An Annotated Diary
February 28, 2006
The Arrival: The day started early with the group gathering at the gate at 4:30. We were all on the early morning flight to Miami, where we would connect with a flight that would take us into Managua, the capital of Nicaragua. We were excited about what lay before us. For myself there was a certain amount of anxiety because this was my first venture into the tropics. My bag was packed with gear that was new to me - mosquito net, malaria medication, tropical weight clothes, and a big tube of sun-block. When we arrived we were met by the Witness for Peace, (WFP) International Team leaders, Leslie Cook and Ben Beachy. They were to be our guides and translators throughout the trip. A more capable pair could not be found. Our bags were loaded on the bus that would be our mode of transportation throughout our trip and we traveled to our hostel, the Quaker House. It would find it luxurious compared to most of the dwellings we traveled past to get to it. We had time to unpack and then immediately met a wonderful woman by the name of Blanco, who was to prepare all our food while we were in Managua. I did not know there were so many ways to prepare rice and beans.
The Orientation: After lunch we moved out back to a lovely, cool enclosed garden and began our orientation. There we shared our expectations, discussed our schedule, health tips, gift-giving, roles and a culture over-view. We immediately learned what a total immersion learning experience this was going to be. We were paired up and given $36.00 Cordoba, the equivalent of $2.00 US. This is the average daily wage of a sweatshop worker in Nicaragua. We were also told that the average family had six members.
FACTS
80% of population survive on less that $2.00 US
43% on less than $1.00
12.5% on less than $ .50
With our money in hand we traveled to an open air market to buy food for an average Nicaraguan family of six. Thank goodness I was paired with someone who speaks a fair amount of Spanish. The first qualities that I noted of the native people were graciousness and an enormous amount of patience for gringos. After a lot of struggling with the language, pointing and gesticulation we spent our money. We were able to purchase the following: 6 bananas (5 Cordoba), 1 large onion (3 Cordoba), 6 eggs (11 Cordoba), 1# rice (5 Cordoba), 1# beans (6.50 Cordoba), and 8 peppers (6.50 Cordoba). During the ride back to Quaker House it began to dawn on me that our two little bags could barely feed a family of six for a day and it consumed the entire daily earnings.
For an economic contrast we were then driven to a large urban mall. It was air-conditioned and very much like any mall that you would find here in the states, including some of the same stores -- Radio Shack, Payless, Osh Gosh. What we noticed strolling through the store were Nicaraguans doing much the same thing. They were not carrying bags of purchases, most were window shopping, or hanging out much like my daughter used to do when she was a teenager. It appeared to be more a place to go and be seen than to purchase something. I wondered how the stores stayed solvent.....
When we returned to our hostel, Blanco had dinner ready for us. Did I mention that I did not know there were so many ways to prepare rice and beans. After dinner, most of us immediately crashed because we were looking at another long day beginning with breakfast at 7:30.
When we returned to our hostel, Blanco had dinner ready for us. Did I mention that I did not know there were so many ways to prepare rice and beans. After dinner, most of us immediately crashed because we were looking at another long day beginning with breakfast at 7:30.
MARCH 1
Orientation Part 2: After breakfast, Luis our bus driver was there to pick us up. We came to appreciate Luis, and his driving skills. Managua is a city where there are no street names, and very few traffic regulations, or if there are they are not enforced. Luis had a marvelous calm way of negotiating the traffic that made us feel safe. Personally, I would not want to have been driving. We were taken to the Witness for Peace house, which turned out to be our home away from home in Managua. This was another lovely home with a large covered porch on two sides of the house. We sat down in comfortable lawn chairs and let the peace of the place do its work on our anxiety about what this new day would bring. After a short devotion and reflection we were told that this porch was called the Peace Porch and it had a history. This was where the first witnesses for peace sat and recuperated when they returned from staying in the villages where they had been not much more than human shields for the villagers during the Contra led war. During the 1980’s, the Contras used their Sandinista captives as beasts of burden, or guides. Many were killed for their political beliefs, and all of it unseen and unheard by the world. As US citizens, if the village was attacked and anything happened to them, there would be an international incident. The presence of ordinary Americans who were motivated by conscience and/or religious beliefs had an impact. During the war hundreds of Witnesses for Peace became an issue for US strategic planners who were contemplating an invasion of Nicaragua. Eventually the actions of these peace activists fueled the greatest debate on war and peace to take place in America since the Vietnam War. Listening to this story, I felt like I was on hallowed ground, and I could imagine how this porch most have comforted their spirits as they sat in peace and silence surrounded by beautiful flowers and native birds singing in the branches.
Our first exercise that day was on non-violence. It was eye opening to see how insidious violence can be and the many forms that it can take. We then did an exercise that helped us understand the history of Nicaragua as one of a constant cycle of military and economic violenc.
After lunch, it was back to work and I learned a new word, Neoliberalism. It’s beginnings can be traced back to Adam Smith and his Wealth of Nations. As it stands now it means that the private sector is the engine of growth. Public services are privatized, foreign investment is encouraged. Free trade is promoted with the removal of all obstacles to a free flow of goods, (tariffs, government subsidies). This increased trade is meant to stimulate growth and the economy. The comparative advantages of such a system is that each country finds its niche, that efficiency and productivity will allow money to trickle down through society. Think, World Bank, IMO (International Monetary Fund), NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement), WFO (World Trade Organization), CAFTA (Central American Free Trade Agreement.) Not being an economist I struggled with these new concepts and their implications. To my ear it sounded a lot like an alphabet soup. I should not have worried about understanding any of this because the remainder of our trip would consist of meeting local people who were dealing with these concepts and struggling under their effects. Under this model and with free trade, countries compete using their comparative advantage. For Nicaragua that happens to be a cheap, abundant labor force. In order to exploit this 'advantage,' Nicaragua must drive down wages to compete with other poor countries that are also trying to attract foreign investment. Ben aptly called it a "race to the bottom."
Our first exercise that day was on non-violence. It was eye opening to see how insidious violence can be and the many forms that it can take. We then did an exercise that helped us understand the history of Nicaragua as one of a constant cycle of military and economic violenc.
After lunch, it was back to work and I learned a new word, Neoliberalism. It’s beginnings can be traced back to Adam Smith and his Wealth of Nations. As it stands now it means that the private sector is the engine of growth. Public services are privatized, foreign investment is encouraged. Free trade is promoted with the removal of all obstacles to a free flow of goods, (tariffs, government subsidies). This increased trade is meant to stimulate growth and the economy. The comparative advantages of such a system is that each country finds its niche, that efficiency and productivity will allow money to trickle down through society. Think, World Bank, IMO (International Monetary Fund), NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement), WFO (World Trade Organization), CAFTA (Central American Free Trade Agreement.) Not being an economist I struggled with these new concepts and their implications. To my ear it sounded a lot like an alphabet soup. I should not have worried about understanding any of this because the remainder of our trip would consist of meeting local people who were dealing with these concepts and struggling under their effects. Under this model and with free trade, countries compete using their comparative advantage. For Nicaragua that happens to be a cheap, abundant labor force. In order to exploit this 'advantage,' Nicaragua must drive down wages to compete with other poor countries that are also trying to attract foreign investment. Ben aptly called it a "race to the bottom."
Nicaragua’s national debt soared under this model but it's problems have been compounded by a corrupt government, a war fought against US trained Contras, a devastating earthquake in 1972 and the 180 mph winds of hurricane Mitch in 1998. To say the least the country is in shambles.
