Nicaragua has so much natural beauty, and so much poverty. As one new friend from the Consumer Network here pointed out, they are not a poor country. They are rich in resources. For those of you who saw 'Greetings From Missile Street', you may remember Kathy Kelly speaking of 'enforced poverty'. Such is the case in many places, and there are numerous methods by which this form of violence is executed.
There is also an invading hegemony here in Managua. Perhaps it is more accurate to say that the invasion has already taken place. Pepsi, Coke, McDonalds, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Shell, Esso... on and on it goes. They're here. There are Nicaraguans who see this as progress. There seem to be more who, no matter what their political position on the matter, simply cannot afford to take part in the changes in any way.
Part of an effective invasion seems to involve erasing as much of a culture or country's history as possible. I have already heard from many people that most of the young Nicaraguans have no sense of history. They have no knowledge of the revolution that took place in the late 70s/ early 80s. And now, though a Sandanista minority still exists, it seems they may have lost their vision. More on that later.
The Consumer Network is a very dynamic group who work on, among other issues, water privatization issues. The network has referred me to many people and places where I can get more information on concerns being raised by what seems to be the impending beginnings of privatization of Nicaragua's water. It will be a busy couple of weeks, and I am very excited about it!
Posted by Joe Public at August 20, 2003 04:35 PMInvading fast-food restaurants hardly seems like progress. But how do developing countries develop--who makes the decisions, and how? How much influence can the developed countries have? Do we in the U.S., for example, with all our consumer goods, have the right (moral or otherwise) to tell a developing nation, don't do it this way? Can we help them learn from our mistakes without making it seem that we are asking them to make sacrifices or stay less-developed?
Posted by: Sara at August 21, 2003 10:02 AMWhen I was in Nicaragua in March, we saw a billboard from BellSouth, which said "Nicaragua is BellSouth Territory," superimposed over a picture of one of Nicaragua's characteristic volcanoes and one of its lakes. For a country which has seen so many invasions from the United States, this is a message that implies,"your country belongs to us." The Nicaraguans didn't choose to have BellSouth there.
Posted by: arnie at August 21, 2003 08:46 PMI traveled to Nicaragua last May with a group from my college in New Hampshire. It changed my whole perspective on the way i see the world. I think that it is great that you are making videos like this, that will educate and teach people!!
Posted by: Jenn at September 20, 2003 03:24 AMI think you are right about the invasion of other countries into Nicaragua although I don't feel that it is necessarily a bad thing. Japan, for instance, is doing a lot to help out in Nicaragua, but I do agree that the younger generation do not know a lot about the history and culture of their own country which is terribly sad. I am from the United States, but my husband is Nicaraguan and my son is both. I have been to Nicaragua several times in the past year that my husband has been waiting on his visa of residency in the United States and I think it is a beautiful country full of history and rich in culture. I have also found that the people here are extremely different from what you find in my country, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse, but for the most part I find them hard working and not easily discouraged. I would love to see Nicaragua grow and fulfill every dream of every person, but I feel that that dream is a long time coming. However, I do appreciate the people who are actively trying to make more people aware of the situation in Nicaragua and who are trying to help out and make the entire world a better place.
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