Portland Observer, May 15, 1985, Page 9
Portland teacher describes realities of life in Nicaragua
byM toe Thayer
M AN AG E A — It's laic altenxxin in
a makeshift vchixilhixive in the moun
tains o f Nicaragua. Clutching the penal
awkwardly and biting his bp in n xx x n
tratxxi, the old man slowly forms the
kites in his notefxxtk as his young teach
er kxrk on. His muddy boots and stained
clothes speak o f the long workday
behind him. But though the room is
dim, neither he nor the rest o f the
dozen or so students in this adult edu
cation class show any sign o f tiring.
For them, learning to read and write
is the fulfillm ent o f lifelong hopes.
This scene might surprise those
who hase only heard President Rea
gan describe Nicaragua as a " to ta li
tarian dungeon" and a "b ru tal dicta
to rsh ip ." But the Administration's
view o f this Central American coun
try does not square with the reality I
have experienced here in the last seven
months. Nor does it reflect the varied
perspectives o f the Nicaraguans I
have met.
"W h a t is your president's con
ception o f democracy?" asks Payita,
a white collar worker in the capital
city o f Managua. "F o r us, democracy
includes the right to an education, to
free health care, to land or work, the
right to participate in decision
making at all levels."
The country has made great strides
in education since us 1979 revolution
overthrew the dictator Anastacio
Somoza. Illiteracy dropped from
52 percent to 13 percent after a con
certed campaign; approximately one-
third o f the population is now en
rolled in some kind o f education.
For the country’s elections last No
vember, Payita was named to the elec
toral board in her middle class neigh
borhood. " D o you know that o f all
the domestics in the precinct who
came to vote, only one could not
sign her name? Before the revolution,
most o f them would have been illite r
ate.”
Similar advances have been made
in health, and a land reform has bene-
fitted one-third o f the peasants in the
country. The wide margin o f victory
for the Sandinistas in the fall elec
tion — hailed by foreign observers o f
about U.S. culture and proposals for
the region.
Rosalia, a young cleaning woman,
tells me. " I feel free to speak my
mind now. It's not like under Somo
za when if you spoke out you'd be
found dead next day on Lead H ill.”
Il's the popular organizations —
community, women’s, youth and
workers' that are beginning to make
freedom o f expression really effective.
As Marta, a librarian and active mem
ber o f her neighborhood organization,
told me, " A s pan o f my Christian
education 1 learned you get to heaven
by bus. not by motorcycle. In othei
words, you can only build a better
world with other peole. not alone."
But Nicaragua is far from perfect
—and daily, people remind each other
o f tha fact. The Sandinistas are at
tacked for the runaway inflation, the
lack o f imported car parts, the short
age o f buses, even the high price o f
toilet paper And. in fact, govern
ment mismanagement is often a cause
But for most people the fundamental
cause o f economic difficulties is the
war being waged against Nicaragua
by ll.S . funded counterrevolution
aries — contras.
In a mere four years, the contra
war has caused several hundred m il
lion dollars in damage, forced the
country to divert 40 percent o f its
meager budget to defense and cost
more than 8,000 lives.
Even as the U.S. Congress debated
whether to support counterrevolu
tionary forces with “ humanitarian"
aid these forces continued to demon
strate their inhumanity. American
Maryknoll Sister Nancy Donovan,
who has worked in Central America
29 years, described a typical attack
"They surrounded the village o f Pla
tanares, machine gunned the peasants’
houses and forced people out o f their
homes. Some o f them were still sleep
ing. They kidnapped women, burned
houses and pillaged them, robbing
money and even children's clothes.
Now no one lives in Platanares.
Who’s going to harvest the coffee and
corn. . .So many people have been
murdered that we're lacking coffins,
space in the cemetery and sheets to
wrap the bodies."
By the support o f these terror tac
tics President Reagan proposes to as
sist in the overthrow o f the Nicaraguan
government and the destruction o f
what — with all its failings — I have
found to be a fascinating and unique
experiment in democracy and social
justice.
But the real question is, no matter
what we Americans think o f (he kind
the la yo ff.”
Though the Nicaraguan press cen
sor often cuts more than just news re
lated to m ilitary matters, the three
major papers still cover a broad spec
trum o f political views. The opposi
tion paper. La Prensa, prints daily
vitriolic diatribes against government
policy, consistently gloomy or sensa
tionalist news and admiring articles
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coro co.
Gtlor (
working this year f o r C R IES, C oor
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Economicas y Soaales, an indepen
dent research institute in Managua,
Nicaragua
Prices Effective 5/15 Thru 5 2 1 /8 5
many political perspectives as both free
and fair — demonstrated the con
tinued popularity these policies have
earned them, particularly among the
poor majority.
Complaints are heard, o f course,
most often from those o f some means
who now find their opportunities for
profit making and consumption more
limited. M ario, a large scale rice
grower, finds it hard to adjust to the
new government priorities on im port
ing basic necessities for the majority
rather than the luxury goods he used
to buy.
He also complains about the uppity
behavior o f his workers who demand
ed back pay fo r overtime after the
overthrow o f the old regime. For
many in his position, the new protec
tion o f workers’ right to organize —
which has resulted in nearly ten-fold
increase in union membership — has
been threatening.
Victor is a driver for an urban
office who first went to work with a
machete when he was eight years old,
" In the old days," he says, “ we
workers had no right to speak out
against mistreatment or to demand
vacations or overtime. Because there
was little work, we had to submit. . .
As a worker, I have gained a lot with
this revolution.” He describes the
new seeds o f workplace democracy he
has experienced. "W hen they wanted
to fire three drivers we were able fo
demand reasons and conduct our own
investigation. In the cases where it
was unjustified the union stopped
o f society Nicaraguans are choosing
to build, what right does the United
Stales have to intervene in a sovereign
country to impose its will?
M y friend Victor left me with this
thought, "W e are all brothers born
on this same earth. The earth does not
belong to one person — we have to
share it. I hope with all my heart
that the American people can make
your government understand th a t."
M illie J ha ver u a Portland leat her
$ J 4 9
Ea.
10-Lb. Flour
49
Gold Medal. All-P urpose. £
Regular Or U nbleached. N’
Save Up To SI 10 Bag
1
La.
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