These are pictures of the walls outside the chapel. As the civil war raged on outside the gates of the university the cook Elba and her daughter, called their husband to say they were going to stay in the safety of the University because the war was raging so badly in the city. A case of horrible timing, as that night the military snuck in the back door of the university and murdered the 6 priests. Some were dragged on the front lawn made to kneel down and killed execution style, while two others were found inside the dormitory area. Unfortunately the two women were found hiding and killed. 
Our visit to the chapel, small museum, lawn, and area where they were killed was surreal. A kind Jesuit priest gave as a talk and tour of the area. Photo albums were available. They were absolutely grotesque. They were the pictures from the day after. I can’t believe as human beings we are capable of such slaughter. The area were the four priests were murdered on the lawn is now a rose garden. The husband of Elba Ramos, who was the groundkeeper said blood was spilled here and it must forever remain in memory and now beautiful roses bloom there. 
Inside the chapel at the university is art directed towards these atrocities. The first is a painting of the 6 who were killed.
Here you can see the 6, while Jesus is blinded because of what happened, and below that is the military who has come to kill them. The altar of the chapel is amazing as well. 
Made by the same artist that designed the front of the Cathedral, the artwork signifies the events that took place and the future that can be. Yet, the most powerful are the stations of the cross(click for more pics). They are unlike any I have ever seen. Along the back wall of the church are 14 drawings that depict how the 6 Jesuit priests were found.
Yet, preceding these killings, our tour leader discussed Archbishop Oscar Romero. Father Romero was shot and killed while surviving pass at his altar in 1980.
Father Romero was known for his loud voice against government and military, fighting for human rights.
We visited the cathedral in San Salvador where he is buried, a gorgeous and huge cathedral. Next we visited his home, where Carmelite nuns are also located. Many of his personal things were on display including the clothes he was wearing when he was shot. Pictures show him being carried from the altar and to the car, pronounced dead at the hospital. This is the chapel where he was shot and killed. 
Pictures from his funeral show thousands of people in attendance, where unfortunately the crowd was fired upon and a few died but more were trampled to death in the stampeded. Humanity really is gross at times. Outside the gates of his home and chapel area is a large mural. This mural speaks more powerfully than words. It is the stigmata, father Romero sits and people gather around him, and they all are afflicted with the Stigmata. 
I could write forever on the heaviness that lay overall of us as we visited these locations. The talk that ensued, the realities of what all of us are doing in Central America but for now I can’t find the words that will do these Jesuit priests, the two women, or Archbishop Romero justice, not to mentions the 100,000’s of people that have been killed in central America due to civil unrest and genocide.I think the phrase that has remained burned in my brain and will always remain there is the one the Jesuit priest tour guide told us as we stood next to the rose garden… He said…the people here in San Salvador walk around always looking over their back, always worried. He continued…at 6 pm people rush home with looks of worry, but this is not worry about traffic jams or getting dinner ready, it is fear, a deep fear for their life. The violence in San Salvador is very bad! El Salvador was rated in the early 2000s as the number one most dangerous country in the world outside of armed conflict (Iraq, Columbia etc), with 36 per 100,000 people being killed…some say now Guatemala is taking their place- mostly all has to deal with gang violence. The people are still afflicted from the war for there has not been any healing. After the war was a Truth Commission but not in a public format for people to talk about what happened etc. Please see a friends website here for a great deal of information on the Guatemalan 36 year Genocide (some call a civil war) and what we can do to help stop some of the atrocities in Guatemala city and help make Peace after the war. These countries are still trying to recover. Even though driving around El Salvador I felt it was more developed and better off at times then Guatemala visiting these sites and seeing the overwhelming amount of graffiti showed this country is not healed. The roads in El Salvador are amazing, so much better then Guatemala. Two huge malls with every store you can think of cover a large area next to a nice new highway, but on the other side of this highway is a very large shanty town. Something we usually do not see in the United States are the absolutely contrasts side by side. The shanty town is full of corrugated tin homes all leaning on one another, dirt floors, nylon and plastic flapping in the wind, trees sprouting in random locations. This shanty town has probably over 150 homes, all situated in the middle of the highway traffic going in different directions a large bridge overhead and a huge mall that would rival any in the USA just across a few lanes…pretty much mocking their existence.
While we were in the center of El Salvador visiting the cathedral the government buildings across the street were pointed out to us. I was shocked because it was covered in graffiti.
The graffiti spoke of changing things, fuck the police, May 1 (having to due with CAFTA and immigrants to the states) etc. 
One very leftist but strong group is the BPJ a mostly student oriented political party that has writing everywhere.
Most of the people seem to go on about the business, graffiti as just another street sign, but to me it shows the unrest in their political lives, their hearts, their minds…as a people to find peace, justice, or whatever it is they are looking for. I guess the thing that is also so difficult for me, as an American, is knowing the absolute truth, that my government, the USA, has had their hand or foot, or more involved in so much of the negative history of Central America (which is another story). Yet, as Lawyers in San Francisco work pro-bono on the Rios Montt case, and our congress has signed papers to Guatemala to tell them to clean up their crime and violence we hope things are improving.
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