By Becca Renk

(Becca Renk has lived in Ciudad Sandino, Nicaragua, for more than 20 years, working in sustainable community development with the Jubilee House Community and its project, the Center for Development in Central America. Becca coordinates the Casa Benjamin Linder solidarity project in Managua.)

Peace has always been fundamental to me.

My first forays into activism were for peace – as an elementary school student blowing up balloons for a protest when the white train carrying nuclear warheads passed through my hometown in Idaho; organizing a protest of the first Gulf War in junior high school; writing letters to protest Army recruiters being allowed on school grounds in high school.

I love peace so much that I studied it in college – my bachelor’s degree is in Peace and Global Studies. So it was with some surprise that I found myself sobbing tears of gratitude recently during a military speech. September 2nd was the 45th anniversary of the founding of the Nicaraguan Army, and President Daniel Ortega began his speech to the troops by talking about peace, which he defined as “well-being for the poorest.”

“Today we are able to hold this celebration in times of peace, and how much has it cost to reach this stage of peace. Peace meaning well-being for the poorest.… In peace we can fight poverty. In peace we can ensure education for all families, for the children of working-class families, rural families, poor families with low incomes.”

As I listened to the President’s address, I didn’t just tear up, I sobbed tears of gratitude. Gratitude to the Nicaraguan Revolution for identifying poverty as its number one enemy and fighting against that enemy with everything it’s got. Gratitude for being able to see with my own eyes the alleviation of so much suffering in my time. Gratitude that I’ve been able to contribute my grain of sand to this struggle.

Gratitude that we are not alone in this, that we are working in concert, struggling shoulder to shoulder with the government of the people of Nicaragua to vanquish poverty together in this beautiful country.

My tears, however, were also tears of sorrow for my country of birth. I have always held a vain hope for a similar struggle against poverty in the United States. When I was a kid, I went to school with kids who didn’t have enough to eat, with kids who were constantly sick because their parents couldn’t afford to take them to the doctor, with kids whose families didn’t have running water or a good way to heat their house. In the thirty years since I left home, the situation for families like theirs has only gotten worse, for the simple reason that the well-being for the poorest is not in the interests of those that govern the United States.

When I was growing up in the 1980s and early 90s, my sister and I attended public school in Idaho. Every year, like schoolkids all around the U.S., we were required to raise money for the school: selling candy bars door-to-door; making desserts for bake sales; asking businesses to sponsor us for each mile we’d ride in the annual Bike-A-Thon, pedal five and a half miles with our classmates, then go back and collect the money…all just to get enough cash to keep the school going.

Yet, 43% of the U.S. annual Federal budget goes toward military spending. As the old protest poster says, “It’ll be a great day when our schools get all the money they need and the Air Force has to hold a bake sale to buy a bomber.” So, during President Ortega’s speech to the Nicaraguan Army, I was also crying for all those who are suffering in the U.S., with no hope of poverty alleviation from their government.

Unlike the U.S., Nicaragua has actually been invaded by a foreign country in recent history – mostly by the U.S. It also suffered 10 years of U.S. proxy war which targeted civilians, health centers and schools. It suffered a U.S.-led and funded coup attempt in 2018 and is currently suffering under illegal unilateral coercive measures – sanctions – and suffers continued destabilization attempts from the U.S.

Yet, even with such real threats to national security, Nicaragua’s total military spending is only 3% of the national budget.

Where does Nicaragua invest the majority of its funds? In peace, in, as President Ortega says, the “well-being of the poorest.” Social spending is 53% of Nicaragua’s annual budget – free education preschool through university, universal free health care, low-income housing, low-interest loans and much more.

Nicaragua knows what it is like to live in times of war, and therefore peace is truly precious here. It is such a privilege to be able to experience living in a country that is truly at peace, and to see what can be accomplished when peace, the well-being of the poorest, is prioritized. May peace always reign in Nicaragua!

* * * * *

Briefs
By Nan McCurdy

Third Exercise for the Protection of Life is Ready
Vice President Rosario Murillo announced that, on September 23, the third national exercise to prepare for the protection of life in multi-threat situations will take place. In this third exercise of the last three years the experiences from the first two will be put to the test. “Sometimes there are disasters that are not related to the climate and some are disasters produced by people,” she said.  She pointed out that we must always be ready and willing to face any challenge, especially in these times of so much misfortune due to climate change. Murillo said that it is necessary to be prepared for unexpected events, taking into account that Nicaragua is a seismic, volcanic and mountainous country. Thousands of people, especially young people, will participate in the event. (La Primerisima, 16 September 2024)

Three Nicaraguan Coffee Growers among Coffee Awards Finalists 
In the ninth edition of the prestigious Ernesto Illy International Award for Sustainable Quality in Espresso Coffee, an award in memory of Ernesto Illy, son of the company’s founder, with more than three decades of history, the “Best of the Best” and the “Coffee Lovers Choice” will be chosen from among many coffee producers. Awards will be presented on November 12 in New York. The three finalists from Nicaragua are Finca Santa Ana of Aida Lila Zeledón Palacios; Grupo Productores Olam Nicaragua, and SMS Cluster ECOM Nicaragua. This year’s finalists also come from Brazil, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Honduras, India and Rwanda. (La Primerisima, 13 September, 2024)

168th Anniversary of the Battle of San Jacinto to Oust Yankee Imperialism
On September 14, President Daniel Ortega gave a speech at the commemoration of the battle of the Central American forces against those of filibuster William Walker on that day in 1856. Here are excerpts from his speech:

“That first defeat of Yankee imperialism in the battle of San Jacinto was, for all of us, a proud one. We Commemorate today the 168th anniversary of the Battle of San Jacinto and the 203rd Anniversary of the Independence of Central America. In 1855 – 34 years after Independence, our Independence and that of all Central America was threatened by the invasion of the slaveholders and expansionists of Yankee Imperialism, led by William Walker, brought here by those who sold out their Nation! The sell outs of the ruling classes then in Nicaragua, Liberals and Conservatives both paid homage to William Walker. But the people began to fight against them, Heroes like General José Dolores Estrada took the lead in the battles against the Yankee filibusters. But still they managed to occupy the city of Granada, which was the only city they took.

“Meanwhile, Walker had already had himself elected president of Nicaragua by the wealthy and the sell-outs. Walker, representing the US, had taken Nicaragua and they already felt that Nicaragua was becoming yet one more state of the United States, one more little star of the United States. The first thing Walker decreed, on becoming President was slavery. Just look at the kind of democrat he was! This is the famous democracy so much talked about that European governments, as well as the United States government, moved by the economic interests of savage capitalism, dedicated themselves to turning the peoples of Africa into slaves…. It is a historic day because it is the first defeat of the Yankee Imperialists in Our America, here in Nicaragua. There in San Jacinto, with General José Dolores Estrada at the head, and Andrés Castro who threw a stone in defense of Nicaraguan sovereignty, confronting the invaders.

“In the end, what was left for the invaders, after being defeated by the Nicaraguan patriots, all that was left for them was to burn down the City of Granada. That is, they left the City of Granada on fire and put up a sign that said ‘Here was Granada.’ Walker and his men fled and there, in the port, a United States ship was waiting to take them to the United States where they were welcomed as heroes. But that first defeat of Yankee expansionism, of Yankee imperialism was a proud one here in Nicaragua, at the Hacienda San Jacinto. And today we remember the 168th Anniversary of that Battle of San Jacinto at the same time as we commemorate the 203rd Anniversary of Independence.” [Editor’s note: If you find this history interesting, I recommend a 1987 film called Walker. You can find it on youtube. Most of the film is true but it is told in a tongue and cheek way. It is a great way to have fun and learn about this period in Nicaragua’s history.] (Tortilla con Sal, 15 September, 2024)

Specialized Attention for Children with Hearing and Language Difficulties
The Carlos Fonseca National Center of Audiology and Speech Therapy has provided medical attention to 1,778 children with hearing and language difficulties so far this year.  More than 450,000 assessments were also made of elementary school students as part of the national healthy schools plan, with the purpose of detecting children with hearing difficulties in order to guarantee their medical attention. In the last four years, about 27,000 children with language problems and hearing difficulties were seen at the center. They received specialized treatments, hearing aids, and complementary therapies. (La Primerisima, 16 September 2024)

Ministry of the Interior Provided more than 117,000 Services
The Ministry of the Interior, MINT, through all its directorates provided 117,019 services and attention throughout the country during the week of September 7 to 13, 2024. Fernanda Estrada, officer of the United Fire Departments, said that from the 214 stations nationwide, they attended 5,131 people and/ or establishments. Other actions by the MINT included 3,861 services and 644 prevention activities like: visits to homes and market areas, inspection of fire hydrants and vehicles transporting flammable materials, protection of public and sports events, electrical inspection and more. 605 emergencies were attended in pre-hospital care and patient transfer, rescue of people and animals, short circuits and liquefied petroleum gas leaks. (La Primerisima, 16 September 2024)

Nicaragua Wins Bronze in Baseball World Cup
The Nicaraguan National Under 23 Baseball Team won the bronze medal in their category at the Baseball World Cup held this year in Shaoxing, China. Japan defeated Puerto Rico, 5-1 in the final for first place, taking the gold medal and leaving Puerto Rico with the silver. The Nicaraguans defeated China 3-1 for the bronze medal earning their first U-23 World Cup medal. At the airport to great them upon their return from China were Managua Deputy Mayor Enrique Armas, leaders of the Sandinista Youth, family members, and baseball fans. (Radio La Primerisima, 18 September; WBSC, 15 September)

NicaNotes Editor Nan McCurdy Becomes a Nicaraguan Citizen
The editor of NicaNotes, Nan McCurdy, is now a citizen of Nicaragua. McCurdy was born in Jacksonville, Illinois, USA, but has been linked to the Nicaraguan people and their Revolution for more than 40 years. From her Christian faith, Nan has been a tireless defender of the Nicaraguan people’s right to independence and self-determination, fighting the ideological battle from the trenches of the media and social networks. Married to Miguel Mairena Aragón, a missionary of the United Methodist Church, Nan McCurdy received on September 13 Nicaraguan nationality in a ceremony which was also attended by her daughter, Nora Francis Mitchell McCurdy and her son-in-law, Lino Alvarado. See photos:  https://radiolaprimerisima.com/nan-mc-curdy-ya-es-ciudadana-nicaraguense/ (La Primerisima, 13 September 2024)