HEATHER  RATH
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The Real People

5/29/2018

8 Comments

 
Picture
        Through the open front window of our cement box casa overlooking the dusty street, we watch neighbourhood children play baseball. Our window, of course, is not screened but decorated, as most typical Central American homes are, with wrought iron bars that serve as security. Maybe insects still have free passage but presumably it’s difficult for bad hombres to crawl through narrow spaces. Our casa sits at the end of a no-exit street lined with other similarly styled homes with various degrees of attractiveness/decay.

Picture
        A year ago this was our winter home in Léon, Nicaragua, in a working class (a step above poverty) neighbourhood called Cuatro de Mayo, so named for those killed there during the Nicaraguan Revolution of the late 70s/early 80s. We chose this city because of its cultural and historical significance. We chose this home because it was the only available rental unit renovated to accommodate foreigners who needed amenities: a half-decent kitchen with a roof over it (never mind the red ants I had to pummel with clenched fist each morning; or the tarantula in the bathroom drawer), a stove with an oven (i.e. more than a hotplate), and air conditioning, the latter most necessary in 35 C plus heat.
        As foreigners on this short, volcanic black dusty street, we were curios. So we wanted to show residents we cared about, and were interested in, their life and families.
        We were watching the kids out our front window play baseball with a rubber ball. They used their forearms as a bat.
        “Let’s buy them a bat!” we chimed together. Obviously they couldn’t afford a proper bat. Or a proper baseball. 
            Nay. Nay. Let’s think about this. Who gets to keep the bat? Maybe the bat would create envy, discord. Maybe the ball would get lost and cause tears because it was special.
        Ultimately, we concluded these children were using what was available to them to play a game they loved. If we interfered in any way, we would upset the balance. They were having fun and they didn’t need any North American do-gooder gift of so-called ‘proper’ equipment.

Picture
        Gradually we came to know these people. And vice versa. How hard they worked for such little pay! They struggled for any small luxury. Blanca, next door, offered to clean our  place for extra money after working in a health clinic all day. As soon as we paid her, we watched as she took her little boy’s hand while he skipped beside her to the nearest tienda for a special treat.

Picture
        One day, the wage earner from the run-down shack across the way presented us proudly with two home-baked cookies. The taxi driver farther down the street drove us to our destinations making sure we knew where to go when we got there. Gradually we felt comfortable and absolutely safe among those living on this dusty little street where women tried hard to keep their homes clean by sweeping water over the dirt. Always a friendly Buenos Dias, a wave, a warm greeting from children and adults as we left or returned ‘home’.
        It was an emotional farewell when it came time for us to depart for Canada. One neighbour presented us with signed copies of their son’s photograph so we would not forget them. Unexpectedly, we felt close to these people.

Picture
        Today, we are heartsick for our former neighbours. We read Nicaragua is in turmoil. In crisis.
Reports Nicaragua Today:
Initially triggered by now-aborted reforms to the near-bankrupt social security system, the unrest broadened into a rejection by many Nicaraguans of President Daniel Ortega, who is seen as autocratic.
From the Nicaragua Daily Mail:
Clashes broke out in Nicaragua between opposition demonstrators using homemade mortars and pro-government groups, with the worst occurring in Leon, northwest of the capital Managua.
A barricade was built across the main road into the city which was used by anti-government protesters to fire their weapons from. Since protests began last month, 76 people have been killed and more than 800 wounded.
        Léon! Our Nica hometown! What about the families on our street who scraped by each day selling their homegrown vegetables, tortillas, firewood? What about the old vendors who hawked their wares and stopped to chat with our neighbours? And what about the kids on our dusty little street? I still hear their laughter. Can they still safely play baseball, soccer, tag…be carefree…play cards under the street lamp at night?   Who will take care of them if their parents are affected?
        Sadly, I have learned it is the real people with nothing who protest for a better life. And it is the real people, many innocent, who suffer the repercussions of violence.

Map:  Nicaragua
8 Comments
jack Brown
5/30/2018 10:07:15 am

Great story Heather

Reply
Heather Rath link
5/30/2018 11:59:07 am

Great to hear from you, Jack. Appreciate your comments. We have so much; they have so little.

Reply
Adolf
5/30/2018 06:27:09 pm

This is the horrid life that we have so ignorantly 'tossed' at them...from Reagan and the time of the 'contra's' and the 'Oliver North's' of the US or A....All it has been is continuous drain on all the economic welfare of the otherwise happy-go-lucky hard working folks of Central (and South America)---although the local politicians kiss up to the Americans, and help them bleed the people---but wait ---Isn't that what happens here???...omigosh...sayitain'tso!!!...

Yes, here (or there), except for being born into privilege, go all of us...and believe me with the autocratic buffoons that claim to be our 'leaders'; And go on endless 'willy-nilly' careless spending sprees without a thought of the less privileged members in our own country.

Pity the people who live for their daily rice and beans...and make sure we don't become like them...we are only a 'stone's throw' from being there.

Keep up the informative info Heather...we ALL need a slap in the head....

When I was down there the federales in 'Nicaragua' had deliberately assassinated, in Leon, a lady, [DON'T remember her name at the moment],(an emotional leader), that stirred up the 'rif-raf'---and actually gave the people some hope with her vision...that's all part of the CIA crap - which, like the rest of North America, don't give a damn for the 'local's' (except for what we can steal)

Like I said, keep up the wonderful & informative edumukashun

Reply
Heather Rath link
5/30/2018 07:21:49 pm

Wow Adolf! Since you once lived in Central America, you understand the poverty and therefore, the hopelessness, of these real people. You've experienced it up close and personal.

Reply
Hilary Brown
6/1/2018 12:11:39 pm

This story demonstrates (for me anyway) how deeply you understand your own privilege and how willing you and Norm are to immerse yourselves so thoughtfully into the sacred space/lives of others. May I use this piece when teaching teacher candidates about privilege and unconscious bias? It is a challenging concept to work through with folks since privilege itself interferes with understanding. Thanks for sharing Heather.

Reply
Heather Rath link
6/2/2018 06:11:58 pm

I would be honoured, Hilary, for you to use this column as you see fit. I know you are one who understands this dilemma and who, in your role as a valuable and well-respected educator, use real life examples. Thank you!

Reply
Linda Prichett
6/2/2018 01:53:46 pm

How is Tomas Heather? Just wondered if the well or was it a water tower that Cedarview middle school provided to Managua is still functioning? Very sad that a lot of these countries in central and South America are constantly dealing with uprisings and corruption.

Reply
Heather Rath link
6/2/2018 06:20:48 pm

Linda, stressed is a word right now for Tomas. He and his colleagues are terribly upset about current events in Nicaragua and trying hard to maintain some semblance of normalcy. He and his colleagues have been sleeping at the campus to protect both students and buildings. I do not know the status of your well but will ask when we get a chance. Right now, they are in crisis mode, seeking financial aid to repair damage and to pay staff before all they have worked for is lost.

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All authored material and photographs contained on this site are copyrighted © and the property of Heather Rath and cannot be reproduced without her written permission.
Photos from Bazar del Bizzarro, roland, Mike Kniec, Steve_Herring, marcoverch, USDAgov, string_bass_dave, wwarby, milan.boers, tuchodi