Stories

Ernesto’s story is the latest in our Humans of West London Welcome series. To read our deep dive on El Salvador, click here.

“My life was normal until I turned 14 and the civil war in El Salvador began. I now faced one of two options: to side with the new repressive Salvadoran military, or join one of the resistance guerilla groups (which later united as the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front – FMLN). I chose the latter. Many people were being killed, imprisoned or hospitalised. When I was 16 years old and fully involved in the FMLN, I was sitting in a classroom at university (where we usually held our meetings), with around thirty other young members like myself. All of a sudden, military troops raided the room. They blindfolded us, tied our hands and legs, then tortured us for three whole days. I was imprisoned for the following year, where conditions and treatment did not differ much. The torture continued and this was a very difficult experience. 

After my release, I continued to oppose the government with FMLN. We had to hide in the mountains and forests during our resistance. We had no clothes, no shoes and barely any food. But, none of this mattered to me. The torture did not affect our morale. We remained very driven and strong in the face of this danger. Repression only motivated us more. 

The following year I fled to Mexico with my brothers, where we maintained our association with the FMLN, helping to organise and coordinate various factions and plans. This meant I travelled between Cuba, Nicaragua and Mexico for the following years. I was also involved in the negotiations in New York between the fighting parties. This helped bring an end to the conflict, and for that, I am proud. When the war finally ended, I was 20. 

I took up photography for the next 20 years. I adore photography. It led me to all kinds of jobs during my career including journalism, TV production and videography. 

Unfortunately, El Salvador faced another repressive regime under the more recent President Nayib Bukele from 2019, who has regressed the country even more with his authoritarianism. He began carrying out mass detentions with very few judicial checks and blatantly violated human rights. This applied particularly harshly to political opponents and former fighters, and so anyone who played a significant role in the FMLN, i.e. me. I had already tasted the horrors of imprisonment and I knew I did not want that to be my fate. So I made the decision to leave. 

I came to the UK with a travel visa in 2021 during COVID restrictions and the infamous backlog of Home Office asylum claims which hadn’t yet been processed. It was extremely difficult. For my first month here, I did not know how or where to claim asylum, find accommodation or seek help. The Home Office told me to return to them in three months. Eventually I sought out help from Care for Calais, who contacted the Home Office and helped me with a room at an asylum hotel which ended up being here in West London. This was where I met a friend who introduced me to West London Welcome – my family. I immediately felt comfortable in this space. At the time, there was a large hispanic community in London. We all dreaded meal time at the asylum hotel since the food was awful and lacked nutrition, and eagerly waited for Tuesday – our day at WLW and the only time of the week we had delicious food. 

The caseworkers here have supported me so much since I gained refugee status. It was very difficult to know where to even begin once I got my positive decision from the Home Office and I was very worried about becoming homeless, since I was banned from working while in the asylum system and so couldn’t save any money. They helped me understand what benefits I could access and how to find work in London, and set me up with Universal Credit so I had a way to pay rent while I looked for a job.They helped me find a new GP and set up appointments with them as well as at the job centre. I’ve always had a Spanish interpreter at WLW so I can understand everything. The English language staff at WLW even registered me with a new college so that I could continue to learn English after I moved further away from Hammersmith. But I have not only had practical help here – I have been shown love and smiles – truly like a family.

On my first outing with WLW, I brought my camera and snapped away. Everyone loved my photos and asked me to bring my camera again. It became a ritual for our trips and events. I was over the moon to be able to use my talents for this charity that had given me so much. To be able to give just a fragment back meant a lot to me.

Since I arrived in the UK, I am still a cleaner. Thankfully, I am also still a photographer. On the weekends, I photograph all kinds of Latin events in London and still take photos for WLW events too. My dream has always been to earn a living from my photography- to have my passion as my job. 

All my life, I have wished for my country’s situation to improve. I did not voluntarily move away from home. I did not choose to be here. I was forced to leave, because it is not safe for me. I have suffered a lot, and have had to work very hard but despite this struggle, I hold hope that El Salvador will be rid of its burdens one day.”