings to bring those responsible to justice. Leaders of the National Union of Salvadorean Workers (UNTS) also said they believed Bustillo had ordered the killing.

An organization known as the Movement for Bread, Work, Land and Liberty (MPTL) staged a protest, calling on the people to resist the new nationwide wave of repression that marked the weeks following the Nationalist Republican Alliance's (ARENA) I electoral victory. The protesters ended their march at the vigil that was held for the murdered schoolteacher.

In its defense, the Salvadoran government denied any involvement, stating instead that the apparent intent behind Gómez's abduction and murder was primarily to discredit the Air Force (which is in charge of the area in which the murder occurred). Government officials added that Gómez had never been officially arrested by any government agency, and that she had never even been questioned by the authorities.[5]

Legacy

After her death, her church commissioned a local artist to paint a wooden cross with scenes from Gómez's life, portraying her work among the poor women of El Salvador. Images of this cross have become internationally recognized, as they are used by churches and schools around the world to tell the story of Gómez's life and death.

Gómez was married to Salvador Amaya and had four grown children.

References

  1. ↑ Isabel Ramírez, 'Opening a Door to Women in El Salvador' EPICA website
  2. ↑ Notorious Salvadoran School of the Americas Graduates
  3. ↑ Radio Venceremos (RV), the Official Voice of the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front from El Salvador Weekly Report 04-03-89 to 04-10-1989
  4. ↑ International Socialist Review Issue 9, Fall 1999
  5. ↑ Complaints against the Government of El Salvador presented by the European Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), etc, Report No:268 Case(s) No(s):1494

External links

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