MONDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 1999
Nicaragua Libre
By Arnie Matlin[Arnie Matlin is a member of the El Sauce - Rochester Ciudad Hermana Task Force in New York State and also a member of the Nicaragua Network Executive Committee.] I traveled to Nicaragua Libre three times -- twice in 1988 and once in 1989. For the first -- and possibly the last -- time in my life I had found a country whose government was dedicated to helping the poorest of its citizens. In Nicaragua Libre, health care was a right of the people and the responsibility of the government. In Nicaragua, schools and child care centers were free and open to all. In Nicaragua Libre, the revolutionary vanguard resisted the temptation to become a dictatorship, remaining true to the Nicaraguan people they vowed to serve.
Even though this tiny country was engaged in a war sponsored by our State Department and CIA, the Nicaraguan government managed to find enough funds -- and enough brigadistas -- to staff the health centers and health posts in almost every community.
Internationalistas came to Nicaragua from all over the world to experience the revolution and to help defend it. Sandino's spirit -- and his portrait -- were everywhere. Everyone was poor, but no one was without hope.
Of course the FSLN made mistakes. Probably their biggest mistake was to underestimate Ronald Reagan's fanatical determination to destroy the Nicaraguan revolution. Even so, the FSLN was able to carry out its pledge to provide self-determination, health care, land, and literacy to Nicaragua's workers and campesinas/os.
The more I think about those first trips to Nicaragua, the more the memories come flooding back. The evening we arrived at Sandino airport, someone had missed a communication, and no one was there to greet us and transport us to the hotel. A young compañera from Tur-Nica took us under her wing, found a bus, transported us across Managua, learned that our hotel was full, got back into the bus, and took us back to Hotel Las Mercedes. This young woman had already worked a full day, but she never complained about the extra work. In fact, she apologized for the confusion.
Our small Rochester delegation visited a cooperative farm outside El Sauce, our Ciudad Hermana. The Contras had attacked the farm with mortars. The leader of the cooperative had been wounded. He greeted us with a warm smile, even though U.S.-backed mercenaries had killed his only son. He had a cane in one hand, and an AK-47 in the other. His first words to us were, "Welcome to Las Mercedes cooperative farm." He had forgiven us, the norteamericanos/as, for what our government had done to him and his family.
My close friend, the late Nimian Ortiz, worked all day at her job in the Ministry of Education, then spent her evenings and weekends attending meetings, organizing workshops, and encouraging the Sauceñas/os and internationalistas to believe in the revolution and to work hard to fulfill Sandino's dream.
At the "Melania Morales" CDI (Centro de Desarollo Infantil) in Managua, the staff cared for hundreds of children every day. The kids were well-fed, well-dressed, and happy. The budget for the school was tiny, and the work was hard. The director -- Nereyda D'Arce -- was working 14 hours a day, and the staff members were working almost as much. They were paid very little, but they knew that their work moved the revolution forward, and they carried out their duties despite all hardships.
Two nurses stand out in my mind. A small, sturdy, dark-skinned Nicaraguan nurse (Eva María Rivas) and a tall, slender, fair-skinned Danish nurse (whose name I don't remember) worked side by side in a tiny health post. Their post had a tin roof that leaked, and the rain turned the dirt floor into mud. Both nurses wore clean, starched white uniforms. Despite the lack of resources, every patient in that clinic knew that s/
he would be cared for with concern and respect. This was visually the most dramatic example of international cooperation -- and skilled nursing against all odds -- that I've ever seen.
I saw these changes with my own eyes, and lived them through the eyes of my Nicaraguan friends and colleagues. The changes brought about by the FSLN were real, and they were wonderful. That's why I'm bonded to the FSLN, and proud to say that I am "Siempre Sandinista."
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