El Salvador

Hello everyone! Well, yesterday we made the 10 hour bus ride from Managua to San Salvador, with two border crossings in between. I never thought that crossing the borders in Honduras and El Salvador could take less time and effort than crossing into Nicaragua. We made the trip in a sweet double decker bus, which was a first for almost all of us, and I rode shotgun on the top level...it was so exciting!

With my last post, we were just getting ready to visit the Nemagon protest in front of the downtown Legislative building. It was a pretty difficult experience. To clarify a little more, Nemagon is a pesticide that was used by big banana companies (Dole, DelMonte, Chiquita, Standard Fruit and others) in the 70s-90s. It was made illegal in the United States around the 80s, as it was causing sterility, birth defects, and soaring cancer rates, however the companies continued to use it in Central America. The company that produced the chemical tried to stop selling it to the banana companies, but they then sued on the grounds that the contract was not being completed. So, after having them sign paperwork saying they knew the side effects the drug was having and were willing to use it anyway, the chemical company agreed to finish the contract. The people we met at the protest are the people who worked in the banana fields while the drug was in use. For 15 years they have been fighting for justice and reparations after suffering from sterility, cancer, and a laundry list of bad side effects. This time they have been protesting in front of the government building for the last 11 months, living in cardboard shacks without any protection from the elements, living off the small support that Daniel Ortega´s government is giving them. What is so sad is that, after having worked and been abused by bad lawyers in the past (awhile back, a large group of those affected were convinced to take a settlement of $100 a person and nothing more), they have decided to forego legal representation and wait for the banana companies to approach them with a settlement that is fair. They aren´t even willing to place a price on how much they want per person, which is so frustrating because there is no way the companies will come meet with them if they don´t even have any specific demands, or legal representation. They know that there is little chance of getting anything, it seems that they just want a little recognition. The man we talked with basically just said it was their last stand before they all die of cancer. It was an extremely sad experience. I talked with a 9 year old boy who was living there with his mother and two younger siblings (his mom worked in the banana fields back in the day). They aren´t attending school and have no other children to play with. It seems a hopeless situation, and yet they all had such hope and kept saying that they were just waiting for God´s blessing.

The next day we went to a lakeside resort-type place. It was a bungalow, Punta Mona like place, only much more touristy. It was so great to have a day off after all the intense things we have been seeing. We made the most of the gorgeous lake, floating dock, innertubes, and kayaks. It was a blast, but we definately are all still feeling the effects of the sun...we still look like lobsters!

On Thursday we went to the Masaya Volcano, which is active. Unfortunately, we didn´t get a good view of any lava, just the smoke. Apparently when the Spanish came they thought there was gold in the volcano. Later they decided it was a gateway to hell, and built a giant cross on it, to protect themselves. During the years of dictatorship, Somoza was known to have dropped people out of helicopters into the volcano.

That evening we met with Fernando Cardenal, brother of Ernesto Cardenal. It was so awe-inspiring to hear the story of a man who lived with the poor as he studied to become a Jesuit priest, and then eventually became part of the Sandinista revolution, following God´s call on his life to serve the poor and bring them justice. After the revolution, he became the Minister of Education and started the Literacy program which brought Nicaragua´s illiteracy rate from over 51% to 12.9% in only 5 months. His life has been so epic, and it was so encouraging to hear that he is still actively fighting poverty and injustice. At the end he gave us all hugs and kisses on the cheek, a perfect goodbye to Nicaragua.

Well, I am having a hard time believing that we only have 3 weeks left. We got our final schedule yesterday, and the end of it was us flying back to the States. Please pray that we will all be present in the moment, and finish this trip off strong. Pray that we will have health and energy to make this final push, and that God will continue speaking to us and changing us into the men and women he wants us to be. You guys have no idea how much I have appreciated your prayers and support, or how much I covet them for these last three weeks!

Love Emily