Portland observer., May 23, 1984, Page 2, Image 2

Page 2 Portland Observer, May 23, 1964
Nicaragua moves towards the 20th century
by Robert Lothian
This is the fourth article in a senes
about the experiences o f a group o f
Portlanders who were in Nicaragua
in February helping with the cotton
harvest.
W e were resting a fter picking cot­
to n o n e a f t e r n o o n w h e n C e c e lia
G u t ie r r e z , w h o sw ep t o u t th e
b u n kh o u s e each d a y , in v ite d us to
her h o u se. S h e , her h u s b a n d w h o
p ic k e d c o tto n a n d th e ir fo u r
children lived in one o f the w orkers'
rowhouses next to our bunkhouse.
T h e ir o n e -r o o m
house was
sm aller than m any A m eric a n living
rooms. It had a sink, but there were
no w in d o w s. T h e d o o r and louvers
und er the eaves p ro vid e d light and
a ir . A h a m m o c k was s tre tc h e d
acro ss th e ro o m a n d in a c o rn e r
some c a rd b o a rd boxes were stored.
B eh in d a p a r titio n was a bed. H e r
c h ild r e n a n d som e frie n d s , som e
n a k e d , w e re h a v in g a g o o d tim e
p la y in g w ith sticks and tin cans on
the cement flo o r.
C e c e lia to ld us she was fro m
H o n d u r a s , w h e re she s tra rte d
w o rk in g at age 12 and had her first
child at 16. She was now 23 and had
lived at Apascali fo r six years.
H e r h u s b a n d p ic k e d a b o u t 2 0 0
lbs. o f c o tto n a day. T h e ir com bined
in c o m e p ro v id e d subsistence w ith
no f r ills . H e r stain ed and ta tte re d
tu r q u o is e dress w o u ld cost o ve r
th re e d ay s c o m b in e d w ages to
replace, she said.
S h e w a n te d to liv e in M a n a g u a
some d a y , but th o u g h t it w ou ld be
to o e x p e n s iv e w ith fo u r c h ild re n .
She also w anted to travel all over the
w o r ld , e s p e c ia lly to C u b a and the
U .S . S o m e p eo p le on the fa rm had
been given the o p p o rtu n ity to study
in C u b a , she said , as a re w a rd fo r
their hard w o rk .
C e c e lia o ffe re d us p ro b a b ly one
o f the nicest things she could o ffe r,
a bow l o f w arm m ilk , but flies were
b u z z in g a ro u n d it a n d we w ere
already a little sick so we declined.
Cecelia and bar child.
A fte r talkin g to Cecelia we played
w ith the c h ild re n . K ris w ent to get
som e c ra y o n s a n d p a p e r we h ad
b ro u g h t f r o m the s ta te s . She was
soon m obbed w ith ecstatic children
c la m o r in g f o r her a tt e n t io n w ith
th e ir p ic tu re s o f houses, chic k e n s ,
volcanoes, busses, pigs, tractors and
even a p o r t r a it o f m a r ty r e d S a n -
d in is ta leader C a rlo s Fonseca. T h e
c h ild r e n p o lite ly re tu r n e d the
crayons w hen they were d o n e, and
the next m o rn in g they w aited at the
b u n k h o u s e d o o r fo r a n o th e r a rt
session. K ris had a fan club fo r her
rem aining time at the farm .
W e learned o f the tragic experience
o f one fa m ily a fte r their 14-year old
daughter, A n gelina, died in a traitor
a c c id e n t. W e w e re o n a S u n d a y
outing to the beach when the tractor
w e n t o u t o f c o n tr o l a n d she was
th r o w n f r o m th e t r a i l o r it was
p u llin g . In ta lk in g to an A m e ric a n
w om an w ho accom panied A n gelina
to the hospital, where she died that
a ft e r n o o n , I le a rn e d th a t tw o o f
A n g e lin a 's b ro th e rs h ad d ie d in a
previous accident.
(Photo: Krla A ltucher)
I learned also that the fa m ily had
lived in P o to s i, a p o rt to w n on the
G u l f o f F o n se c a a b o u t 18 m ile s
fr o m A p a s c a li, u n t il a b o m b
dropped fro m a m ilitary plane flying
fr o m H o n d u r a s d e s tro y e d th e ir
house. L u c k ily , they escaped in ju ry .
But they lost everything and came to
Apascali shortly afterw ards. Reagan
and the C IA -fin a n c e d contras assert
th a t th e S a n d in is ta s s h ip a rm s
throu gh Potosi and across the G u lf
to S a lv a d o ra n reb els. T h e to w n 's
c iv ilia n
p o p u la tio n
has
been
evacuated due to repeated contra a t­
ta c k s . A t th e tim e o f A n g e lin a 's
d eath, her fa m ily had been lo o k in g
f o r w a r d to fa r m in g a s m a ll p lo t
made available to them free through
N ic a r a g u a 's r e v o lu t io n a r y la n d
re fo rm program .
It b ec a m e a p p a re n t in o u r tw o
w eeks
at
A p a s c a li
th a t
th e
r e v o lu tio n h a d n ’ t s o lv e d a ll o f
N ic a ra g u a ’ s p ro b le m s . L a b o r and
re s o u rc e s , n ee d e d fo r s o lv in g
problem s, went in to the war against
th e U .S .- b a c k e d c o n tra s . T h e
econom y was suffering fro m a U .S .
trade em b arg o. M a n y farm w o rk e rs
w orked long hours fo r a subsistence
wage They lived w ith ou t sewers and
in d o o r p lu m b in g a n d d ra n k w a te r
th a t m ig h t m a k e th e m sick. But at
th e sam e t im e , th o u s a n d s o f
N ic a ra g u a n s w e re e n a b le d by the
re v o lu tio n to have a sm all piece o f
la n d , had learned to re a d , and had
in n o c u la tio n s a g a in s t p o lio a n d
other diseases T h e y had enough to
eat, could speak freely and organize
unions. T he N icarag uan re vo lution ,
in th e c o n te x t o f life at A p a s c a li,
seemed to be about peasants raising
themselves out o f feudalism in to the
2 0 th c e n tu r y . T h e r e v o lu t io n a p ­
p e a re d a im e d at a c h ie v in g th e
m a te r ia l w e ll b e in g a n d h u m a n
rig h ts th a t m a n y w h ite A m e ric a n s
take fo r granted.
O n e F r id a y n ig h t , we tra v e le d
over to A p ascali's sister fa rm , P u n ­
ta N 'a t a , fo r a c e leb ra tio n . A large
con tin gen t o f Sandinista youth had
been there h elping w ith the harvest
and they were leaving. T hey chanted
re v o lu tio n a ry slogans around a pile
o f b u r n in g tire s . F a r m w o r k e r s ,
S a n d in is ta Y o u th a n d A m e ric a n s
s to o d ta lk in g a ro u n d the b o n fir e .
A n o ld e r N ic a ra g u a n m an and an
A m e ric a n flu e n t in Spanish c arried
on an a n im a te d c o n v e rs a tio n . T h e
o ld m a n said he fo u g h t w ith S an -
d in o in the m ountains in the 1930's.
S a n d in o was so p o p u la r , he s a id ,
because he fought on the side o f the
poor so there w ould be no m ore d ic­
tatorship. H e said the attitud e o f the
y o u th w o rrie d h im . T h e y w ere to o
u n a fra id o f d e a th . T h e e nem y has
the same a ttitu d e , he said, and much
death and suffering could result.
“ N o b o d y can im ag ine the h o rro r
o f w a r , " he s a id . H o w e v e r , i f
a n o th e r invasion happens, he said,
th e N ic a ra g u a n p e o p le w ill fig h t
fiercely to hold on to the gains won
by th e ir re v o lu tio n . “ W e w on this
earth w ith our b lo o d ,” he said. " I t
is now p a rt o f us, an d c a n n o t ever
again be separated fro m u s ."
E M M A 'S KITCHEN
SOUL FOOD
BREAKFAST
2 Eggs. choice o l bacon
or »autaga triad potatoaa or
grit», toast and imce
12 SO
Donut»
O re g o n w as th e ta rg e t o f a
m assive i n f o r m a t io n c a m p a ig n
M a y 10th a n d I l l h , as C e n tr a l
A m e ric a n and U .S . spokespersons
v is ite d P o r t la n d a n d o th e r c itie s .
C e n tral A m erica In fo rm a tio n W eek
was sponsored by the Interreligiou s
F o u n d a t io n
fo r
C o m m u n ity
O rg a n iz a tio n in N ew Y o rk and the
F.cumemcal M inistries o f O regon.
Its p u rp o s e , a c c o rd in g to c a m ­
p a ig n c o o r d in a t o r S h a ro n H a a s ,
was to “ reach as m any com m unities
as we can w ith the tru th about C en ­
tral A m erica.
" R i g h t n o w , th e re a re a lo t o f
m y th s c ir c u la t in g a b o u t C e n t r a l
A m e r i c a , " she s a id . " P e o p le a re
c o n fu s e d a b o u t w h o 's fig h tin g
w h o m a n d w h a t th e y 'r e f ig h tin g
fo r ."
In o rder to help clear up some o f
this c o n fu s io n , the O bserver in te r­
v ie w e d s e v e ra l o f the v is itin g
spokespersons: a representative o f
the E l S a lv a d o r H u m a n R ig h ts
C o m m is s io n , n o w liv in g in e x ile
here in the U .S .; an A m eric a n w ho
has spen t lim e in N ic a ra g u a as a
Presbyterian volunteer w ith Witness
f o r P e a c e ; a fre e la n c e w r ite r a n d
social services con sultant fro m the
U . S . w h o has liv e d a n d w o rk e d
a m o n g the In d ia n s o f N ic a ra g u a 's
east c o ast, and a m in is te r w ith the
A m e r ic a n B a p tis t C o n v e n tio n o f
Nicaragua
Each shared his or her firs t-h an d
e x p e rie n c e s o f the e ffe c t U .S .
g o v e rn m e n t p o lic ies are h a v in g in
the region.
Secundino Ramirez
R a m ire z . 2 6 , is one o f tw o U .S .
re p re s e n ta tiv e s
of
th e
non­
g o v e rn m e n ta l E l S a lv a d o r H u m a n
R ig h ts C o m m is s io n . H is o r g a n ­
iz a t io n , based in C h ic a g o , has
received several nom inations fo r the
Nobel Peace Prize.
H e b ec a m e in v o lv e d w ith the
com mission in the late 1970’s, when
death squad killings were on the rise
a n d S a lv a d o ra n s saw th e need to
fig h t
in c re a s in g
th re a ts
and
repression.
“ O u r goal was to docum ent abuse
an d p ro v id e h u m a n a n d le g a l
assistance to re fu g e e s ," he recalled.
R am irez's and others’ success w ith
th e ir w o rk also m ade it d an gerou s,
a n d he c a m e to th e U .S . in 1 9 8 0.
Since he le ft E l S a lv a d o r, R a m ire z
re p o rts th a t fiv e m e m b e rs o f the
c o m m is s io n h av e been k ille d , in ­
c lu d in g its c h a irp e rs o n , M a ria n e lla
Villas.
T h e c o m m is s io n n ev e rth e le s s
m aintains an o ffice in San Salvador,
the c a p ita l, because " w e w o u ld not
be able to con tin ue o u r w ork o th e r­
w is e ," he said.
In C h ic a g o , the c o m m is s io n has
support and o ffice space donated by
s e v era l
re lig io u s
g ro u p s
and
R a m ir e z c o n tin u e s his w o r k w ith
refugees.
" T h e r e a re 1 5 ,0 0 0 S a lv a d o ra n
refug ees in th e C h ic a g o a r e a , " he
said. " IO ^ i o f o u r p o p u la tio n now
lives in the U .S . T h a is m o re th a n
$00 ,0 0 0 people.
T h e y w ork in c on struction , clean
p e o p le ’ s houses and h old jo b s lik e
that. M ost d o n 't speak any English
It's very hard fo r them "
R a m irez said the tw o recent elec­
tio n s th a t h av e been h eld in his
c o u n tr y h ave n o t s o lv e d an y
problem s there. " I n 1984, they said
1.8 m illio n people went to the polls.
T h a t’ s the actual num ber w ho could
v o te . In the e le ctio n o f 1982, they
said 1.5 m illio n p eo p le v oted T h e
C a th o lic U n ive rs ity d id a study and
said o n ly a b o u t 6 0 0 ,0 0 0 p e o p le
came to the polls.
" I t ’ s n o t p o s s ib le to h a v e 1.8
m illio n when 30*» live as refugees,
w ith 10*» in the U .S . and the rest in
o th e r p a rts o f L a t in A m e r ic a o r
C a n a d a ," he said.
R a m ir e z ra ttle d o f f d a ta to
illu s t r a t e th e s itu a tio n in E l
S a lv a d o r: " 3 0 * » o f th e n a tio n a l
te rrito ry is now under g uerilla con­
tro l. T here have been 50,000 people
killed in 4 '/i years. T h a t's one in one
hundred Salvadorans k illed .
" O u t o f 261 m u n ic ip a lit ie s , 6 0
d id n 't v o te (in 1 9 8 4 ). T h e th ir d
la rg e s t d e p a rtm e n t (s ta te ) o f San
M ig u e l in E astern E l S a lv a d o r had
no p o llin g p laces at a ll. H o w can
you have an election w hen th e re ’ s a
war going on?
" T h e w a r w ill not stop u n til the
U .S . stops sending arm s and money
to E l S a lv a d o r."
R a m ire z said the p ro b le m in his
c o u n tr y " i s p o v e r t y — its m is e ry .
T h e U .S . can play a positive role by
pro vid ing technical assistance, food
a n d m o n e y to th e p e o p le . B u t it
must stop the war and forget about
a d v is o rs ."
R a m ire z said he misses his c o u n ­
t r y a n d p la n s to re tu r n to E l
S a lv a d o r " w h e n the w a r is o v e r ."
M e a n w h ile , he w a n ts to s tu d y
p o litic a l science a n d U .S . h is to ry
here and finish the fo rm a l education
th a t ended w hen the U n iv e rs ity o f
S a n S a lv a d o r w as closed b y the
governm ent in 1979.
H e wanted to express this message
to the people o f O reg on : " N o m a t­
te r w h a t is th e ir ra c e , c o lo r o r
re lig io n , this is (he g o vern m en t the
people o f the U .S . elected, and it is
th e ir re s p o n s ib ility to s to p the
k illin g the U .S . g o v e rn m e n t is sup­
p o r tin g . T h e U .S . p e o p le c a n n o t
rem ain silent.
" S a lv a d o r a n s h a v e m u c h in
com m on w ith the people o f the U .S .
W e ’ re p e a c e -lo v in g W e h ave the
same president; w hether we w ant it
o r n o t, it's im p o s e d by fo rc e . W e
h av e th e sam e re s p o n s ib ility to
d e fe n d th e r ig h t to lif e o f o u r
people.
" W e are asking the U .S . People
to be lo y a l to th e ir o w n p rin cip les,
to their own tradition s, to their own
re v o lu tio n o f m o re th a n 2 0 0 years
a g o . T h e y s h o u ld respect w h a t
S a lv a d o ra n s w a n t . "
the In te rn a tio n a l O ly m p ic C h a rte r,
which states that a naturalized c o m ­
p e tito r " m a y not p a rtic ip a te in the
O lym p ic Games to represent his new
c o u n try u n til th re e years a ft e r his
n a tu ra liz a tio n ."
Even m o re successful than Budd
in in te rn a tio n a l c o m p e titio n is S y d ­
ney M a r c e , a 2 6 -y e a r o ld B la c k
S o u th
A f r ic a n
(a n d
fo r m e r
S p rin g b o k ) w ho specializes in b oth
the m ile and the 1,5 0 0 -meters.
R e c ru ite d six y e a rs a g o by
V illa n o v a U n iv e r s it y in P h i l a ­
d e lp h ia , P e n n s y lv a n ia , in 1981
M a r e e m a r rie d an A m e r ic a n and
s h o rtly a f t e r w a r d , o b ta in e d U .S .
perm anent residency clearance. This
status allow ed him to p artic ip a te in
in te rn a tio n a l track meets, where he
p ro v e d a g oo d O ly m p ic p ro s p e c t.
O n M a y 1st, M a r e e re c e iv e d fu ll
A m erican citizenship
H a v in g h eld th e 1 ,5 0 0 -m e te r
reco rd b r ie fly last y e a r, M a re e in ­
spires h ig h h op es fo r th e U .S .
O lym p ic team in this race as well as
the mile.
O t h e r S o u th A f r ic a n A th le te s
w h o h av e o p te d fo r (he seco n d -
c o u n try ro u te to this y e a r's games
include:
M a r k H a n d a ls m a n . a Springbok
m iddle-distance runner w ho present­
ly w orks on a k ib b u tz in Israel and
hopes to represent the Jewish stale
in Los Angeles;
John Da Silva, a p h y s ic a l
e d u c a tio n
g ra d u a te
fro m
the
U n iv e rs ity o f P o rt E liza b e th and a
S p rin g b o k steep lech aser, w h o has
been in c lu d e d o n th e P o rtu g u e s e
te a m a f t e r a th r e e -m o n th stay
d u rin g w hich he w on that c ou ntry's
n ational steeplechase cham pionship;
M a t h t w i M o a h w a ra ta a u ,
a n o th e r S p rin g b o k and h o ld e r o f
S o u th A f r ic a 's 5 ,0 0 0 - a n d 1 0 ,000-
m e te r re c o rd s , w h o has becom e a
citizen o f Botsw ana in order to par-
«50
Fiah Dinner
3 50
30C
Gumbo (Good Tool I
. 3 75
Homamada Soup
96C Bowt
SK
ChW I p * cup)
H a m b u r g « .......................... ............... 1 26
Cheeaebutger
................1 SO
Luui»iana Hol T amate»
Rib Sandwich
2 lor 1 00
.........
Fiati Sandwich ...................
Mol Dog
............................
Chai Dog
............................
3 00
2 00
1 00
1
so
1 00
Hot Unk»
1329 N.E. Frem ont • 281-2560
Tuea. - Sat 8 a m. - 12 a m.. Sunday 1 p m - 12 a.m.
Closed Monday
When President Washington decided to take a three-
month tour of the South he simply climbed aboard his
coach and took off —without Secret Service men or
press of any kind. Because of a mixup of mails and the
unmapped roads, the government did not know for
nearly two months exactly where the President was.
•
Big Ben in London is not the clock and not the tower,
but the bell that strikes the hour. It weighs 13 tons and
was named for Sir Benjamin Hall, commissioner of
works when it was installed.
Hot water weighs more than cold.
W e do not d o business w ith South A fric a
American State
Bank
AN INDEPENDENT BANK
Head Ottice
2737 N. E Union
Portland, Oregon 97212
MRS. C’s
WIGS
M a n y w i y * p r ic e d at *6 * 1 0
h 915
(C o n tin u e d next week/
$4*
South Africa athletes
(C o n tin u e d f r o m page I . colum n 3 /
3 50
Rib O r in a r ..................
L U N C H . D IN N E R
Commission documents Salvadoran abuse
by C ath y Siegner
Cook » Ctxaca Dinner
Braids
licipate in the O lym pics;
Kooa van dar M a rw a . th e
present South A fric a n javelin record
h o ld e r , w h o was g iv e n W est G e r ­
m a n c itiz e n s h ip a ft e r o n ly six
months in that country and is expected
to re p re s e n t G e r m a n y in L o s
Angeles;
V i n c e n t R a k a b a la . a m a ra th o n
ru n n e r a tta c h e d to th e B ra c k e n
G o ld M in e in S o u th A f r i c a , w h o
re p re s e n te d L e s o th o in th e 1 980
O ly m p ic G am es and hopes to d o the
same this year should th a t c o u n try
need him ; and
C o rn e lia B u ir k i, w ho was recent­
ly v o te d Swiss a th le te o f th e y e a r
fo r the eigh th con secu tive year and
hopes to re p re s e n t S w itz e rla n d in
th e 1 ,5 0 0 - , 3 ,0 0 0 - a n d th e 5 ,0 0 0 -
meter events. O n a recent visit to her
p la c e o f b ir t h , she s a id , " I n m y
h e a rt I am s till v e ry m u c h S o u th
A f r ic a n ."
A lth o u g h S o uth A fr ic a has been
b a r re d f r o m th e O ly m p ic s since
1 9 7 0 a n d fr o m th e In t e r n a t io n a l
A m a te u r A th le tic F e d e ra tio n since
1 9 7 6 , th e w h ite g o v e rn m e n t has
a v id ly p u rs u e d s p o rtin g c o n ta c ts
w h e n e v e r p o s s ib le . In a d d it io n .
So uth A fric a n p ro m o ters o fte n pay
top d o lla r to a ttrac t star athletes to
com pete in the sports-hungry c o u n ­
try.
By som e a c c o u n ts , the S o u th
A f r ic a n O ly m p ic C o m m it t e e is
c u r r e n tly m a k in g an a tte m p t to
re g a in m e m b e rs h ip in th e w o r ld
body Press reports suggest that the
South A fricans may plead in foreign
courts that th eir exclusion fro m in ­
te rn a tio n a l athletics goes counter to
signed agreem ents c o v e rin g s p o rt.
T h e Soviet p ull-o ut announced on
M a y 8th has so far received no con­
c re te s u p p o rt fro m A f r ic a n c o u n ­
trie s , b u t som e o b s e rv e rs b e lie v e
th a t f a ll-o u t fro m the U .S ./S o v ie t
t i f f m ay yet affect T h ird W o rld p a r­
ticip a tio n .
Cabin« Proprietor
Featurtng w ig» by N A O M I S IM S A N D R E D O U G L A S B ll LIE b N A TA LIE COLE
Hair Products
ID
(2)
(3)
(41
(51
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707 N.E. Fremont 2 8 1 -6 5 2 5
Closed Sun. A Man. OFIN Tuaa. thru ta t. 11:30 AM to 5:00 PM
PORTLAND OBSERV E R ..
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