Solidarity

Solidarity: what does it mean to actually be in solidarity with a people? Solidarity is something that is talked a lot about but what is it really? Being here in Nicaragua we have heard a lot about the solidarity groups of the 80’s: Witness for Peace (WFP) and CUSCLIN (Community of U.S. Citizens Living in Nicaragua) among many others. We always here words like empathy, togetherness and reciprocity. But what does it being in solidarity with a people really look like?

Because of all of these questions for the final project of our classes a group of us decided to do a presentation and investigate. We were able to interview a few different people; the FSLN official international relations director (he coordinated solidarity groups coming to Nicaragua), Lillian Hall who worked for the Ministry of Agrarian Reform and WFP, and Aynn Setrite a Witness for Peace Volunteer.  It was very interesting to hear them talk about their experiences of the 80’s and what it meant to them to be in solidarity with the Nicaraguan people.  In Aynn’s time with WFP volunteer she drove an ambulance in the war zone of Jinotega.  Lillian and Aynn both felt like for them being in solidarity meant accompanying the people of the war zone. Staying with the people when things got bad; navigating the roadways infested with land mines and when their villages were getting invaded.  But it also meant being here in Nicaragua a U.S. citizen who was opposed to the Contra War that Regan was feverishly funding.

 I think this is really important because it think “solidarity” is now often seen as short term “mission/ service” trips; which I think are semi-helpful but are by no means addressing the real problems. We talked with another WFP volunteer of the 80’s who has lived here since and now works in popular education and sustainable farm development projects in rural communities, she gave the example of a project that was carried out. In a small rural Nicaraguan village an organization came in and “donated” the money and workers to put in latrines for the community,  and here they are years down the road and the only time the latrines get used is when foreigners come. These types of projects are often seen as solidarity work though.  Cleary the latrines would increase the level of sanitation and I’m assuming decrease certain illness, the project was not sustainable. If the community doesn’t want to use or know why they should be using the latrines; they aren’t going to use them (This get into the whole top-down implementation of things—but I won’t get into that now).  Through doing these interviews though and really looking at what solidarity really looks like; I think it is a very rare thing these days.  As one of our interviewees said, “I think solidarity brings you to somewhere new ”. I think this is so true, to truly be in solidarity with a people is not just popping your face in helping out a bit. Real solidarity means accompanying a people through the good and the bad. It’s a sharing experience from both ends: it’s a solid[arity] change.