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Best of What We Are

20 May, 2011 11:01:00 By Jim Parisi

More than 100,000 Nicaraguans died in the last years of the Somoza regime, and during the U.S. sponsored war with the Contras, more than 3% of Nicaragua’s entire population also died. Both are sobering statistics. John Brentilinger is a professor of philosophy at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and the author of “Villa Sin Miedo,” a book about a squatters’ village in Puerto Rico. He then published his second work, “The Best of What We Are,” which chronicles his time spent in Nicaragua from 1983 to 1990, during Sandinista control there after they toppled the Samoza regime and won an open election. In his seven extended visits to Nicaragua, Brentilinger lived with families in Managua, the capital city, and in Leon, near the Honduran border. He lived in their houses, ate with them, participated in demonstrations and attended funerals, as well as visited co-op farms, schools, community clinics, hospitals and cultural centers. He openly sided with the Sandinistas and, while he was initially surprised by their candor and friendliness, he quickly warmed to their ways. He was constantly assured by the people of Nicaragua that they have compassion for the people of the United States, and it is only the political policies of that country that they take issue with. An interesting twist in the division of politics in Nicaragua is the way it seeped into Catholicism there. Of the clergy, about half the priests sided with the Sandinistas, and the other half backed the Contras. Every single bishop, however, sided with the more affluent, U.S. backed Contras, which is a statement in itself. One section is of the book is divided into journals the author kept during his stays in the small villages of Condega, Las Colinas, Yali and Matagalpa, as well as when he stayed in Managua, the capital. It lends to the personal, human aspect of the writings and the author’s simpatico. Equally impressive is the number of norteamericanos he encounters, who are volunteering their time as teachers, nurses, doctors, and technicians to aid this struggling cause. Another interesting aspect of the Sandinista movement was the elevation of the status of women, as reported by Brentilinger in his book. They assumed roles in the uprising that had been exclusively filled by men prior to that, everything from fighting in the fields to positions of authority, which had an effect of liberating them in the social aspects of everyday life as well. John’s interviews are sobering, to say the least. It quickly becomes apparent that every single person in each of these small towns has at least one direct family member who has been killed by the Contras, and, in many cases, several loved ones. One of the most chilling was Maria Mendoza in Condega, whose husband was brutally executed when she was eight months pregnant with their second child. The participation by the U.S. in funding the Contra rebellion along with the import and export embargos placed against Nicaragua is evident everywhere. For example, there is a plethora of farming machinery and automobiles sold during the Samoza regime that can no longer be repaired, and medical supplies are at a premium. However, the overall message that shines through in this account is the strength and sense of pride of the Nicaraguan people -- two things that can never be bought, revoked, or crushed.