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Home My WebLink About1989-06-LWSSC-news.pdf Volume 1, No. 1 NEWS FROM THE LEXINGTON-WASPAM SISTER CITY COMMITTEE June 1990 Naksa • In this issue About the Title • Election Results for North The newsletter title, Naksa, is the greeting "Hello" in Miskitu, and is a short form of "Nahki Atlantic Autonomous Region sma", which means "Hello" or "How are you?" • Sawmill Project: $14,000 raised The Lexington-Waspam Sister • Letter from Waspam City Committee • Miskitu Lesson #1 The link between towns and cities in different countries offers the citizens of both places the op- portunity to learn about each other in a direct way • Lexington Delegation Visits Each community's youth groups, civic associa- Waspam tions, business and church groups can easily make direct contact. In this way we can get beyond the media image of our neighbors in other parts of the world and gain a greater understanding of the con- temporary world. Greater understanding and sym- pathy between the peoples of the U.S, and Central America will result in a lowering of tensions and contribute toward peace in our hemisphere. The Lexington-Waspam Sister City Committee is building such a link between the people of Waspam,Nicaragua and Lexington, Massachu- setts. In Waspam, citizens are working to rebuild their town. The Lexington-Waspam Sister City Committee is supporting their efforts by establish- ing people to people contact and organizing mate- rial aid projects. Lexington-Waepam Sister City Committee P.O.Box 283,Lexington,MA 02173 Delegation Visits Waspam Bonnie Jones Eric Rehm and I spent two the river in Honduras. Now ties toward reaching this goal days in Waspam in May 1989 that the war's devastation and is obtaining a portable saw- as a two person delegation upheaval has passed,the refu- mill. This kind of aid would form the Lexington-Waspam gees are gradually returning to allow the people to use their Sister City Committee. Our rebuild their community (We talents and take advantage of goals were to explore with were told that there is still the available resources of the community leaders and citi- some Contra activity in some surrounding forest. zens how the sister-city rela- outlying areas along the river, In addition to gathering in- tionship could enhance people- however.) formation about Waspam,we to-people exchange as well as We found the town to be were able to deliver tokens of help in the rebuilding of very poor and in desperate interest in the community for Waspam. need of help. There is no elec the citizens of Lexington. We I We traveled forty miles in- tricky or running water as yet, presented about 250 pounds of land from the Atlantic Coast of and wood for rebuilding must baseball equipment donated by Nicaragua to Waspam in a be cut by hand. In spite of the Lexington families. In addi- Toyota pickup truck. The very limited resources,people tion,we brought forty penpal mayor of Waspam, William were hard at work doing what letters form three Bowman Waller, accompanied us, and they can to reconstruct the School classes. These gifts with the aid of Danilo Sa- town. will be enjoyed by children lemonca, our translator,we We were fortunate to be and adults in Waspam and toured the area. able to have discussions with were much appreciated. Waspam is a Miskito Indian members of the Peace Com- Our stay in Waspam was cut village that sits high on the mission, a group elected by the short because of the lack of an banks of the Rio Coco(or thirty communities in the area. available vehicle. (The mayor "Wanks" in Miskito) across We also spoke with teachers, has no car or truck of his own.) from Honduras. The setting is school administrators,the doc In spite of this,we feel the trip lush and beautiful. The wide tor and staff of the health was a success in that we ex- river provides the main trans- clinic, as well as the governor plored various project possi- portation route connecting 30 and other officials of the North bilities and made important villages on its shores. The Atlantic Coastal Region. connections with local people traffic on the river is mostly What we heard about and and their leaders. It is our dugout canoes filled with pro- could directly observe is a hope that this trip was one of duce such as beans and ba- community in tremendous the first of many people-to- 1 nanas from the river communi- need of concrete help. The people contacts between ties. primary school needs desks Lexington and Waspam. Historically Waspam has and writing materials,the been the commercial center for health clinic needs supplies as the entire area. Early in the well as a kitchen. The list Contra War, the Nicaraguan seems endless. The universal government relocated the message,however,is that the population away from the war community wants help to be- zone. Many in the region come economically self- sought refuge instead across sufficient. One of their priori- 2 Northeast U.S. / Nicaragua Sister City Conference Marge Middleton Four members of the trouble source. There is a glasses, marching drums, Lexington-Waspam Sister City computer available called school supplies, truck tires, Committee attended the North- Peacenet, but most communi- sewer pip, and two second- east U.S./Nicaragua Sister City cation was through church hand Mercedes trucks that Conference on November 10 - groups in Nicaragua. Some were driven down and left in 11 1989 in Volatie, New York. members hoped to formulate Nicaragua. The keynote address was amateur radio linkage. We heard from some inter- given by Sister Nancy Dono- Brookline presented their esting and enterprising young van, a member of the Maryk- experiences with a unique men calling themselves the noll community,who has form of fundraising: an art Down Timers who hail from worked in Central America auction,which was very suc- New York City The Down since 1956, and for the past ten cessful. Timers area a branch of Tec- years in Nicaragua. We On material aid, we learned nica, an organization that ar- learned of her work and expe- of problems involved, mis- ranges for short term technical rience among the Sumu Indi- takes made, and that some assistance from North Ameri- ans. towns are richer than others. can engineers and scientists. With the exception of a Items sent varied according to The Down Timers communi- Pearl Lagoon representative need and some groups worked cate by computer with labor and ourselves, committees pre- through Oxfam America, espe- unions in Managua so that ma- sent had their sister communi- cially for hurricane relief. chinery necessary to run hospi- ties located in the north or The Newton group is con- tals, industry, and transporta- western part of Nicaragua. We sidering construction for a tion can be made available attended workshops on the up- teacher's health center in their when parts wear out. coming elections, communica- sister city Princeton, New At a slide show held at the tions,material aid, and fund- Jersey has sent down over 50 conference,we saw a Wood- raising. We learned much bicycles and numerous guitars, Mizer portable sawmill, identi- during informal talks with along with medical supplies, cal to the one we plan to pur- members of other sister city refrigerators, and tools. Contri- chase for Waspam, in action in organizations. butions from other groups in- Pearl Lagoon. Communication was a cluded sewing machines, eye- Miskitu Lesson #1 Ken Hale Nahki sma? How are you? Pronunciation Key. Pain sna. 1 am fine. Yaptikam nahki sa? How is your mother? a a in father Yaptiki pain sa. My mother is fine. i ee in meet Aisikam nahki sa? How is you father? ai i in ice u oo in moon Complete this sentence: My father is fine. Consonants are as in English. 3 The Sawmill Project Eric Rehm Wood is plentiful in the Luckily,Lexington is not gional autonomy with Miskito Waspam region, but not in the the only community to under leaders in 1985 repopulation form of lumber that a rapidly take such a project, and began. The region's 30 corn- resettling region can use. Waspam won't be the first At- munities are seeing former Typically it can take 6-8 lantic Coast community to re- residents return to very little of weeks to acquire, haul, and cut ceive a sawmill. what they had when they left. the lumber, by hand, for a sin- Two North American Or- Luckily, some government gle story frame building. ganizations, Architects and and international aid has For over a year, the Planners in Support of Nicara- reached the region, allowing Lexington-Waspam Sister City gua(APSNICA) and Pastors health clinics, schools, and Committee (LWSCC)has for Peace have shipped a num- some homes to be rebuilt. been planning and carrying out ber of portable sawmills to However,the community a community-based project to Nicaragua's Atlantic Coast wants to take responsibility for help Waspam, Nicaragua cut following Hurricane Joan. the rebuilding process. lumber more easily, so that This hurricane hit the southern The Waspam region has houses and buildings de- Atlantic area of Nicaragua plenty of trees and plenty of stroyed during the Contra War hard, leaving over 1 million experience with forestry The can be rebuilt. acres of Nicaragua's tropical technical high school in Waspam community leaders rainforest on the ground. Port- Waspam, of which many of identified the need for a port- able sawmills were a solution the region's leaders are gradu- able sawmill during a visit to for cutting wood into lumber ates,teaches programs in for- the Atlantic Coast in early to rebuild destroyed communi- estry In the 60's and 70's, lo- 1989 by LWSCC member and ties. Left on the ground,the cals working for foreign MTI'linguist Ken Hale. Dur- hurricane-felled trees would multinational corporations op- ing a subsequent visit by two have just rotted. erated sawmills. The commu- other LWSCC members in Hurricane Joan left trees in nity leadership wants to use May 1989, details about the the Northern Atlantic area the area's resources and talent sawmill project were discussed along the Rio Coco dividing to rebuild the community Un- directly with Waspam's mayor Nicaragua and Honduras like the past, the lumber pro- and the same community lead- standing. However, for many duced by a sawmill will be Bi- ers who had originally pro- years,the Waspam region had rected by the community- posed the project. suffered the devastation of the based sawmill project for local LWSCC members and Contra War. Most families rebuilding, not for export. Waspam community leaders from the Waspam area relo- LWSCC is currently work- envision the sawmill being op- cated to the nearest big town, ing with Waspam community erated as a community project. Puerto Cabezas, or to Hondu- leaders to develop a project Trained personnel will be ras. An economy based on ag- plan for the sawmill. Mean- needed to operate the sawmill riculture and forestry was dev- while, LWSCC has been plan- and some mechanism for pay- astated, most homes were ning the purchase of the saw- ment will need to be worked destroyed, and the city of mill. Two portable sawmills out. Finally, the sawmill itself Waspam itself was overgrown have been identified: The must be selected and shipped by jungle. Wood-Miter and the Mobile and the implementation of the As the government of Nica- Dimension. However,the cost project begun. ragua pursued peace and re- of the hardware only consti- 4 tutes about half the cost of Wood-Mizer Model LT 40 Portable Sawmill Project Costs the project. Shipping, spare parts, tools,training, support • Wood-Mizer LT 40 21' Capacity Mill, 24 HP engine$10,310.00 for a technician to oversee the training of sawmill op- • Accessories (log turner,winch,trailer, cover) 1549.00 erators, and funding of a • Blade Maintenance Equipment 1085.00 nursery in Puerto Cabezas are all part of the project. • Spare blades 3000.00 (See Project Costs, at right.) • Shipping(estimate) 4600.00 The latest development in • Maintenance for 1 the Sawmill Project has been Year @ 12% $12,000 1440.00 the Lexington-Waspam Sis- • Training and support for trained technician for 1 year 3000.00 ter Committee's decision im- • Contribution to reforestation fund 700.00 prove our communication with Waspam. Luckily Total $25,684.00 Waspam's nearest big town, Puerto Cabezas, is also a sis- II i I I 11,1, ii ter city with Burlington,Ver- mont. Burlington has started a nursery project in Puerto Cabezas, and we have joined Letter from Waspam in the financial support of a Burlington resident,Bob Scott,who is currently in Puerto Cabezas. In return, Bob will be visiting Waspam To Friends of Lexington and helping get the Sawmill From. Waspam Mayor' s Office Project planning started. Date February, 1990 Fundraising so far has Friends Greetings to all of our friends in Lexington gone well: over$14,000 of from your friends in Waspam. the project$26,000 cost of the project has been raised. The first purpose of this letter is to give our sincere However,large donations appreciation for the visit of Martin Diskin as well as all the other visits from our Lexington Sister City Friends will be needed to complete this project. Please consider This is important to us because we, the indigenous peo- making a$500-$1000 contri- ple, know that we have friends outside of our borders bution to make the comple- Also we want to tell you how thankful we are for the effort tion of this project possible. you are making in getting us a sawmill because this will Your contribution is tax mean a step forward for us in the development of our town and the construction of our houses deductible by making out your check to CAEF/ Again we send LWSCC. The Central g greetings fraternally America Education Fund of Berardo Patterson, Cambridge,MA is our fiscal Vice Mayor of Waspam agent for this project. 5 Why I do this work by Members of the Lexington-Waspam Sister City Committee Through my work in Mis- I grew up in Arizona and schools are half-built. sissippi during the Civil Rights from an early age had a fasci- Movement,I saw the impact of nation for the Native American stereotypes. I want to help languages there. I do this Why should someone make counter the image of poor peo- work because of the impor- a major contribution to the ple as dependent,taking hand- tance of the indigenous auton- Sawmill Project? Because the outs. I want to help people omy project in Nicaragua and sawmill is needed now and be here see the people of the At- because of the importance of cause we are asking for your lantic Coast of Nicaragua for Waspam as a social and cul- serious involvement in they are. tural center for the region. Waspam. Doing this work helps me The Nicaraguan revolution clarify my own values and re- is some light in the darkness. check my own materialism. The Nicaraguan revolution I got involved in the means something to me as a Lexington-Waspam Sister City people's revolution -- a gov- Committee after I read about it emment for people on the bot- in the Lexington Minuteman. torn,not for the people on top. I want my own children edu- Its ultimate success has an im- cated in a global way I want pact on the success of social their world view challenged. change in El Salvador, Mex- As a Special Educator, I know ico, and here. the value of direct,person-to- person efforts. I don't trust the politicians to do this work. The Sawmill Project is im- portant so people can rebuild Waspam. .so they can cut the Doing this helps me coun- wood they need faster and eas- teract my own guilt regarding ier. the foreign policy of my gov- ernment. Because Nicaragua is close, it provides a good, ob- I want to see a more equita- vious example of what the ble distribution of the world's U.S. is doing elsewhere. resources. I focus on Nicara- gua because the U.S. is re- The life Nicaragua is trying sponsible for its turmoil. Also, to build is a unique expert- I support the Sawmill Project ment. It's an example of the because it's what Waspam Third World developing itself wants. Some people are not re- on a community level. turning to Waspam and the re- gion because homes and 6 Election Results for the North Atlantic Autonomous Region Registered Voters: 60,414 President. Vice-President National Assembly Autonomous Reeional Council Turnout 78.1% Valid 39,945 Valid 39,602 Valid 31,219 Null 7,241 (15.4%) Null 7,646 (16.2%) Null 8,038 (20.5%) UNO 19,253 (48.1%) UNO 9,918 (24.8%)* UNO 2 seats PSOC 119 (0.3%) PSOC 1 (0.0%) FSLN 21 seats PLIUN 73 (0.2%) PLIUN - Yatama 22 seats PRT 119 (0.3%) PRT - FSLN 15,044 (37.6%) FSLN 15,136 (37.8%)* UNO: National Opposition Union PSOC. Social Conservatism Party MAP-ML 441 (1.1%) MAP-ML 3 (0.0%) PLIUN: National Unity Liberal Party PSC 3,365 (8.4%) PSC 13,201 (33.0%)* PRT Workers Revolutionary Party PUCA 155 (0.4%) PUCA 172 (0.4%) FSLN Sandinista Nat'l Liberation Front MAP-ML. Marxist-Leninist Party PCDN 175 (0.4%) PCDN 252 (0.6%) PSC. Social Christian Party MUR 1,201 (3.0%) MUR 914 (2.3%) PUCA: Central American Union Party (Source: Barricada International,3/90) *=Parties with one seat in the National Assy. Yatama: Miskin Indian Party Sisters Maureen Courtney and Teresa de Jesus Rosales Sisters Maureen Courtney Maureen Courtney A letter from her order,the Congregation of and Teresa de Jesus Rosales the Sisters of Saint Agnes, appears below died on Monday,January 1, 1990 when their car was am- bushed in northeastern Nicaza- January 30, 1990 Igua by U.S.-backed Contras. Sister City Conmtittee Dear Ms O'Hara and members, Sister Maureen Courtney spent the last 12 years living in Thank you for your thoughtful message and beautiful memorial in honor of our deceased Sister Maureen Courtney Knowing Sister's Waspam, Nicaragua,which is love for the people of Waspam, her unflagging efforts to rebuild Lexington's Sister City what bad been lost and to encourage the self-sufficiency of the She was fluent in the language people of the village,we assure you that you purchase of the saw- mill and dedicating it in Sister's memory is the very best tribute of the local Miskito Indians, any group could offer It is indeed a living memorial which will taught classes, and helped run continue to provide the kind of opportunity for the people which two town clinics that offered was very close to Sister Maureen's heart prenatal and infant care. She May the love and concern you have shown serve to bring God's bless- was a friend of the people of ing upon you and the city of Lexington and a measure of peace to our troubled world. Waspam and stood on their side in the best and worst of Sincerely times in Nicaragua. S Jean Steffes, CSA The Sawmill Project has S Mary Mollison, CSA been dedicated to Sister S Mary Christine Fellerhof£, CSA S Jovita Winkel, CSA 1 7 a- .tv 2F<.'.,: o .:.co vi t2.aa.:;?^. >•. <s>::c,3.uF �:of%l t<... ,.wuy:w l.'.. >,.:x�rr fir, /; �,zHn;<^s 7 c' - /� ,. °< ;3t ¢" ,.`; ; iX:a�'.'!yir;;: ...: ✓:3;; ?'aC. °F,wr;.nf % '.�f4.:u.K.:z:<ua :A.,i£ y ..��"L(�,' ^,.t::<�iir",5.:�.q:>,"s�.�.r��"i'.x.'.'g�%r.'v.'�/��..F..u..?�'�/fnzfs...,...,,.//�r..n..>,ir...<:> :3:: >.......... tv '.`' Lexington-Waspam Sister City Sawmill Project Dedicated to the memory of Sister Maureen Courtney. S, Wood-Mizer Lt 40 Sawmill « Trailer-mounted y. • • Steel bandsaw blade '; • • Powered by a 24 hp gasoline engine • Handles up to 32" diam. by 21'long logs i >r f • Over fifteen of these sawmills are already in {<< Nicaragua. 1,:ii„:,< The Lexington-Waspam Sister City Committee is currently asking for donations towards the purchase of a portable sawmill for Waspam, Nicaragua. Waspam, a center for trade 'i on the Coco River, was destroyed in the Contra War and needs lumber to rebuild homes, '' shops and schools. While wood is a plentiful, well managed resource in Nicaragua, exist- '< :: ing lumber is cut by hand. A portable sawmill was requested by community leaders to help meet reconstruction needs. Architects and Planners in Support of Nicaragua (APS- NICA) will work with us to support the project with an APSNICA technician in Waspam. The Sawmill Project costs break down as follows: I • Woad-Mizen LT 40 Sawmill,24 HP engine option $12,950.00 .i, ' ' • Maintenance and spare blades for 1 year 4,500.00 y: , • Crating and shipping 4,600.00(est.) j • Training and support for APSNICA technician for 1 year 3,000.00 • Contribution to regional reforestation fund 1,000.00 Total $26,050.00 it Help BUILD peace in Waspam. Support the Sawmill Project, 'j (Fiscal sponsor Central America Education Fund, Cambridge,Massachusetts) m I'd like to make a tax-deductible contribution to the Sawmill Project: ❑ $25 0 $50 0 $100 0 $500 0 $1000 (Make check payable to CAEF/LWSCC) ❑ Call me. I'd like more information. 0 I'd like to volunteer. Name Phone Address /., •;T ;•',,,,,f,‘ » /v roz / ' v,, .. " ',/,',,•• l9 '° • {' ,,r,"::yy.p••,, ,N% Y/,.uS..''', ,,.t r % `• /" ,7s • 9E �i fE xP.va :"6F3. ',.•,s,�^'ii Gif s '+fit •,,, •3�G <. ,f f f /i v � c<s,. � r/r...r':vb..��r:.y�F t ,