Eugenean sees Nicaraguan war
Joins ‘human shield’
By Guy Maynard
Of thl» Emerald
Thinking about the situation in Central
America is easy in the abstract, when consider
ing the theoretical and political issues involv
ed, but actually meeting people who have “con
fronted the horrors of the war” is not so simple.
In early July, Bill Collins of Eugene stood
on a lush, green hillside and joined hands with
150 other North Americans and residents of the
Nicaraguan city of Jalapa. They lined up along a
Nicaraguan defensive trench four miles from
the Honduran border, and formed a peaceful,
symbolic “human shield” against the
U.S.-backed guerrillas who have been attacking
Nicaragua from Honduras.
Collins was impressed by the fertile beau
ty of the country and the warmth of the
Nicaraguan people But he couldn’t help think
ing about the forces lurking behind the quiet of
those hills.
"Within two weeks there will probably be
soldiers coming over that hillside and killing
these people,” Collins says
During the past year, rebel attacks against
Nicaragua’s Sandinista government have
grown in intensity as U.S. support of the rebels
has increased. The Sandinistas came to power
after a civil war that overthrew U.S. ally
Anastasia Somoza in 1979.
The developing seriousness of U.S. in
tervention on the border prompted Collins, a 29
year-old carpenter, to go to Nicaragua with his
father. Bill Sr. of Detroit, on a tour sponsored by
the Carolina Interfaith Task Force.
In Jalapa, they met some of the victims of
that intervention.
"One woman described the experience of
her son who had died two weeks before — had
his face blown off by a rocket made in the
United States,” Collins says.
Later that same day, Collins, trained as a
Licensed Practical Nurse, was serving as
medic for the group, administering medication
for the many cases of diarrhea and other travel
related problems. He came across a
Nicaraguan woman suffering from agonizing
stomach pain. He examined her, thinking she
might have appendicitis.
“Then I discovered she was the women
who had given this report of her son dying. It
was real clear what was happening was that
she was so tense, she was developing physical
problems as a result of her emotional trauma,”
Collins says.
"We forget about the extent to which living
under these conditions affects people on so
many different levels,” he says.
Political and economic development is dif
ficult for Nicaragua because the people are liv
ing in a constant state of war and fear, Collins
says.
Collins and his father spent five days with
the organized tour, attending church services
and grassroots political meetings and talking
to government officials. Then, after other
members of the tour left Nicaragua, they spent
two weeks in a $2-a-night hotel in a poor barrio
Photo by Mark Pynes
Eugenean Bill Collins ponders his recent trip to
war-torn Nicaragua, where he was met with
open arms, despite their perception of the U S.
as “enemy.”
in Managua, Nicaragua’s capital, roaming the
country and talking to people.
Nicaraguans are angry about U.S. involve
ment in the border war, and they disbelieve the
Reagan administration’s position that the con
flict in Central America boils down to a
Soviet/U.S. confrontation, Collins says.
“The feeling of the vast majority of people
I met is the U.S. government says that, but the
U.S. people can’t possibly believe it. Why would
we want to be dominated by the Soviet Union
after losing 60,000 people in the war to throw
out Somoza who was maintained in power by
the United States,” Collins says.
Collins never saw any foreign military ad
visers in Nicaragua, but it wouldn’t surprise
him if they are there. The Nicaraguans believe
they have a right to defend themselves and the
United States has refused to help them, Collins
says.
Instead of evidence of Soviet domination,
Collins found evidence of national pride and
determination. Pictures of Augusto Sandino,
leader of a successful rebellion against U.S.
marines in the 1930s and namesake of the San
dinistas, are seen throughout Nicaragua.
“To most of tho people I met, the heait of
the issue (in the border war) is the right for na
tional sovereignty and the right for a country to
internally work out its problems without
pressure from the outside,” Collins says.
Nicaraguan war opponents plan vigil
People opposing the U S.
covert war against the
Nicaraguan government will
gather in a vigil in front of the
Federal Building at the corner
of Seventh Avenue and Pearl
Street in Eugene Thursday,
Aug. 11, from noon until 6 p.m.
The vigil is co-sponsored by
Clergy and Laity Concerned,
the Committee in Solidarity
with th« Central American
People, the Eugene Council
for Human Rights in Latin
America and the Latin America
Support Committee.
Among those expected to
speak from noon until 1 p.m. is
Bill Collins, a Eugenean
carpenter who recently return
ed from a five day tour of
Nicaragua with the Carolina
Interfaith Task Force.
While in Nicaragua, Collins
talked with various organiza
tions and officials of the San
dinista government. He also
spent one day in the border
town of Jalapa, where he
witnessed the effects of Hon
duran military raids on
Nicaragua, according to vigil
co-organizer Charlie Aker.
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