Cycles of Violence and Displacement

Blitzer's narrative demonstrates how violence and displacement function as self-perpetuating cycles that span generations and borders. The book shows this pattern operating at multiple levels - political, familial, and institutional - while revealing how these cycles connect and reinforce each other.

The political dimension is most evident in El Salvador's civil conflict, where U.S.-backed state violence creates refugees who flee to America, only to face deportation policies that eventually generate new forms of violence in their home countries. This pattern is exemplified in the contrast between Juan Romagoza, who flees state torture in the 1980s, and Eddie Anzora, who is later deported back to El Salvador, contributing to the demographic shifts that reshape Salvadoran society. The book shows how American foreign policy and immigration enforcement create a feedback loop of displacement and instability.

Family separation emerges as another crucial aspect of these...