Saturday, December 29, 2018

In this city, Central America is not far away

In San Francisco's Mission District, many nights a small crowd of Nicaraguans bears witness to violence and struggle in their country of origin.

Confused about what's happening in that little Central American country which has at times felt so close and so dear for so many here? You might download "Nicaragua and the Battle over Memory and History" from historian Myrna Santiago. She places the 2018 uprising against the Ortega-Murillo government in the Nicaraguan historical context:

... What is clear, however, is that this opposition movement is homegrown, massive, and fully precedented in Nicaraguan history. Where it will go is difficult to predict right at the moment, but no Nicaraguan, from the right or the left, and much less those who would wrestle the history and meaning of Sandinismo from Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, are about to surrender.

In light of that reality, what Americans ought to do is to follow the example the Nicaraguan people are setting for us and recover another piece of history: the Hands-off Nicaragua movement, whose proud membership included Mark Twain. Or, if you like, the solidarity with the people of Nicaragua movement because it should be, as it will be, the Nicaraguans who decide what to do about their government.

And so, Nicaraguans in this city gather and dance in the transit plaza.

1 comment:

  1. A guy I use on my books as cover model is married to a Nicaraguan. They have talked a lot about the problems and charitable need to send supplies of various sorts.

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