A bit of news from Dimitrov

First, some sad news.

Last month, my community member Megan and I witnessed a fatal shooting. If you want to read about it, Megan wrote about it on her blog. One of those present at the shooting, a 13-year old boy who used to hang out at the Soya (however, I never personally knew him), was sent out of the barrio by his mother to protect him from revenge by the victim’s former gang. Apparently, he decided to come back, and yesterday while playing soccer, he ran away from the game to chase the ball, saw a member of the victim’s former gang, got shot and died shortly after. This happened a little way up the street from the Soya. He was a friend of our boss’ 11-year old daughter, and everyone in the Soya knew him. It was talked about a lot today, and people seemed to be taking it harder than the previous one (although maybe I’m just noticing it more this time). The first time, I just felt shock. I had never seen a shooting before, let alone someone dying, and I just really couldn’t believe that it had happened. But this time, I was angry. I was angry at the kid for coming back to the barrio despite knowing that people there would be very willing to kill him if they saw him, I was angry at the gangs for getting revenge, and pretty much just angry at the entire situation in the barrio.

We talked about the shooting with our English student Daniel, whose family we visited last month, and who lives very close to where the shooting took place. He told us that in Nicaragua, if a minor commits a crime, they are generally just let off the hook and go unpunished. There is no juvenile hall here, no program whatsoever for juvenile offenders. According to him and other people I’ve talked to, the father will be held responsible (although he apparently has left the barrio). Everyone is also completely sure that the cycle will keep continuing as the gangs keep seeking retribution.

This incident also affected the Jóvenes Constructores, whose microbusiness presentations and defenses were today. One of them, due to their connections with both victims and their residence in rival gang territory, did not feel safe coming to the Soya, and was unable to present. However, everyone is working on trying to find a way to provide them the opportunity.

But, aside from that, it was a great day for the Constructores! All 12 microbusiness plans were approved, and all will receive startup capital (and not a small amount, either), thanks to Catholic Relief Services. That was great. I was only able to see two of the presentations due to my commitments in English class, but the presentations were all well put-together, well-presented, and all their figures and projections were extensive and looked impressive to these completely untrained eyes. Fortunately, this isn’t the end of the program’s involvement; CANTERA and Catholic Relief Services will continue to check in with each joven as their business develops, specifically to provide assistance in financial management and generally to support and (to use my boss’ boss, Linda’s words) to accompany them.

A day of good and bad. I was just talking to Margarita about the shooting and my thoughts about the entire situation, and the conversation reminded me of a blog post from last November that she shared with us during reflection last Sunday. It’s about being an American volunteer in Nicaragua, and what our job really calls us to do. I encourage everyone to read it: http://jhc-cdca.blogspot.com/2010/11/to-hell-with-good-intentions.html

General update

It’s been a loooong while haha. I said this in the last post, but it never ceases to amaze me just how fast time seems to be going. In three weeks, the Jóvenes Constructores program will finish up, and there will be a celebration that Megan and I are going to have to perform for. In less a month and a half, I’ll be 22, Megan and Margarita will have moved out, and then just 8 months later, the new Cap Corps volunteers are going to come. It’s funny, since I remember feeling like the year and a half was SO LONG before I actually came here.

 

Even though they don’t celebrate Thanksgiving here, Megan and I have decided (in a repeat of last year) to hold an English class Thanksgiving celebration at our house. We’ve decided to go ALL OUT, so if you’re reading this, Mom, I would LOVE IT if you could send me your recipe and plan of action for cooking turkey 😀  I’ve also basically gotten my workload outlined for next year. I’m going to be assisting Marcelino, the CANTERA Communications man, with his program Jóvenes Comunicadores (Youth Communicators), acting as a liaison between him and the Communicators of the various territories. The main job of Jóvenes Comunicadores is to spread the information the youths are learning through CANTERA workshops and programs throughout the community, especially through audiovisual outlets, such as radio and video vignettes and posters. One thing that they apparently do not do a lot of, and one thing I want to talk to Marcelino about, is promote CANTERA and territory activities, to spread awareness and provide opportunities for the community to engage with CANTERA and its programs. There will be four audiovisual workshops for the Jóvenes Comunicadores that I will be attending, one of which I’m especially interested in since it’s about editing audio. Why would I be interested in that, you ask? Because, against my better judgement, I have decided to lead a Rap Workshop for youths in each territory, starting in February and ending in November. No, I won’t be teaching them how to rap; at least, I won’t be pretending to be a teacher. What I’m more interested in doing is providing an opportunity for expression, especially in a form that many of them enjoy listening to. It’s only in basic planning stages right now, but I really hope it can succeed. My goal is to have a mix CD recorded by the end of November, and maybe even put it up on the Internet to solicit donations. Keep your fingers crossed! Haha. I will also be taking over the English classes, and will most likely open up the class times to try and find new students. I may also be teaching a basic guitar class in Ciudad Sandino (although a Latin guitar class, so I need to learn that myself first haha). It looks like it’ll be a busy year, but hopefully a rewarding one!

 

I was supposed to go to El Salvador this weekend to attend the memorial celebration for the assassinated Jesuits of the University of Central America in San Salvador, but I’ve been sick since Wednesday with some strange stomach sickness. Sad boosh. If you’re curious about the Jesuit assassinations, I’ll provide a short summary. In the late 1980s, the Jesuit priests living and teaching at the University of Central America taught a Liberation Theology, which maintained that the liberation of the poor and oppressed was not only a good thing, but was imperative to living a Christian life. The political implications of this theology concerned the oppressive military Salvadoran government, which at the time was embroiled in a civil war. In order to silence the Jesuits, the infamous Atlcatl Battalion (which massacred 1,000 people a few years earlier in the small town of El Mozote) was sent in, and they shot up the Jesuit’s house, killing all six priests, their housekeeper, and her daughter. And, to remember their martyrdom and what they meant for social justice in El Salvador, there is an annual memorial celebration. Hopefully I can go next year.

 

That’s all for now. I hope everyone reading this is doing awesomely!