Mario from El Salvador

A friend of the Martin's attended. Mario. He is a very interesting man. He is from El Salvador and fled to Australia in 1985 at the height of the civil war there. He was a respected editor and also a friend of the president. Although he was not directly threatened, he felt it was just a matter of time before he was kidnapped and possibly killed, so he took his wife and son and became a political asylum seeker here in Oz. He lost everything he had.

Trish, being from Holland and being an ex-flight attendant, speaks multiple languages fluently. Besides English, she speaks fluent French, Spanish, and German. In 1985, her and Martin were living in Melbourne. One day she was walking down the street and overheard Mario speaking to his wife in Spanish. The were discussing how lost they were and how they couldn't find anything. Trish and Martin became instant friends and helped him and his family get oriented and established.

When the Martins moved to Perth, Mario and wife followed them here. Mario never really adapted to Australia. He struggles with English still, but his Spanish reveals his intelligence and upbringing. It is very clear and distinct, so much so that even I could understand what he was saying. I haven't heard Spanish like that since my SBCC Spanish teacher who was from Barcelona.

He never really adapted to life here. He tried to get back into publishing but could not get job. He now cleans toilets part time. He wrote two books and managed to get them published. Both are in Spanish. The first was a political satire that was well received but not a successful seller. Trish read it and says it is excellent. His second book was a flop, and even he admits that he didn't put any effort into it.

His wife died of cancer a couple of years ago. His son is 19 and attending college. He is in his late 60's and seems very sad. We talked about his plans for the future. He wants to go back to El Salvador in two years after his son graduates from collage. I asked him is he felt there was any danger to that, if anyone there had a grudge against him after all this time. He feels that he doesn't care. His wife is gone, his son is grown, and he wants to spend his last days back home. He said if he gets killed, so be it.

We had a long talk about San Francisco. He used to live there in 1947 and really loved it. He lived in a house near GG Park. He has not been back since. He asked me if it has changed much and if he would recognize the place. He was surprised when I told him that he would probably find it very familiar. The streets are same, and many of the old buildings are still there. Just a lot more people.

Mario really loves to play golf and asked me if I play. He really wanted me to say yes, but I had to tell him truth. I only played once and was horrible. Who knows. Next time he comes over I may take him up on it. He'll kick my ass, but it should be fun, assuming he doesn't take it to damn seriously.