Nicaragua, An Experience Like No Other

This is more introspective than most of my posts that deal with the more distant past. I grew up in a small town where my parents associated with like-minded people and supported anti-war causes during the Vietnam War. Dad ran for U.S. Congress in 1970 against a long time “hawk” in a conservative, rural district and was defeated soundly. We followed the Watergate hearings on our small, black and white TV during the summer of 1973 and cheered when Nixon resigned. 

My mother enjoyed being socially conscious. She demonstrated for peace at a nearby air base. A letter to the New York Times that was printed in the Sunday Magazine was one of her greatest achievements. When she traveled to Nicaragua with Witness for Peace from August 20^th to 29^th, 1988 she was 64. She wrote a diary that I read now with my own 60-year-old eyes. We are in strange times these 30 years later. How will I, how will each of us, make a difference?

Brief background: Daniel Ortega was President of Nicaragua in 1988, leader of the Sandinista National Liberation Front which had successfully overthrow the dictatorial Somoza government. While supplying economic aid to Ortega’s government, the U.S. under Regan continued to back the opposition right-wing Contras in the continuing civil war. Daniel Ortega was reelected in 2006 and rules today. The more things change, the more they stay the same. The Level 3 advisory issued 6 July 2018 by the U.S. State Department lists crime, civil unrest and limited health care availability as significant deterrents to travel. Non-emergency U.S. government personnel have been brought home. My son wisely decided against crossing into Nicaragua this summer as he toured nearby countries.

These are the words of Betty Simmons as she entered this war zone as a Witness for Peace:

This was an experience like no other. I answered a notice in the Sun in May. Went to a planning meeting in June where I met many of my fellow travelers. It seemed like a real mixed group: two Syracuse University students, a language teacher, a photographer, a Maryknoll priest and a nun, a social service worker, two retired men, a Witness for Peace young man; one or two who plan to go were not able to attend. We hope for 16.

Joe is supportive; Hugh thinks I am insane; representative of reactions. Solidarity from true friends. 

July and August, time for preparation: shots, ordering medications, thinking of what to pack and what not to pack. Collected antibiotics, soap, pens, etc. to leave there. Many well wishes, calls, just before time to leave.

Final meeting at Larry Tetler’s in Fayetteville on Friday night. Joe took me. Proud to have two carry-on sized bags and my small backpack. We talked of money – I am to carry ¼ of our funds for Nicaragua. We labeled a number of cartons: dental, medical, and school supplies.

The participants:

Sharon Souva

Sr. Chris Slomiliski

Barb deFrancqueville

Bonnie Windfield

Kate Adams

Mary Sopchak

Sophie Oldfield

Dennis Nett

Rev. Ted Sizing

George Burton

Ben Tupper

Clayton Koontz

Peter Wirth

Larry Tetler

Sim Doherty

Jack Pelletier

and me!

August 20

Overnight with Clayton. Fitful sleep. Good hot shower. Coffee and fresh peaches for breakfast. His wife drove us to the airport where (all but Sophie) met. Boxes checked through. Off at 7:00 with a stop in Cleveland and long wait in Miami. On to Honduras. Two stops for fuel. Then at Tegucigalpa to change planes. Can see many U.S. helicopters and planes and many armed soldiers at the airport, a duty-free shop, a woman selling drinks from a make-shift bar and sitting on a carton. In less than an hour aboard our second TAM-Sasa flight for about ½ hour flight to Managua. Too dark to see much of anything. Took quite a while to change our money ($60 each, 380 c. to $1) and get our yellow visa. We all adopted a woman and her baby (months old) coming from Miami to visit her family in Managua. No soldiers here!

We were met by Michelle, a long-term Witness for Peace, and Don Reasoner, Center for International Dialogue. Our bus is far from new. The owner and a driver go with it. Off to our hotel Colibri. Bonnie, Mary, Sophie and I volunteer to sleep next door. Introduction to the third world: dim light, people at a table near the entry, clothing drying, shower and latrine, stationary tubs. Down the hall to our room: four cots, no window, very warm (like Hong Kong). It was a long, long day. Paper thin walls: two young men talking over their evening.