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.
- Read his article With her daughter facing certain death in El Salvador, a mother had to make a "terrible choice," which appeared in the Deseret News May 17, 2017
LaPlante's other pieces on El Salvador
- On El Salvador's near-bloodiest day, medical examiners fight exhaustion, fear. Los Angeles Daily News, September 12, 2015
- Gang leaders in El Salvador testing limits of their power in L.A., rest of U.S., Los Angeles Daily news, September 12, 2015
- Real Salt Lake: In El Salvador, RSL will play in a city where soccer is winning the battle over violence, Salt Lake Tribune, September 12, 2015
