Madison Arcatao Sister City Project
Introducing the Sue and Art Lloyd Youth Development Fund
Sue and Art created MASCP in 1986 and ensured the long life of MASCP to this day.
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They viewed the development of youth leadership as absolutely critical to the continuity of community organizing for peace, justice, and the engagement of civil society in both the US and EL Salvador. This fund commemorates Sue and Art’s lasting impact on MASCP.
Welcome to the Madison Arcatao Sister City Project (MASCP) website. MASCP is the organization in Madison Wisconsin, USA that facilitates the official sister city relationship between Madison and Arcatao, El Salvador, a small town in the mountains on the border of El Salvador and Honduras. Read on to learn about our history, current activities and how you can get involved.
Dear Friends of MASCP,
The political situation in El Salvador and for our friends in our sister city of Arcatao is pretty rough right now. We could be writing about the national “State of Exception” and the incarceration of over 2% of the population; or that the president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, is being called the “coolest dictator in the world”; or that the value of the Salvadoran Bitcoin holdings has fallen 50%: or that there was extensive flooding in the capital city and even in mountainous Arcatao from Tropical Storm Celia…but not this time!
This issue of our newsletter is dedicated to good things that are happening in Arcatao and with MASCP. We hope it expands the impression you get about El Salvador from mainstream media and reminds you of the magnificent resiliency of the people in Arcatao, the positive impact of community organizing there and the strong 36 year connection of Madison with the community of Arcatao.
**If you want to learn more about these issues:
State of Exception and mass incarceration
Bitcoin in El Salvador
Flooding
For 36 years we have learned from our sisters and brothers in our sister city of Arcatao the harrowing experiences of war. We have learned about killing, destruction of homes and hearts, forced fleeing, families broken apart by disappearance of loved ones and so many other ravages of war.
There is much similarity between Ukrainians fighting valiantly for their right to self determination, democracy and territorial integrity and our sister and brothers in El Salvador, Palestine and Syria fighting for the same--all against those with massive wealth, power and formidable armies.
People to people solidarity with our sisters and brothers in Arcatao demands that we stand with the people of Ukraine as they resist the larger forces of killing and destruction by oppressive powers.
¡Los pueblos unidos jamás serán vencidos!
BLACK LIVES MATTER
MASCP shares in the outpouring of grief for the death of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and so many others killed by police across the country and here in Madison. People in Arcatao have shown us that any structural change requires dynamic and unrelenting community organizing. We strongly encourage support for the organizations that are leading local protests and organizing against structural racism and police brutality. Please stay vigilant and act where you can to make structural change a reality.
¡La lucha sigue!