Young Veterans : Airlift Aids Children Hurt in Salvador War

Dora Alicia threw her new toy penguin in the air time and time again and cheered as it fell into her arms. Anibal named his red teddy bear “Chu-chu” and introduced it to everyone in sight and Dolores never stopped squeezing her stuffed rabbit’s ear.

The children were among 12 who had just arrived from El Salvador to receive treatment for war-related injuries.

The airlift was made possible by the Children’s Project, a group formed by the Los Angeles-based relief organization Medical Aid for El Salvador. And the toys, handed out in the lobby of Los Angeles International Airport on Friday by disabled Vietnam-war veteran Ron Kovic, were gestures of friendship from someone who had also suffered war injuries.

‘Stop the War’

“I wanted to stop the war in Vietnam and now I wish we could stop the war in Central America,” Kovic said.

The Children’s Project is committed to “medical neutrality” and to providing medical care to war-torn El Salvador, where there are just three doctors for every 10,000 people, said spokesman Corey Dubin.

A parent or guardian traveled with each child, and accompanying the delegation were Democratic National Committee member Lynn Cutler and model and human rights activist Bianca Jagger.

Some of the children will stay at Los Angeles-area hospitals and others will be flown to several cities in the United States for donated medical care.

“The airplane was incredible,” said 16-year-old Francisco when asked if he liked his first ride. “But when you see the plane go down (during the landing), it’s scary.”

Maria del Carmen, 9, caressed her gray stuffed donkey. She said she liked the airplane because she was given “meat and bread.”

Jesus Fernando said that he liked everything. “Everything is new, I like it very much. But I like my country because I was born there so I have to like it,” he said as his smile widened.

Francisco lost three fingers of his left hand and was blinded in one eye when a bomb exploded near his house while he was choping wood. “I got messed up here and here,” said Francisco with a gentle smile, first lifting his injured hand and then pointing to his left eye with his right index finger. “Do you think they’ll give me medicine?”

The Children’s Project was expected to arrive Wednesday, but for reasons that remain unclear, the group was not allowed to board Pan American flight 416 in San Salvador.

According to Pan American, the company that donated the plane tickets, the problem was strictly technical. “We were unable to carry all the persons that were booked for the flight to comply with the heat and weight limits allowed for the aircraft,” said Don Taylor, Pan Am’s director for International Affairs.

Some officials believe that the delegation may have been delayed because of Salvadoran President Jose Napoleon Duarte’s visit to Washington this week.

‘Political Interference’

“We don’t rule out at all the possibility of political interference,” said Mario Velazquez, executive director of Medical Aid for El Salvador.

Duarte arrived in Washington on Wednesday, and during a ceremony in the White House, the president of El Salvador kissed the American flag in appreciation of aid to his country. “While Duarte was in the White House kissing the American flag, the injured children were waiting in San Salvador,” said David Langness, spokesman for the Hospital Council of Southern California, a project co-sponsor.

Salvadoran Consul Ana Marcot Mendez was not available for comment after the announcement of Wednesday’s cancellation.