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Salvadorans' Terrible Choice

Matthew D. LaPlante, For the Deseret News
Francisco Jose plans to send his children to the United States in the next 12 months. He's trying to prepare them for the journey.

The homicide rate in El Salvador is 20 times higher than it is in the U.S., and nearly 5% of Salvadorans fled their county because of violence in 2016. Utah journalist Matthew LaPlante recently went to El Salvador to try and understand the impact of this on the nation’s children, and the desperation of many families to get their kids out. Wednesday, he joins us to talk about what he learned about life and survival in one of the world’s most dangerous places, and the risks of sending kids north.

Matthew LaPlante is an Associate Professor of Journalism at Utah State University.

LaPlante's other pieces on El Salvador

Doug Fabrizio has been reporting for KUER News since 1987, and became News Director in 1993. In 2001, he became host and executive producer of KUER's RadioWest, a one hour conversation/call-in show on KUER 90.1 in Salt Lake City. He has gained a reputation for his thoughtful style. He has interviewed everyone from Isabel Allende to the Dalai Lama, and from Madeleine Albright to Desmond Tutu. His interview skills landed him a spot as a guest host of the national NPR program, "Talk of the Nation." He has won numerous awards for his reporting and for his work with RadioWest and KUED's Utah NOW from such organizations as the Society of Professional Journalists, the Utah Broadcasters Association, the Public Radio News Directors Association and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.