Managua

The other day I was on Facebook, which is something that I don´t normally do at home, but while being here, its actually been good for keeping in touch with people at home and seeing what the people I´ve left behind are doing. One of my friends put his status message as something along the lines of him being frustrated because he was stuck in his "crappy Brooklyn apartment with his crappy air conditioner" that apparently wasnt working as best as it could have. And the minute I read that and thought about the few material things that the people in Nicaragua have, and how they don´t complain about things like that, I just had to send him an email. Even though we all come from different socioeconomic statuses, we all should be grateful to have the basic necessities, because for many people here, these are luxuries. Here, my friend, whose family owns pizzerias all over long island and manhattan and including the one in Penn Station, here he was complaining. He can walk into any one of those restaurants and eat like a king for free, he has an apartment, and hes complaining about his air conditioner. I look back at things that I once complained about, the dinners my mother cooked for me that I didnt like so she made something else just for me, the complaints that I made because maybe there wasnt a specific type of snack in the house, and I become disgusted with myself. One of the things that Ive noticed here and among some of the few friends that I have at home, is that although a person may be poor when it comes to materialistic things, and the lack of essentials needed to survive such as food, shelter and water, these people are rich in their heart, and their personalities. Sometimes I dont know if I should feel grateful for the comforts I have at home, because sometimes I feel disgusted for having so much when others are struggling just to feed themselves. Nothing has brought out this internal war that I wage against myself more than when we went to Managua.
Upon entering the city of Managua, I noticed billboards with the picture of Nicaragua´s president, Daniel Ortega with various slogans such as citizen power, and another celebrating 30 years of freedom from US imperialism. To me, these signs are so funny, especially the one celebrating the 30 years because right across the street was a McDonalds sign. Although the US marines are no longer here, there is still very much a US presence in the form of development. Its also funny to me because it seems so hypocritical to have a slogan of citizen power, when the people here are starving, and their cries fall on deaf ears because protests are prohibited. In the article from Nicatimes.net, called "Sandinista Prayer Campaign Draws Heat", by Blake Schmidt, he speaks of Los Rezadores, or the supposed public prayers. They really are poor people who are paid by the government for the reason that Schmidt writes, "Theyve taken the rotundas as a mechanism to impede opposition protests". We actually witnessed this in Managua, when all of a sudden a crowd of protesters started running towards us and we were told by Raul to go inside the church. It turned out that this group was protesting for human rights, and the people living in the rotunda will turn to violence to do the governments bidding in hushing the voices of the people.
Schmidt also mentions the former banana farmers that are sick from toxins from pesticides used by US Banana companies. Since the government is unwilling to speak with the United States on behalf of their sick citizens, they are in a way doing a silent protest by living in the parks in shacks made out of cardboard and garbage bags. If you ask me, its as if the marines havent left.
Probably the most disturbing thing that I saw on this day trip to Managua was La Chureca, essentially a garbage landfill. Just as our view from the top of Mombacho volcano showed us the endless lake that could have been mistaken for a vast ocean, this landfill was an endless sea of garbage. The concern isnt merely for the environment, but for the people that live and work there. I saw a man crouched down on the ground, sharing the scraps of meat off the bone with a dog. What does this say for the human condition, when a man is eating his meal with a dog? At first I felt disgust, then sympathy. You can read about La Chureca all you want, but it means nothing unless you see it for yourself.
So what is the Nicaraguan government doing to help this dire situation? If you ask Dora Maria Tellez, who wrote the article "Nicaragua's Drastic Situation Obliged Me to Go on a Hunger Strike", the answer would be nothing. This is because a pact has been made with the former president, Aleman, and the current president, Ortega. They essential have control over every court and judge, and sadly she writes as they "They have divvied up the Office of Human Rights Ombudsmen, the Public Prosecutor's Office, and other autonomous and public service institutions". Additionally, she writes that Venezuela has provided Nicaragua with about 520 million dollars. From what I saw in Managua, and Granada as well, I cant help but ask the same question she asks. Where is it going? Because from working in the schools, I can tell you it certainly is not going there, its not going to families who need it so bad that they are forced to send their children out to beg for food or money.