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Published: March 3rd 2008
The girls and I just saw a movie called CHARLIE WILSONS WAR... most of why I went was to be able to sit in an air conditioned and dark space for three hours (its so hot here that often its hard to motivate oneself to move), but it turned out to be a pretty interesting and relevant flick. The movie was about this US congressman named Charlie Wilson who managed to raise the US budget for covert operations in Afghanistan from 5 million to 1 billion dollars during the cold war in order to defeat the russians. I could go on about this for a while, but basically the movie portrayed Charlie with all of his character flaws... he was a major womanizer, pretty impulsive and gave an inside look into how US covert operations are run which is pretty disturbing and awesomely hypocritical. In this movie Charlie made a lot of his decisions to impress women, or becuase of his emotions illustrating how huge political decisions are often based on very HUMAN flaws and instincts... I think thats where the structure of government is flawed, putting individuals (who inevitably will make mistakes) in positions where their actions have the possibility to shape the lives of people that they will will never be directly connected to. One thing that stood out about this movie was how emotionally moved Charlie was by the plight of the Afghani people in fighting the Russians (thousands being murdered, living in Refugee camps) which motivated his actions to increase US military support... now however the US is bombing Afghanistan under the guise of the War on Terror, reversing roles with the Russians and having armed Afghanistan with an array of lethal weapons. The other interesting thing about Charlie Wilson was that he was a supporter of the Somoza dictatorship in Nicaragua, which is quite the reality for me now as Ive been in Leon Nicaragua for the past couple days, one of the countrys Sandinista strongholds. Ok enough of my anti American rant... its just that US foreign policy has played a major role in causing substantial wars in a lot of the countries that Im passing through.
After San Pedro (Guatemala) we headed down to Antigua for a few days. Antigua is a colonial extremely touristed city with lots of italian restaurants and old couples drinking expensive red wine. Its pretty quaint though, cobblestone streets and squares that make you do a double take and question if your in Europe. Our accomadation in Antigua was provided by Hickey Hiller through couch surfing (an international network of travellers who offer up spare space in there house for other travellers to stay). It was nice not having to pay for accomodation in over pricey Antigua, and the experience was definitely interesting. Hickey and Dave (the owners of the house) are major partyers and own a bar... we didnt see much of them as they spent most of there time at satellite girlfriends houses. There were two other surfers there with us, one of whom, Kevin, we develloped quite a disliking towards. Im not going to get into it, but we basically had to watch him charm girls into the apartment all weekend and then swear violently when they left without having slept with him. We managed to also meet some really inspiring musicians from a music group called Kukul. They were super open and I ended up jamming with them at one of their shows which was a pretty memorable oppurtunity. We also spent one night at Dominiques (the trombonist) apartment jamming away on his roof under the stars. Dominique was a special person, there was something about his energy that was really calming and understanding. When we were at his place he showed me his meteorite. Some time ago Dominique spent 6 months living in the Mexican desert. Here he learned a bit about meteorite spirituality, the unique energy they possess. He spent one month in the desert looking for ¨his¨ meteorite. On his last night he was ready to give up, but decided to take one last walk away from his tent before going to bed... He found it, buried beneath some sand. The stone is the size of a real human heart, and his fingers fit perfectly into the grooves. He wants a friend to craft the stone into a mouth piece for his trombone, so that he can make music through a piece of a star. When he said that my mouth sort of dropped open, something very beautiful about that image.
Another really amazing experience in Antigua was climbing Volcan Pacaya, one of Guatemalas most active volcanoes. Chrissy and I pitched a tent on the side of the huge volcanic crater for the night... it was unbelievable watching the glow of real lava at night, one the most mesmerizing things Ive ever seen. In the morning we hiked around the crater and then through it which feels a lot like being on a different planet. Huge cliffs of volanic rock rising around you, the sound of the lava flowing (like a waterfall, but hollower), everything in the distance being hazy from the heat. Once again, the safety difference in Guatemalan tourism ended up being to our advantage as we could freely walk up to lava and poke it with a stick (cant imagine that heppening in Canada).
We are now in Leon Nicaragua, after a 2 day express bus ride through Honduras and El Salvador. Leon has a different feeling about it. Its really tranquil and people walk around like they own the streets. Something very different from Guatemala is that people here are pretty knowledgeable and actually care about the political history and future of there country. Im going to include some info about some of the political history of Nicaragua... fell free to skip over it if you feel so inclined.
Somoza
Nicaragua was ruled by a 46 year dictatorship under the Somoza family…the dictatorship has been described as one of the cruelest to ever exist. Under the Somozas the needs of the people were largely ignored, when a large earthquake hit in 1972, it killed millions and nothing was done to help with any of the damage. Somoza killed anyone who opposed him (or was suspected of opposing him) in very cruel ways; for instance… feeding people to panthers in his private estate, public castration etc. Originally the US backed the Somoza dictatorship because it gave them access to Nicaragua’s resources and allowed them to have quite a bit of control in the country. Franklin Delanor Roosevelt is quotes as saying “He may be a son of a bitch, but he’s our son of bitch” (Oh, the wisdom of American presidents). Eventually though, the violence under the dictator got really bad, and the US was forced to support the removal of Somoza.
Sandino
Sandino is a revolutionary hero in Nicaragua who inspired the creation of the Sandinista political party. His hat is a powerful political and poetic symbol that can be found all over Nicaragua. Sandino stood up against US intimidation and took his army to the mountains where the beginnings of the Frente (the common name for the Sandinista political party) were born. He was assassinated after having signed a peace treaty by some of Somoza’s thugs.
The FSLN (Frente Sandinista de Liberacion Nacional)
While the Somoza dictatorship reined, a revolutionary force (the FSLN) formed in the mountains of Nicaragua. They led a revolution which overthrew the Somoza dictatorship in 1979 (Marxist is a tricky word as the communism seen in Latin America is quite different from communism in Europe). From 1979-1984 the Sandistas ruled through a national directorate (a government composed of a few members who hold most of the power) known as The Junta of National Reconstruction. In November of 1984 a presidential election was held and won by DANIEL ORTEGA a member of the Frente. The elections were controversial… electoral observers in the region called them “the fairest elections ever seen in Latin America”, but opposition parties and the US administration claimed that the elections were unfair and corrupt.
The main goal of the FSLN was to distribute power more equally amongst the people of Nicaragua and attempt to create a democratic state. After they were elected they began giving previously state owned land back to the people. They wanted everyone to have enough land to at least survive off of… this is mentioned a lot in the book, almost everyone is Nicaragua is poor but almost no one is starving. The FSLN also created and put in place a new constitution. Public forums were conducted in the constitution’s creation where people could discuss and vote on measures of the document... the aim was to have a general consensus of the population. The constitution outlines major rights like the right; to vote, to be elected, to have housing/education/ and health care, to free speech/ assembly/ thought/religion. It holds the state responsible for providing social security/welfare and protection from hunger and of the environment. The constitution focuses on a high level of participation from the people in government (multipartism) and a mixed economy with the well being of the people coming before the need to generate profit. (SOUNDS GOOD…on paper)
The US opposition to the FSLN
In the heart of the Cold War, the US jumped on anything communist, so they therefore heavily opposed the Sandinistas from the beginning and portrayed them as cruel corrupt dictators. The CIA created a counter revolutionary army in Honduras called La Contra that fought against the FSLN using mainly guerilla war tactics. The US was found to be violating international law by the “Hague rulings” in 1986, however this did not stop them. Shortly after, the US House of Representatives approved Reagan’s request for 100 million dollars worth of “aid” to back the counter revolution.
There’s a part in the novel that really stood out to me… it’s an interaction that takes place between Nicaragua’s Minister of Foreign affairs (Miguel D’Escoto) and a White House Rep (We’ll call him Hank) as recounted by D’Escoto.
D’Escoto- maybe both the US and Nicaraguan governments should abide by international law
Hank- (laughs) you’re ignoring the facts which are that a counter-revolution is being funded and will continue to be funded... this is harming Nicaraguans is it not?
D’Escoto- What do you suggest that we do?
Hank- Just do as we say and you’ll see how this trouble you’ve got will disappear. Overnight. As if by magic…Just do as we say.
There are constant examples of US intimidation, it seems to occur so frequently that for the people it is almost a part of their culture. Rushdie (a writer who wrote a book about Nica) describes it as an example of unrequited love… US customs and influence are all through out Nicaragua; kids playing superman, people gathering around to watch American baseball, Double Bubble gum in the candy machines… but there is also an constant and undeniable pressure that hangs in the air, constantly reminding Nicaraguans that they are never alone in their own country.
We were taken through a revolutionary museum by a super enthusiastic guy named Jorge, an actual ex Sandinista who fought in the war. He showed us pictures and old magazine aritcles, making huge gestures with his hands and opening his eyes widely after the mention of certain battles. I also talked to another revolution vet who now sells icecream... interesting contrast. Its a new feeling being in a place where people are semi concious of how histroy has and is affecting them. Leon is also full of art, lots of political murals, graffiti, museums... again big contrast to Guatemala where the art we saw there was a lot of the same traditional stuff, not that thats bad, just different. Oh yeah, Leon has a real supermarket, like Safeway with about 10 different brands of oil... we spent our first 10 minutes in there wandering in speechless wonder.
Even though this entry may give off the vibe that ive been extremely active, ive spent most of the last few days laying around our hostel, trying to gather up the motivation to go and do something cultural in the face of extreme heat... ive now realized though that lying in a hammock because its hot is one of the most authentic cultural things that i could be doing. As for more earthly updates... I have a cold and a small zit on my chin, my back pack has way to much stuff in it and needs to be purged, ive met 4 people named Juan in the past 2 days, air conditioned spaces are amazing even if theyre energy inefficient, and last but not least... I have a chocolate ice cream addiction. Its getting to the point now where I crave a cone at about 1 30 in the afternoon everyday, after each cone I tell myself that it will be the last one, but it never is. Oh the hard life of a traveller. LOVE.
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Lise
non-member comment
thanks for this informative and entertaining entry!
Hey Claire! This was very interesting. I enjoyed reading your entry very much. Learning about a place when physically there is so much richer and multifaceted, isn't it? I'm glad that the people in Nicaragua are political and aware. They have been cheated enough throughout history. Must be refreshing to see that - especially for us, numbed-by-comfort northamericans. As for your addiction to chocolate ice cream, I wouldn't worry if I were you. It sounds like a pretty healthy addiction. :-) How are the sore throats? Are you girls heading out to the beach? Warm (hot) weather sounds like a very attractive thing from my perspective. It is wet and cold here in Vancouver - a winter that doesn't want to let go. Lots of birds though! I think they are trying to coax Spring into springing. xoxoxo lots of love to you and the travel team. Please hug Vanessa for me. lise