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| Central American University - UCA |
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Number 75 | Septiembre 1987 |
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Nicaragua
NICARAGUA BRIEFS
Nitlápan-Envío team
BRIAN WILLSON:
SYMBOL OF STRENGTH FOR NICARAGUAN PEOPLENicaraguans reacted with shock and anguish upon hearing that US Vietnam War veteran Brian Willson, was intentionally run down by a munitions train as he knelt on the tracks at the Concord Naval Base in a nonviolent attempt to stop further shipment of US arms to Central America,. Willson is well known in Nicaragua for his Fast for Peace on the US Capitol steps in 1986 as well as for his participation in the Veterans’ Peace Action Teams, which work in the Nicaraguan war zones.
The day after the tragedy, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega sent Willson the following message:
My dear brother,
Your sacrifice speaks powerfully of the integrity of the US people, the great majority of whom oppose the use of violence. It is clear that your love for peace and justice is far stronger than any adversity.
We, the Nicaraguan people, are deeply moved. Your body, mutilated by those who wage war, is part of our pain, but also of our hope for a peaceful future.
Fraternally, Daniel Ortega Saavedra
Within days of the incident that severed both of Brian Willson’s legs, Nicaraguan First Lady Rosario Murillo flew to California to visit him in the hospital. Willson, who has made a point of linking what happened to him to the suffering of the Nicaraguan people because of the US-sponsored war, noted with heartfelt irony that Murillo should have traveled so far to express her government’s concern, while he has received no communication whatever from his own government.
SUNFLOWERS FOR NICARAGUAThe agriculturally rich region of León in northwestern Nicaragua has been chosen as the site of a pilot project for the cultivation of sunflowers. The sunflowers will be used primarily for cooking oil, a commodity nearly always in short supply in Nicaragua.
Fernando Coalt, Argentine advisor to the project, points to several advantages of sunflower cultivation: it requires less labor, fertilizer and financing than other crops. In addition, the oil is a much healthier product than much of the cooking oil currently produced in Nicaragua. Coalt said the prospects for sunflower cultivation in Nicaragua are very good due to the similarity of Nicaragua’s soil and climate to that of Argentina, the world’s leading producer of sunflowers.
Initial experiments carried out in La Paz Centro indicate high annual yields. The project is also carefully studying and assessing the ecological impact of sunflower cultivation. The United Nations is giving the project $200,000 and will also assist in financing the training of Nicaragua technicians in Argentina.
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a monthly magazine of analysis on Central America