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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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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