El 9 de agosto fuimos a Mombacho. Para las personas que no saben mucho de este volcán. No es un volcán activo pero tiene cráteres activos que echan humo. Subiendo en camioneta toma como 45 minutos porque el camino es muy inclinado. A llegar a la sima puede encontrar una cabaña con guías para hacer pequeñas caminatas en el. Mombacho fue declarada una reserva natural donde habitan tigrillos, tigres y monos y toda clase de serpientes. Su primera erupción fue en la época precolombina siendo así la creación de las isletas en el lago de granada donde hace mucho tiempo solo existía solamente agua. En el tiempo que se crearon solamente estaban habitada de arboles animales, piedra e indios. En la actualidad ahora esta habitadas por personas. Donde hay muchos désenos arquitectónicos de casa y en la actualidad aun se venden algunas islas.
Como acabo de explicar en el primer parágrafo. El Mombacho fue declarada una reserva nacional por IRENA (Instituto Nicaragüense de recursos naturales y del Ambiente). En un articulo que estuve leyendo llamado “Environment Under Fire” dice que IRENA fue creada en Agosto de 1979 y tomaron responsabilidad sobre la abundancia de recursos naturales del país (pagina 154). También habla de cómo IRENA lucha por proteger y reconstruir ecología y la agricultura. Por igual trata de manejar los materiales agriculturas que se exporta y ayudar bajar la dependencia que tiene Nicaragua con los materiales importados.
Nicaragua es un país que tiene muchos recursos naturales. Por lo mismo tiene mucha potencia para progresar. El problema que tiene este país es que no sabe como usar esos recursos bien y también la contaminación. Mi pensar es que con la creación de IRENA, que ahora lleva el nombre de MIRENA, el gobierno ha reconocido que tienen un problema. Tomaron un paso para arreglar la situación. Tal vez este esfuerzo que están haciendo los ayude a conservar sus recursos naturales y mantener la ciudades y los bosques limpios.
Friday, August 14, 2009
El alfabetismo en Nicaragua
A veces la gente no piensa que tiene le potencial de ayudar en las vidas de algunas persona. Muchas veces este pensamiento impide que ayuden o que dedique su tiempo en ayudar al prójimo. No soy una persona muy religiosa ni voy mucho a misa. Pero se que en este mundo hay mucha pobreza y angustia. Cuando mi profesora me dijo de este viaje no me apunte con la mente de venir a ser turismo ni conocer el país. Sino ayudar con lo que puedo. Cuando vi la oportunidad de poder ayudar a otra persona me alegre mucho.
Somos voluntarios en una escuela adonde hay niños que no saben ni escribir sus nombres ni algo simple como reconocer los colores. Durante estas 3 semanas he visto que estos niños aunque no tienen las mismas oportunidades que tiene en los niños de los Estados Unidos quieren aprender. Le gusta trabajar con nosotros. Para algunos esto no es mucho enseñarle a un niño como leer o enseñarle el abecedario pero para estos niños es algo que se queda con ellos para el resto de su vida. El agradecimiento que nos dan se va a quedar con nosotros para el resto de nuestra vida.
Se que tal vez lo que nosotros estamos haciendo no se puede compara con la Cruzada Nacional de Alfabetización pero para mi es casi lo mismo. En julio de 1979 los sandinistas le propusieron la idea de la Cruzada a sacerdote Fernando Cardenal. Esta cruzada fue el primer paso que cogieron para reconstruir el país por lo que leí en el artículo de José Luis Rocha en la primera página. El motivo de la cruzada era para que los campesino y alfabetos pudieran aprender escribir, leer y la historia de su país. Por esto es que yo comparo el trabajo que estoy haciendo en Nicaragua con la Cruzada.
También lo comparo porque como los estudiantes que participaron el la cruzada. Nosotros también estamos viviendo con una familia y estamos absorbiendo la cultura. Aunque no es igual porque los estudiantes o mejor dicho los jóvenes de la cruzada vivieron con los campesinos por cinco meses y vieron el sufrimiento que tuvieron que pasa los campesinos por siglos. En el mismo articulo que escribió José Luis Rocha el describe como los estudiantes compartían con los campesinos la comida, la ropa, el frio, el piso y los petates, (segunda pagina). Aunque nosotros no estamos viviendo con campesinos estamos aprendiendo como viven sus hijos y como la pobreza los afecta.
A veces no hay que hacer mucho para impactar la vida de una persona. Con el simple acto de enseñarles que nos importa basta. Por esto escribo este blog. Para demuestra que no cuesta mucho para ayudar y pensar que no puede solamente te encierra a las realidades del mundo. Si piensas que no puede hacer nada no lo haces pero si tienes la mente positiva puedes lograr mucho en el mundo.
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.
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.
Coming to Realize...
Nearing the end of week three here in Nicaragua, I have come to a realization; at first I thought it would be difficult to adjust to the culture of Granada-culture shock if you will-however on the contrary I believe that my greatest challenge will be returning to back to the States. From spending such a short amount of time in a foreign country my vision of this world and of myself has been cleared drasticly-it's almost frightening. I'm not sure if I can simply readjust back to such a materialistic based country after witnessing what I have here with out a tremendous amount of guilt. There is a bigger picture and purpose (cliche I know) and so many of the mindsets of Americans are self-orientated that they are unable to see this.
Motivation.
I feel motivated.
Rather I feel obligated to do something.
I am almost ashamed of my life back at home before this trip. I have all of the resources and opportunities knocking at my door that has been kept shut and locked for far too long. America is an exception in this world. We have much more than the rest and much more than what we need. Why is it that I deserve all that I have and thousands of children walk barefoot? Why are they forced to start work instead of an education? Why would a child have to result to such measures as to dance in the street naked for less than a dollar? And how in the 21st centruy is this reality?
A month is not enought time to solve the vast conflicts found here in Granada everyday. My heart however goes out to the children. A child is a child. All you have to do is spend one hour with a child to realize we are all the same. They will make you laugh from the bottom of your gut till you cry or be a pain in your ass reguardless. A kid doesn't discriminate based upon color, lanugage, weath or weight.
A wise woman told me,"More time needs to be spent finding peace between our simmilarities and less time spent fighting wars between our differences". A change needs to occur in the minds of the children of Nicaragua. They need to find hope. They need to dream. And someone needs to tell them that they have worth to become beautiful people.
The wise woman also told me, "When you wake up every morning ask yourself-what will I do today to justify my existence in this world?". Will you donate a few hours out of your day to help a child learn their abc's? Or will you spend your day contemplating whether to buy the new blackberry or the iphone?
We have but a week left. How do I go back?
Motivation.
I feel motivated.
Rather I feel obligated to do something.
I am almost ashamed of my life back at home before this trip. I have all of the resources and opportunities knocking at my door that has been kept shut and locked for far too long. America is an exception in this world. We have much more than the rest and much more than what we need. Why is it that I deserve all that I have and thousands of children walk barefoot? Why are they forced to start work instead of an education? Why would a child have to result to such measures as to dance in the street naked for less than a dollar? And how in the 21st centruy is this reality?
A month is not enought time to solve the vast conflicts found here in Granada everyday. My heart however goes out to the children. A child is a child. All you have to do is spend one hour with a child to realize we are all the same. They will make you laugh from the bottom of your gut till you cry or be a pain in your ass reguardless. A kid doesn't discriminate based upon color, lanugage, weath or weight.
A wise woman told me,"More time needs to be spent finding peace between our simmilarities and less time spent fighting wars between our differences". A change needs to occur in the minds of the children of Nicaragua. They need to find hope. They need to dream. And someone needs to tell them that they have worth to become beautiful people.
The wise woman also told me, "When you wake up every morning ask yourself-what will I do today to justify my existence in this world?". Will you donate a few hours out of your day to help a child learn their abc's? Or will you spend your day contemplating whether to buy the new blackberry or the iphone?
We have but a week left. How do I go back?
National Identity and the Arts
On August 8th, a Saturday, our group visited Nicaragua´s capital, Managua. Up until that point, we had read plenty of articles out of the binder that Alba and Dora worked so hard to put together. However, the day before our trip to Managua when we discussed the culture and national identity of the people here, Alba asked us to read the people, and the buildings, rather than just looking. So on Saturday in Managua we went beyond the mere observations of just appearances and instead we paid close attention to their behaviors and mannerisms, and how buildings may be strategically placed to signify authority.
While performing this task, I encountered many paradoxes and contradictions. In order for me to connect the theme of natural identity to the arts and specifically muralism, its important to first understand national identity. It is not about physical appearances and how to tell that someone is Nicaraguan but rather; what are the common practices of a culture that bind the people together? Among them may be language, religion, holidays and rituals- in other words, a traditional practices that they share and evoke a sense of unity and a sense of pride for their nationality. The above mentioned practices I think are usually thought of when one tries to define national identity culture, but other things are included that sometimes are left out: popular music, art, literature, dances, and theater. These function to display a group or one´s pride (or disdain) for their country. When one is unhappy or ashamed to be identified as a citizen of their country, it usually has nothing to do with how their fellow mate behaves, but rather how their government functions. Therefore, it is impossible to discuss one´s national identity without discussing the nations government and politics. Before getting into that, I wanted to take the opportunity to address something: I think it is extremely important to note here that although their may be things here that I have seen that breaks my heart and that I may not agree with, I have not encountered one Nicaraguan who is ashamed of the person they are, nor their national identity. Currently we are discussing positive themes that we are asked to look for within the community here, because in the beginning some posted observations of the negative- one of the things I had said from the very beginning on one of my blogs was that horrible things exist all over the world, that poverty exists in the states as well where children are the largest population living in poverty. Something that I had said but did not write the first week we got here was that the difference is that when you travel to someplace new, one´s eyes are open, and one may be doing more observation than perhaps where they live. For example, someone from a heavily populated place such as NYC who is always in a rush to get to their next place may not notice the homeless person sleeping on the sidewalk, but that same person will probably notice the same thing but in a country they have never been to before once they arrive.
When I mentioned national identity as pride or disdain for being a citizen from one´s country, I want to give an example. Personally, at times I feel ashamed to be an American (or from the United States, since here an American refers to anyone from the Americas :-)). Some examples of when I´ve been ashamed to be an American have been when I learned the United States financed the Contras (which I knew from learning in middle school about the Iran-Contra Affair), but my teacher forgot to mention how the Contras were fighting against the Sandinistas of Nicaragua, and how our role in all of this destroyed the land, and in a way changed Nicaragua forever.
At first I was confused as to who the Contras were- were they solely Nicaraguan´s? Then I did some research on the Internet and read "Adios Muchachos: A Memoir of the Sandinista Revolution" by Sergio Ramirez. He mentions that the Contras were originally financed by the Argentinean government at the time; and according to the Wikipedia Free Encyclopedia, the label Contra was given to various groups that opposed Nicaragua´s FSLN (Frente Sandinista de Liberacion Nacional). In Nicaragua the largest Contra group was the FDN (Frente Democratica de Nicaragua), or Nicaraguan Democratic Force. Essentially, the US CIA provided not only financial aid (which the reason the Iran Contra affair was scandalous was because Iran was considered to be a terrorist country at the time, and that money from the sale of weapons to Iran was used to back the Contras), but the CIA also provided weapons and training as well. The Sandinista movement, which was a revolutionary movement that the Contras were trying to prevent and resist, was a movement essentially of the people. When the US meddles with other countries affairs when its clearly not wanted, this is when I´m not proud to be an American. People may not agree with me, we can agree to disagree, and as Voltaire, one of the Enlightenment thinkers famously said, "I do not agree with a word you say, but I will defend to my death your right to say it". I also feel the same way about our involvement in Iraq, a country whose citizens clearly do not want us to be there, and that clearly lacked the supposed "weapons of mass destruction" that Bush claimed they had- but they do have oil, don´t they? Funny how the US government claims involvement in other countries affairs is solely political or for human rights issues, and at times it is such as Darfur but to me isn´t it a bit peculiar how before the war that is referred to as Nicaragua´s civil war, although it had multinational backing, was once abundant in natural resources such as fresh water, and now people are struggling to find drinkable water? On page two, Ramirez writes "They [United States] had plundered our natural resources, our mines, our forests".
So while I feel the exact opposite of national pride, and had I been living during this time would have wanted to be disassociated from my national identity, the end result of the revolution, the victory of the Sandinista movement elicited as sense of national pride from many Nicaraguans. For example, Ramirez writes how the US placed an embargo on wheat supplies from Nicaragua, so instead Nicaraguans turned to cultivating corn. There's a saying that he talks about, "El Maiz: Nuestra Raiz", meaning that they went back to their roots and farmed as their ancestors did, by farming corn. He also writes on page 2 that "Our nationalism emerged out of that conflict" (Between the US and the FSLN)
Being able to go to the university in Managua was an amazing experience because in a sense, we were able to see the past and what the students who were part of the revolution were thinking. We were able to see a part of Nicaragua's history through the murals that still remain at the university. After Ramirez writes how opposition to the US is necessary for Nicaragua´s liberation on page 2, the following paragraph he continues to say that the call for opposition to the US was "[... ] repeated with the most virulent rhetoric in public plazas, in radio addresses and in letters to the editor in the newspaper Barricada". Although it would have been amazing to witness this historical movement, it was still emotional to feel as if we were witnessing it through the murals the students painted. In fact, the protests among the students were so strong that they even had a name for their own fight against the Contras, called FER, or Frente Estudiantil Revolucionario (Student Revolutionary Force). If you want to compare how powerful their voices were, you can say that they were similar to how our parents came out in massive force to protest against the Vietnam war (well some of our parents, mine are 52 and 56). As I was walking through the campus looking at the murals, thinking about the students that painted them and of our own ancestors in the US that fought for change, I couldn´t help but think, why isn´t and why hasn´t our generation protested against the actions of our government in Iraq, especially when Bush was president? Are we really that apathetic? If you want to compare how this Revolution in Nicaragua was, how big it was, you can say it was similar to our own revolution against England. For me, I learned something about what Fer did. Whatever type of government a country has, and the US although a democratic republic (because we have representatives that vote on matters for us, we dont vote directly), its still a form of democracy nonetheless, and in order for a government to truly function well, shouldnt the citizens participate in it? Why aren´t we fighting for change, like the FER and our parents? One of the murals said, translated in English, "We don't want militaries [referring to the presence of the US marines], we want schools and hospitals" Why arent we saying the same thing? Because when there is a war, there isnt money to pay for social services and things like education, and is the same for any country that is fighting in a war.
I also saw two murals next to each other that totally contradicted each other. On the one hand, one mural had the words that in English meant against the dictator and imperialism and had a painting of Uncle Sam with a gun to his head held by one of the Sandinistas. The other mural said for democratic liberties, all are against the dictator. To me its contradicting because on the one hand they are saying they want democracy, and the other mural shows a negative view toward America which is represented by Uncle Sam. I guess I think this is contradicting because to me, Uncle Sam is the icon for democracy.
So although I have a better understanding of what the Contras wanted and who they were, I guess Im still confused because if the biggest Contra group was the Democratic Front of Nicaragua, and the students who were for the revolution painted murals that said they wanted democracy and not a dictator, didnt they essentially want the same things?
While performing this task, I encountered many paradoxes and contradictions. In order for me to connect the theme of natural identity to the arts and specifically muralism, its important to first understand national identity. It is not about physical appearances and how to tell that someone is Nicaraguan but rather; what are the common practices of a culture that bind the people together? Among them may be language, religion, holidays and rituals- in other words, a traditional practices that they share and evoke a sense of unity and a sense of pride for their nationality. The above mentioned practices I think are usually thought of when one tries to define national identity culture, but other things are included that sometimes are left out: popular music, art, literature, dances, and theater. These function to display a group or one´s pride (or disdain) for their country. When one is unhappy or ashamed to be identified as a citizen of their country, it usually has nothing to do with how their fellow mate behaves, but rather how their government functions. Therefore, it is impossible to discuss one´s national identity without discussing the nations government and politics. Before getting into that, I wanted to take the opportunity to address something: I think it is extremely important to note here that although their may be things here that I have seen that breaks my heart and that I may not agree with, I have not encountered one Nicaraguan who is ashamed of the person they are, nor their national identity. Currently we are discussing positive themes that we are asked to look for within the community here, because in the beginning some posted observations of the negative- one of the things I had said from the very beginning on one of my blogs was that horrible things exist all over the world, that poverty exists in the states as well where children are the largest population living in poverty. Something that I had said but did not write the first week we got here was that the difference is that when you travel to someplace new, one´s eyes are open, and one may be doing more observation than perhaps where they live. For example, someone from a heavily populated place such as NYC who is always in a rush to get to their next place may not notice the homeless person sleeping on the sidewalk, but that same person will probably notice the same thing but in a country they have never been to before once they arrive.
When I mentioned national identity as pride or disdain for being a citizen from one´s country, I want to give an example. Personally, at times I feel ashamed to be an American (or from the United States, since here an American refers to anyone from the Americas :-)). Some examples of when I´ve been ashamed to be an American have been when I learned the United States financed the Contras (which I knew from learning in middle school about the Iran-Contra Affair), but my teacher forgot to mention how the Contras were fighting against the Sandinistas of Nicaragua, and how our role in all of this destroyed the land, and in a way changed Nicaragua forever.
At first I was confused as to who the Contras were- were they solely Nicaraguan´s? Then I did some research on the Internet and read "Adios Muchachos: A Memoir of the Sandinista Revolution" by Sergio Ramirez. He mentions that the Contras were originally financed by the Argentinean government at the time; and according to the Wikipedia Free Encyclopedia, the label Contra was given to various groups that opposed Nicaragua´s FSLN (Frente Sandinista de Liberacion Nacional). In Nicaragua the largest Contra group was the FDN (Frente Democratica de Nicaragua), or Nicaraguan Democratic Force. Essentially, the US CIA provided not only financial aid (which the reason the Iran Contra affair was scandalous was because Iran was considered to be a terrorist country at the time, and that money from the sale of weapons to Iran was used to back the Contras), but the CIA also provided weapons and training as well. The Sandinista movement, which was a revolutionary movement that the Contras were trying to prevent and resist, was a movement essentially of the people. When the US meddles with other countries affairs when its clearly not wanted, this is when I´m not proud to be an American. People may not agree with me, we can agree to disagree, and as Voltaire, one of the Enlightenment thinkers famously said, "I do not agree with a word you say, but I will defend to my death your right to say it". I also feel the same way about our involvement in Iraq, a country whose citizens clearly do not want us to be there, and that clearly lacked the supposed "weapons of mass destruction" that Bush claimed they had- but they do have oil, don´t they? Funny how the US government claims involvement in other countries affairs is solely political or for human rights issues, and at times it is such as Darfur but to me isn´t it a bit peculiar how before the war that is referred to as Nicaragua´s civil war, although it had multinational backing, was once abundant in natural resources such as fresh water, and now people are struggling to find drinkable water? On page two, Ramirez writes "They [United States] had plundered our natural resources, our mines, our forests".
So while I feel the exact opposite of national pride, and had I been living during this time would have wanted to be disassociated from my national identity, the end result of the revolution, the victory of the Sandinista movement elicited as sense of national pride from many Nicaraguans. For example, Ramirez writes how the US placed an embargo on wheat supplies from Nicaragua, so instead Nicaraguans turned to cultivating corn. There's a saying that he talks about, "El Maiz: Nuestra Raiz", meaning that they went back to their roots and farmed as their ancestors did, by farming corn. He also writes on page 2 that "Our nationalism emerged out of that conflict" (Between the US and the FSLN)
Being able to go to the university in Managua was an amazing experience because in a sense, we were able to see the past and what the students who were part of the revolution were thinking. We were able to see a part of Nicaragua's history through the murals that still remain at the university. After Ramirez writes how opposition to the US is necessary for Nicaragua´s liberation on page 2, the following paragraph he continues to say that the call for opposition to the US was "[... ] repeated with the most virulent rhetoric in public plazas, in radio addresses and in letters to the editor in the newspaper Barricada". Although it would have been amazing to witness this historical movement, it was still emotional to feel as if we were witnessing it through the murals the students painted. In fact, the protests among the students were so strong that they even had a name for their own fight against the Contras, called FER, or Frente Estudiantil Revolucionario (Student Revolutionary Force). If you want to compare how powerful their voices were, you can say that they were similar to how our parents came out in massive force to protest against the Vietnam war (well some of our parents, mine are 52 and 56). As I was walking through the campus looking at the murals, thinking about the students that painted them and of our own ancestors in the US that fought for change, I couldn´t help but think, why isn´t and why hasn´t our generation protested against the actions of our government in Iraq, especially when Bush was president? Are we really that apathetic? If you want to compare how this Revolution in Nicaragua was, how big it was, you can say it was similar to our own revolution against England. For me, I learned something about what Fer did. Whatever type of government a country has, and the US although a democratic republic (because we have representatives that vote on matters for us, we dont vote directly), its still a form of democracy nonetheless, and in order for a government to truly function well, shouldnt the citizens participate in it? Why aren´t we fighting for change, like the FER and our parents? One of the murals said, translated in English, "We don't want militaries [referring to the presence of the US marines], we want schools and hospitals" Why arent we saying the same thing? Because when there is a war, there isnt money to pay for social services and things like education, and is the same for any country that is fighting in a war.
I also saw two murals next to each other that totally contradicted each other. On the one hand, one mural had the words that in English meant against the dictator and imperialism and had a painting of Uncle Sam with a gun to his head held by one of the Sandinistas. The other mural said for democratic liberties, all are against the dictator. To me its contradicting because on the one hand they are saying they want democracy, and the other mural shows a negative view toward America which is represented by Uncle Sam. I guess I think this is contradicting because to me, Uncle Sam is the icon for democracy.
So although I have a better understanding of what the Contras wanted and who they were, I guess Im still confused because if the biggest Contra group was the Democratic Front of Nicaragua, and the students who were for the revolution painted murals that said they wanted democracy and not a dictator, didnt they essentially want the same things?
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