Mr. Frances Schocn-Se.sp.per Poo.
U n iv e rs ity of Oregon L ib ra ry
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____ n'TA'^'X
---------------The Death of Ben Linder—
by Norman Sokim on
Ben Linder has been laid to rest in tar o ft N icaragua Here in his hom e
to w n , m o u rn e rs are s tru g g lin g w ith in te nse g rie f and seething anger
M ed ia cove rag e has de scrib ed h o w B e n ja m in Ernest Lind er. 27, was
w o rk in g as a m ech an ical engineer at a rural h y d ro e le c tric protect w h en he
died A p ril 28 at the hands o f C o ntra gu errilla s fig h tin g against the Sandi
nista g o ve rn m e n t
B ut as the glare o f p u b lic ity fades th o se o f us w ith personal m em o ries of
Ben Linder are le ft to ponder th e m e a ning o f his death The n ig h t before
he w as burie d in the N icaraguan c o u n try s id e no rth e a st o f M anagua w e
w ere a m o ng a th o u sa n d O regon residents w h o gathere d to lig h t candles at
dusk in fro n t o f tho Federal B u ild in g in d o w n to w n P ortland T ogether w e
listened to speeches w e sang and w e cried
I m et Ben in 1977, w h e n he p a rticip a te d in p ro te sts against the Troian
nuclear p o w e r plant A t age 17, he con veye d gentleness and quiet deter
m in a tio n th a t rem a ine d w ith him
W h e n our p a th s crossed again in the
early 1980s, he said h e 'd be com e very con cern ed ab ou t the situ a tio n in
C entral A m erica
For pe op le w h o kn e w Ben even slig h tly, the m edia a cco u n ts in evita bly
seem pale For one th in g , no new s re p o rts can co m m u n ica te th e sin cerity
and w a rm th tha t w ere to be fo u n d in his eyes For an othe r, no narrative
can dispel the p a in fu l n o n co m p re h e n sio n o f his death
W h y w o u ld anyone w a n t to kill Ben for w o rk in g to pro vid e e le ctricity to
a sm all village in an im p o ve rish e d co u n try? In a personal c o n te x t, it m akes
no sense A t a p o litic a l level, h o w e ve r, it is part of a g rim rea lity That s
the kind o f w ar that President R eagan's fre e d o m fig h te rs are w a g in g
U n ab le to gain m u c h o f a fo o th o ld , th e C o n tra fo rce s te rm e d the
m oral equal o f our F o u n d in g Fathers by Reagan have increasingly turne d
to te rro r ta c tic s and d is ru p tio n o f the already d e s titu te N icaraguan eco
n o m y C ontras p u rp o se ly ta rg e t health care w o rkers, teachers, clergy and
engineers la b o rin g in the p ro vin ce s to help peasants learn h o w to m ake
progress against g rin d in g p o ve rty
W ith a degree in civil en ginee rin g, Ben Linder w e n t to Nicaragua in 1983
to begin w o rk in g on sm all scale e lectrica l pro je cts His salary a m o u n te d to
$13 a m o n th
He b ro u g h t e le c tric ity to clin ics to keep vaccines cold, to
lig h t scho olhou ses and to lig h t farm ho use s, recalled a frien d w h o had
visite d him
B en 's te ch n ica l skills w ere sorely needed there Of cou rse he kn e w that
he w as fn a w a r ro n e A nd he k n e w th a t the area had he com e a w ar /o n e
because o f U S g o ve rn m e n t policies He becam e the first A m erican volun
leer to share the fates o f m any th o u sa n d s o f N icaraguan civilia ns m urd ere d
by th e C ontras
S uch carnage is likely to increase d u rin g the ne xt several m o n th s Early
th is year, C o ntra leaders say, their tro o p s w ere d o w n to a fe w bu lle ts per
week
B ut a ne w in fu s io n o f U S aid has b ro u g h t a w e a lth of am m o and
m u ch else N o w the b lo o d w ill flo w again in to rre n ts.
Ben Linder ca u g h t som e o f the first shrapnel o f the resupplied C ontra
arm y W e m ay never k n o w w h e th e r th e fusillad e th a t killed him w as finan
ced by p ro fits fro m th e U S arm s sales to Iran, or one of the priva te fu n d
mg sources fro m N o rth A m erica, or a C IA c o n d u it developed b y Lt Col
O liver L N o rth w h en he was ru n n in g am ok in th e W h ite House basem ent
N early six m o n th s in to the Iran C o ntra arm s scandal it's all to o easy to
O v e r 1 000 p e o p le g a th e r e d a t T e rry S h ru n k P la /a f o r a c a n d le lig h t
m e m o r ia l to r e m e m b e r th e life a n d w o r k o f B e n ja m in L in d e r
L in
d e r a 27 yr o ld P o r tla n d e r w a s k ille d in N ic a ra g u a w h e n C o n tr a
fo rg e t th a t
far aw ay fro m W a sh in g to n
a tt a c k e d th e s ite he w a s in v e s t ig a t in g as a lo c a t io n fo r a h y d r o e le c
tr ie p la n t
P h o to by R ic h a rd J B ro w n
real people are s u ffe rin g and
d yin g n o w because o f W h ite House policies in Central A m e rica
U p co m in g
con gre ssion al hearings pro m ise to be exciting and su ita b ly d ra m atic
But
w h ile past m a lfe a sa n ce u n d e rg o e s si ru tin y ' urge q u a n titie s o f w e a p o n s
and a m m u n itio n are m o vin g fro m the U S in to C ontra base cam ps
Those w h o s till s u p p o rt aid to the C ontras m ay n o t have g ive n m u c h
th o u g h t to J o h n Linder s w o rd s
The U S g o ve rn m e n t killed m y b ro th er
The C ontras killed m y b ro th e r
Ronald Reagan says he is a C ontra
My
b ro th e r's death w as not an a ccide nt His death w as policy
Yet C o ntra bo osters m ay fin d it m ore d isq u ie tin g to consider the state
m erit issued by fo rm e r C o ntra leader Edg.ir C h a m o rro in the w a ke o f Bon
I aider's death
The Central In te llig e n ce A g e n c y is very m u c h in c o n tro l o f tfie Con
tras
C ham o rro said
The C IA is sending a m essage to th o se in the inter
na tio n ,il c o m m u n ity w h o pro vid e p o litic a l su p p o rt for Ni, aragua th a t th e y
are no longer safe the re The CIA and the C ontras are killin g th e best, the
people w h o w a n t the best for Ni< aragua
Ben w as one of th o se people That s w h y h e 's dead
i
N o r m a n S o lo m o n i t a vw nfnr liv in g in P o r t la n d
*•
H a la c o a u t h o r o f
T h a D i a a t t a r o f A m a r u a n « I a p a r ia m a W it h A to m ic R a d ia t io n
NECDC, PIC, Carpenters
Program Sign
Joint
Agreement
K illin g O u r O w n
( D a li)
Apprenticeship
by Leon H arris and Je rry Garner
An ag ree m ent to p ro vid e a p p re n tice sh ip ca rp e n try tra in in g fo r up to 8
pre a p pre ntir eship carp en te r trainees w as a n n o u n ce d by the M a y o r's o ffic e
on M o n d a y. M ay 4th
The ag ree m ent, e xe cu te d b e tw e e n the N o rth e a st C o m m u n ity
m en t C o rp o ra tio n , th e O regon C o m p e te n cy Based Carpenters
p re n tic e s h ip and T rain ing C o m m itte e , and the Private In d u stry
m arks th e firs t fo rm a l agreem ent b e tw e e n an a p pre nticesh ip
(carp en te rs) and PIC
D evelop
Jo in Ap
C ouncil,
pro gra m
This s ig n ific a n t de ve lo p m e n t w ill lead to |obs and c a re e r d e ve lo p m e n t
based u p on im p o rta n t skills and w ill enhance th e o p p o rtu n itie s o f m in o ritie s
in e n te rin g th e trade p ro fe ssio ns
The average sta rtin g w a ge o f a p p re n tice s is $7 per hour
The C o m m itte e w ill also be cha rge d w ith fin d in g em p lo ym e n t fo r the
trainees w ith tra in in g agents c e rtifie d by the C o m m itte e once the six m o n th
tra in in g p ro g ra m is c o m p le te d
S ig n in g th e ag reem ent w ere Ron H e rnd on. Vice C hairm an o f the
NECDC. C liff H a m low . Resource M anager o f R b H C o n s tru c tio n ; and
Jam es E W a tts , Vice President, P o rtla n d Private In d u stry C o un cil.
"This a g re e m e n t is an im p o rta n t ste p in a d dre ssing th e e m p lo y m e n t
needs o f our m in o ritie s The tra n s itio n in to state a p p re n tice sh ip p ro gra m s
w ill p ro vid e careers fo r tho se w h o are in vo lve d in th is p ro je ct. The Private
In d u stry C o un cil w ill w o rk w ith the carp en te rs a p p re n tice sh ip c o m m itte e to
ensure th a t the re q uire m en ts are m e t,' a c c o rd in g to M ayo r J E. " B u d ''
Clark
Clark said th is is a great step, and he hopes o th e r trades w ill fo llo w the
lead o f the carp en te rs and becom e in vo lve d in th e p ro gra m
He gave his
su p p o rt fo r the e ffo rts o f tho se in volve d, and said th a t he w as sure th a t the
ag reem ent w ill be m a in ta in e d fo r years to com e
A lso in a tte n d a n ce w as M ary W e n d y R oberts, S tate o f O regon, Bureau
o f Labor and Ind ustries
Ron Herndon (A), representing C om m u nity D evelo pm ent C orpora
tion, signs an agreem en t to prom ote m ino rity p articip ation in
apprenticeship program s at a press conference M o n d a y m orning,
M ay 4th On hand w e re (L R) M e ry W endy Roberts. Jam e s W a tts ,
C liff H a m lo w Bud Clark and Herndon
Photo by R ichard J B ro w n