New Jersey Salvadorans Renovate Consulate with Their Own Money

With the support of immigrants from other Latin American countries, Salvadorans in New Jersey put in the work, time and money to expand the consulate’s site in Elizabeth, New Jersey, an act unprecedented in the Latin American community.

The efforts allowed for significant improvements to the facilities, including painting, renovating passport-making equipment, buying new chairs and fixing parts of the building.

“Normally, consulates wait for funds to be sent in from their countries or to obtain them from the revenue made from the services offered but, this time, because of the reduced resources we have available, the community took it upon themselves to collect money and hold dinners and other events to raise the necessary funds,” said Lucía Bueno, from El Salvador.

The inauguration and ribbon-cutting were attended by Ambassador Claudia Ivette Canjura de Centeno, who was certified in front of President Barack Obama on Friday, June 17, as the new diplomatic representative for the Central American nation in Washington.

During her first contact with her compatriots living in the U.S., the ambassador said that the links between the diaspora and their country are crucial to the Salvadoran government because “the Salvadoran population outside of the country is our homeland too,” and promised to create stronger bonds between both groups.

Canjura de Centeno said that she will work closely with the community, advocate for the respect of the human rights of Salvadorans migrating to the U.S. and promote the traditions and values of her country here.

The president of the renovations board, Isaías Sam, from Peru, was in charge of coordinating the campaign. He admitted: “Let’s tell it like it is: I wasn’t the one who worked the most. In reality, it was the way Ana Lorena [Siria de Lara, consul general of El Salvador in Newark] passed on her love for her community to us South Americans.”

“We have come to this moment simply because the consul showed us the way to what she deemed was necessary to improve the services offered to the community. Ecuadoreans, Peruvians, Salvadorans, and others have worked together to do this. Just to serve our community,” said Sam.

The work of the team formed by Javier Rodríguez, Luis Santa María, Mrs. Marisol, Matías Guardado, Mario Díaz, Amado Mora and others was highlighted. Sponsors such as Ingrid Echevarría, Goya Foods, Asociación Cuzcatlan, Carlos Galerías, Ikarus Gallery, among others, also collaborated in the effort.

Consul of El Salvador in New Jersey Ana Lorena Siria de Lara said that the results illustrate what a united community is capable of achieving. “The board took on 100 percent of the project. This is an example of the way in which a community far away from home can come together to make improvements. If we can do this, what else can we do if we work together?” said the diplomat.

For his part, community leader Héctor Cermeño, from the Anastasio Aquino base committee of the leftist political party Frente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional (FMLN, Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front), said that he has seen favorable changes among the country’s representatives in New Jersey.

“It used to be scary to walk into this consulate. People said that there were soldiers in here, reminiscent of the worst days of the repression in El Salvador. All that has changed. Today, I want to make a request to Madame Consul General to keep up that type of attention towards Salvadorans and to avoid returning to the past,” said Cermeño.

Consuls Jorge W. López-Amaya, from Ecuador, and Vitaliano Gallardo, from Peru, attended the event, as did the Consul of El Salvador in New York Pedro Sánchez-Orellana. Artwork by Salvadoran artists was on display, courtesy of Ikarus Gallery.