Greetings in Solidarity from Arenal, Nicaragua
Nov 21st, 2007 by Rob Currie
After being hit on September 4th by a “category 5″ Hurricane Felix, for the first time in our history here in Nicaragua we had 50 consecutive days of rain (reminded me of the annual monsoons in India). Over 300 deaths, 200,000 left homeless (the equivalent of over 10 million people in the United States), the region´s most extensive rain forest destroyed, and food prices soaring (the price of beans–our national staple–quadrupled). As a result of the hurricane, continued rains, and increasing lack of food and drinking water available, we faced two national epidemics–dengue (caused by mosquito bites) and leptospirosis (caused by rat bites). All of this in addition to the increasing havoc being played on our power and drinking water systems by the international oil situation (half the community in Arenal–the village where I live and work–has not had drinking water in their homes for more than four years). As Dan Berrigan has written: “No great miracles for us, not even small ones.”
I sometimes feel awkward sharing the above reality, because the last thing that folks in Arenal want to communicate is a “poor me/poor us” mentality. Decades of resistance and trying to create alternatives doesn´t leave time for self-pity, much less discouragement which, in a situation of survival, is simply an unaffordable luxury. The women and youth of Arenal continue to be tuned to the struggle for survival and the search for alternatives, in collaboration with similar communities in the region and around the world.
As I write this, we´re commemorating the 18th anniversary of the women and Jesuits assassinated in El Salvador–an anniversary of a modern-day crucifixion that we celebrate as a sign of hope that all of us remain faithful in the struggle, in the face of whatever lies in our path. Only then will we be able to experience the joy and gift of resurrection.
The women and youth of Arenal continue to open new paths to what they hope will lead to a somewhat better future. Beginning in January, we´ll have between 25 and 30 youngsters studying at the university-level–an extraordinary number for a village community in Nicaragua. Nineteen youngsters have already graduated and have fulltime employment; half of these graduates continue to work, organize, and mobilize in the Arenal community in their “free” time. Young women who have to work in surrounding textile factories (a nice way to say “sweatshops”) owned by North American, Canadian, Korean, and Taiwanese corporations, are organizing in the community in order to free themselves from these factories. They have already bought a few sewing machines in order to prepare clothing, bed sheets, and school uniforms to sell locally and in Costa Rica.
Quetzalcoalt (the youth dance group in Arenal) continues to respond to requests from all over to give performances of traditional Nicaraguan dance, preserving our customs and traditions in the face of the consumer avalanche that bombards us through the mass media. The community is preparing the 4th annual Village Fair for the third Sunday of December (you´re invited!), in which village communities near and far come together to share local foods, music, dance, art, stories, craft works, and what little we´ve been able to grow in the way of corn and beans during the year.
A team of young women continue to operate a popular pharmacy and laboratory in Arenal which has had to work overtime in the last couple of months to keep the ongoing health crisis from getting out of control. They do terrific work!
My experience here in Arenal continues to teach me many things. One of the most important lessons I´ve learned is that, as the economic situation grows worse and worse, the energy level of the women and youth in the community grows greater and greater. A seeming contradiction, but in reality it´s folks living the crucifixion in a way that offers the promise of resurrection: “the human, the difficult step-by-step, hard-won eventual glory” (Dan Berrigan, 1993).