From Sara Ritcher, San Salvador various union positions since 1974.
fighting against injustices.
Ine concluons la teachers are a persecuted species.
by government forces.
teachers. this year the number has already reached 39.
five months without receiving their salary. THE first time I saw Hector Ramón Guardado, the afternoon was drying the life force that flowed freely from his body. He had been vilely assassinated.
It was not until some hours later, with a call from a teacher friend, that I began to know something of this person who first appeared as corpse.
Hector Guardado was a founding member of the national teachers' union, ANDES-21 de Junio, and held Last year he was elected to the executive and as secretary of grievances. In this capacity, Hector was responsible for personally attending to labour conflicts and violations of the rights of his 'companero' teachers.
He spent much of his time at the Ministry of Education On 8 May, after, 13 years in the classroom, Hector lay in state at a secondary school. His forced silence is testimony present-day El Salvador, where At this moment there are more than two hundred teachers throughout the country who cannot go to their classes — and many to their homes — under threat of death Some country schools have been closed for lack of Last year 37 teachers were killed by rightists and In a country of 60 per cent illiteracy, teacher dedication is very high. Three thousand have continued to teach for Despite these tremendous pressures, despite being one of the marked teachers who could no longer safely continue •going to class, and despite having two young sons and a Salvador wife who shares his commitment, Hector continued to dedicate himself to the rights of the teachers and all working peole in this suffering Central American country.
Hector's body was surrounded by hundreds of teachers, secondary school students, friends, family. As I sat and talked to those who came to give their departing tribute, the figure of a truly human person arose Hector Ramón Guadardo was a persecuted teacher, one of many who refuse to seek the security of silence. He sought justice although little was to be found. For this he has won the admiration and love of all who knew him or of For his years of untiring struggle and his role in the national work stoppage by teachers in May to end the repression, he has become one of the too many martyrs of the Salvadorian labour movement.
Messages of support from teacher unions and labour University and representative of the Democratic Revolutionary Front.
Thursday, 19 June, 7pm Friends Meeting House, Euston Rd, London NW1 SEVERAL thousand women from across the globe will be attending a conference in Copenhagen next month. It is to be held on 14-24 July, at the same time as a women's conference organised by the United Nations on the theme of Equality, While the latter is exclusively for government representatives — a follow up to a similar event held in Mexico City five years ago — the alternative conference is open to all who wish to attend. Some 80 workshops are planned.
The UN is providing financial support for this conference. While no resolutions will be permitted, contacts will certainly be established, and international campaigns such as those for abortion rights, contraception, and against forced sterilisation can play a valuable role. Spain THE Spanish parliament last week began debating a bill to legalise divorce.
Spain is the only country in Western Europe, apart from the South of Ireland, where divorce is still banned. The prohibition was introduced in 1939 after the fascists' victory in the Spanish Civil War.
Opinion polls have shown that a vast majority are in favors of the legalisation, but right-wing parties and the Catholic Church are campaigning against the reform.
Intercontinental Press/Inprecor The latest issue of Intercontinental Press/Inprecor carries the United Secretariat statement on South Korea. There are also articles on Iran and on developments in several Central American countries. Finally, a major article by Les Evans on China is featured.
Single issues 40p including postage, Subscription Intes £6 for 24 issues. Orders and cheques/ postal orders to continental Press, PO Box 50, London N1 2XP: Socialist Challenge 19 June 1980 Page 13
aturdays outside and eas
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The struggle in El Salvador Speaker: Rafael Menjiver, former rector of San