The story of Sugi Amaya (29) did not begin with any big campaign, but with a silence. Their world shattered in July 2022, when their 24-year-old brother, Alexis, was caught by police while returning from a late-night shift at Papa John’s Pizzeria. The charge was the same one familiar to El Salvador: gang affiliation. Without any trial or legal recourse, Alexis was swallowed by the prison system, which had become a police net for the entire country. This is the reality of El Salvador, the smallest country in Central America. President Nayib Bukele imposed a state of emergency following a sharp increase in killings in early 2022. The move which started against crime gradually turned into historical strictness. Today this country has the highest imprisonment rate in the world, where more than 91 thousand people have been arrested since the beginning of the crackdown. This is about 2% of the adult population. Human rights organizations have warned that the police are targeting the poor because of the ‘arrest quota’. People like Alexis are often caught based only on tattoos or unknown information. As a result, there is a huge contradiction in this country. Statistically, El Salvador changed from one of the most violent countries in the world to one of the safest countries in the Western Hemisphere. People talk about new freedoms – for example, being able to walk without fear at night or running a shop without extortion. But this protection has come at a terrible price for the families left behind. It has become a struggle for the poor to get food and medicines for their relatives lodged in overcrowded and poorly equipped jails. Since Alexis’s arrest, Sugi’s life has been reduced to the floor outside a converted movie theater in the capital San Salvador. The site is a stopping point for visitors to and from the complex prison system. The shade of the prison walls has now become Sugi’s second home. Bitterness could have come into his mind in this void of his brother’s absence. They could see only enemies through these iron doors. But he chose to see a mirror in them. Leaving the children with their mother, Sugi waits all night. Prisoner releases in El Salvador occur rarely and often in the early hours of the morning without notice. Then if there is no relative to sign the papers, the prisoner is sent back inside. To prevent this, Sugi stays there for strangers. Without any second thought, she goes to the released people with a clean shirt and shoes and signs the release forms. She says softly, ‘You are fine now.’ Sugi’s voice connects him to life again. She gives home fare to the needy and for those who have nowhere to go, Sugi’s small house is their only refuge – where a hot meal and a bed washes away their ‘criminal’ tag. When people ask why she spends her nights in the filth to strangers, Suggie remembers Alexis. Their hope is like a wheel. She believes that by treating strangers with respect, she is spreading so much light in the world that it will reach the dark room where her brother lies. She is creating a world in which she wants her brother to return. Today Sugi’s mission has expanded. Families from all over the American continent send them help. Those whom he helped are contributing to this. She is now a law student, but her ‘full-time job’ is battling the prison system for others. The point is that in this act of saving strangers, Sugi saved herself from despair and proved that hope, when shared, is the most powerful gift.
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N. Raghuraman’s Column: Hope can be the best gift for someone.
