Spotlight on the Comandos

Some of the real heroes of El Salvador are the members of the Comandos de Salvamento -- the volunteer rescuers and ambulance drivers dressed in yellow and green uniforms who rescue victims of accidents, violence and natural disaster throughout the country.

One of their volunteers is profiled on the Refinery29 website in an article titled Meet The Girl Who Runs A Paramedic Crew In The World's Murder Capital:

The 18-year-old is a shift leader at Comandos de Salvamento, or Rescue Commandos, a volunteer-run ambulance service in San Salvador – the murder capital of the world. 

When the alarm rings on a Saturday night, it could be for a shooting, murder, car accident, or even a fire. Martinez knows how to deal with all of them. 

“I’m scared sometimes,” she said. “But I like the adventure and the adrenaline. I love it.”

She starts her weekly shift around 4pm, rushing the long commute from home to the Comandos de Salvamento headquarters to make sure she arrives well before the sun goes down. The base is in downtown San Salvador (the country's capital), in a rough neighbourhood which is known to be controlled by gangs and is unsafe to move around in after dark. But once a week, when Martinez puts on her green and yellow uniform, she knows it is her duty to go back out on the streets – whatever the risk may be.

Read the rest of the profile here.

This October has also seen the release in El Salvador of a documentary about the Comandos by filmmaker Marcela Zamora.  You can watch the trailer for the documentary on YouTube.