Olemme Isla de Ometepella Lago de Nicaraguassa. Kielikoulu Granadassa loppui viime viikolla ja saimme irti paljon opetuksesta. Ymmarran melkein kaiken mita ymparilla puhutaan, mutta omiin monimutkaisiin lauseisiin tarvitsen viela vahan rohkeutta ja tietoa lisaa. Tapasimme kielikoulussa myos kaksi kanadalaista, joiden kanssa matkustamme nyt taalla saarella. Toinen on elakkeelle jaanyt mies, vanha opettaja. Ja toinen todella mukava ymparistoihminen, alle kolmenkymmenen. Tullaan todella hyvin toimeen. Vietettiin toissapaiva ja eilinen todella kauniilla rannalla Tyynenmeren puolella, aallot olivat hurjia, muttei onneksi virtauksia ollut. Nahtiin myos delfiineja uidessa, ja paljon kaloja. Bruno on myos aikamoinen aaltomestari.
Nyt ollaan siis saarella, jossa on yhteensa noin 45 000 asukasta ja kaksi suurta tulivuorta. Ihmiset ovat paljon ystavallisempia ja yovymme mukavan perheen luona, jotka pitavat pienta hostellia. On mukavaa tukea heidan pienta bisnestaan, perhe vaikuttaa vahalla rahalla toimeentulevilta. Ollaan kyllastytty amerikkalaisten omistamiin kaupunkihostelleihin, joissa he kayttavat paikallisia halpatyovoimana. Ulkomaalaisten omistamat kiinteistot ja niista johtuva kilpailu nostavat talojen ja tonttien hintaa niin korkeiksi, ettei paikallisilla ole varaa ostaa enaa taloa omasta maastaan.
Taalla saarella voin ottaa valokuvia paljon paremmin, ja ymparisto vaikuttaa enemman vastaanottavaisemalta kuin Granadassa. Ihmiset tuntuvat avulialta ja tulevat juttelemaan kadulla. Kadut on myos taynna hevosia, lehmia, kanoja, koiria ja possuja. Paasen varmaan jossain vaiheessa hepan selkaan. Tanaan pitelin kesya papukaijaa kadessa. Loysin sen perheen takapihalta. Meilla ois tarkoitus menna loppuviikosta luomutilalle vapaaehtoisiksi, ja tehdaan ehka haastattelu siita.
Kiitos aidille viela ajatuksistasi Jokelan murhista. Kirjoitat niin viisaasti. Kaikki lauseistasi ovat todella tarkeita huomioita, ja luulen, etta itse kukin Suomessa on alkanut miettimaan yha syvemmin ja vakavammin kodin ja koulun merkitysta kasvatuksessa. Televisiosta ja tietokoneista on tullut itsestaanselvyyksia, niiden kayttoaika on harvoin rajoitettu ja niista tehdaan sosiaalisia virikkeita oikeiden elavien ihmisten tai elainten tilalle. Se tuntuu niin vieraalta ja surulliselta, kuinka helppoa niilla muun maailman korvaaminen on, ja nykypaivana jopa luonnollista. Itse muistan kun mua koulukiusattiin kuudennella ja pelasin tietokonepeleja ylakerran pikkuhuoneessa. Aika kului nopeammin ja pelien pelaaminen tuntui vuorovaikutukselliselta. Pelaaminen oli huono korvike ystaville, mutta korvike kuitenkin, ja sen arvo kasvoi pelatessani enemman. Kun peli reagoi pelaajan tekemiin siirtoihin ja ajatuksiin, se muuttuu todellisuuden simulaatioksi. Pelien vaaristyneet ja vakivaltaiset maailmat muuttavat kayttaytymis- ja ajatusmalleja. Luonnolliset pelot, mita lapsi tuntee katsoessaan aseita, tappamista, kiduttamista ja kaikenlaista vakivaltaa, katoavat niihin tottuessa, ja pelin mahdollistaessa voittaa nuo pelot, lapsi osaa kayttaa valtaa itsessaan luonnollisia olotiloja, kuten pelkoa, vastaan. Puhuimme juuri Brunon kanssa, kuinka pelit ovat osa kulttuuriamme, ne kertovat tasa-arvottomasta ja heikoimpia syrjivasta yhteiskunnastamme. Pelien maailmat oikeutetaan tata vaarytta vastaan taistelemalla, kuten virkavalta tappaa rikollisia tai "terroristeja", tai ihmiset tappavat orkkeja tai muita vihollisia. Vakivaltapeleissa lapselle tarjotaan tarjottimella vaihvihkaa moraalinen oikea ja vaara, joka perustuu luonnottomaan ja sairaaseen vallanjakoon hyvien ja pahojen valille. Jokelan tappaja oli kuulemma koulukiusattu, luultavasti juuri sen takia syrjaytynyt, ja tahtoi elimoinoida epasopivat, eli "vaarat" tai "pahat" pois maailmasta. Han oli valmis kuolemaan asiansa puolesta hyvana ja oikeana, tajuamatta olleensa muiden silmissa kaikkea muuta. Henkinen vakivalta, mita haneen luultavasti kohdistettiin, purkautui aarimmilleen vietyna vallantunteena, kostona ja halveksuntana.
Kirjoitan loppuviikosta lisaa, lahdemme kiertamaan saarta ja valloitamme vuoret, lassoamme hevoset ja siita ensi kerralla enemman.
-Meeri
tiistai 13. marraskuuta 2007
maanantai 5. marraskuuta 2007
Granadan tunnelmia ja pohdintoja Guatemalasta.
Taalla kaikki on loistavasti, ollaan Nicaraguassa Granadassa, jossa ollaan oltu jo kaksi viikkoa. Taalla on kotoinen tunnelma, ja kavellen paasee joka paikkaan, kuhan muistaa katsoa eteensa etten tipahda koloon. Hevoset syo ruohoa kaduilla ja iltaisin tiet tayttyvat sateen tekemista lammikoista. Kaupunkia kehystaa tulivuori. Eilen vietettiin vapaapaivaa laguunilla uiden, oli kaunis paiva ja meilla oli tosi rentouttavaa ja hauskaa. Tanaan jatkuu opiskelu. Tenemos que aprender mas, entonces podemos hablar mejor! Koulussa on ollut mukavaa, ollaan opittu yksityisopettajien kanssa intensiivisesti. Viela kolme paivaa jaljella. Koko henkilokunta on mukavaa, myos toiset opiskelijat. Ollaan tehty jo haastattelu koulun sosiaalityosta lapsille. Bruno kirjoittaa siita omassa blogijutussaan englanniksi.
Me mennaan ensi viikolla tekamaan haastattelu Managuaan yhdesta naisjarjestosta, jotka ajaa taalla tehtaissa tyoskentelevien naisten oikeuksia. Se tuntuu kiinnostavalta. Taalla on vaikea kuvata mitaan, mika on tosi harmi ja turhauttavaa. Toivon, etta Guatemalassa olisi joku pieni kyla jossa voisi oppia tuntemaan ymparilla olevat ihmiset ja asettumaan sinne hetkeksi taloksi. Haluaisin paasta seuraamaan lahempaa maya-perheiden elamaa ja leikkia lasten kanssa.
Kiitos kaikille onnitteluista! Synttarit meni oikein hyvin, me oltiin Brunon kanssa tulivuorella ja illalla meilla oli pienet juhlat yhdessa baarikuppilassa. Soin tosi hyvaa kakkua, ja yllatyksekseni Bruno tanssitti mua salsan rytmeissa.
Mulla meni myos sairaudet ohi, oli pieni flunssa ja vatsapopo. Migreenia on ollut vaan muutaman kerran, ja yleensa lahtenyt laakkeella. Brunokin on terve, vaikka on nukkunut valilla tosi huonosti, nyt paremmin. Toissapaivana me oltiin katsomassa hyva leffa yhdessa hostellissa, mutta se loppui sahkokatkokseen, kun salomoi ja satoi. Me juostiin Brunon kanssa kotiin pimeilla tulvaisilla kujilla ja yritettiin vaistella suuria kuoppia ja kouruja kaytten salamoiden valoa apuna.
Nautin olostani taalla. Brunon kanssa on ollut mahtavaa, keskustellaan ja jaetaan ymparilla oleva, tutkitaan ja opitaan toisistakin lisaa. On hullua ajatella, etta meilla on kohta kuukausi matkaa takana. Mutta viela on paljon edessa.
Laitan tahan pari linkia Guatemalasta: http://youtube.com/watch?v=Q20YxkM-CGI ja http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4074880.stm , http://us.oneworld.net/article/view/113857/1/ . Siella on nyt menossa vaalit, ja vaalikamppanjoijia ja aktivisteja ym on tapettu paljon. Koko maa on jarkyttavassa ryopytyksessa. Se, miksi ja miten tuo kaikki tapahtuu, jaa isoksi kysymysmerkiksi ja Guatemalan eliitin peiteltavaksi. Aktiivisessa vastarinnassa olevat eliminoidaan, ja aatteet oikeudenmukaisemmasta maasta pyritaan tukahduttamaan.
Tuntuu vaikealta miettia omia vaikutusmahdollisuuksiaan ja varsinkin juttujen tekemista tai valokuvaamista. Laittamatta itseaan vaaraan, se on melkein mahdotonta. Taalla paan tunkeminen vaaraan koloon tarkoittaa sen katkaisemista. Asiat, joiden puolesta esim. Guatemalassa taistellaan, katoavat vahin aanin. Murhat ja naisten oikeuksien maahanpoljenta, kansalaisjarjestojen "katoaminen", satojen tuhansien koyhien ihmisten pako Amerikkaan ovat jokapaivaa. Jengit ovat jarjestaytyneen rikollisuuden katyreita, ja huumesota tekee maasta entista vaarallisemman ja korruptoituneemman. Tunnen itseni niin voimattomaksi lukiessani naita artikkeleita. Naisten murhat muuttuvat poikkeuksista saannollisiksi, luonnottomasta jopa luonnolliseksi, eika esteita tai loppua uusille rikoksille ole nakyvissa.
Kirjoitan myohemmin lisaa, tunti jatkuu ja menen tanaan muiden opiskelijoiden kanssa retkelle saaristoon. Pitkasta aikaa kiva paasta pyoran selkaan.
-Meeri
Me mennaan ensi viikolla tekamaan haastattelu Managuaan yhdesta naisjarjestosta, jotka ajaa taalla tehtaissa tyoskentelevien naisten oikeuksia. Se tuntuu kiinnostavalta. Taalla on vaikea kuvata mitaan, mika on tosi harmi ja turhauttavaa. Toivon, etta Guatemalassa olisi joku pieni kyla jossa voisi oppia tuntemaan ymparilla olevat ihmiset ja asettumaan sinne hetkeksi taloksi. Haluaisin paasta seuraamaan lahempaa maya-perheiden elamaa ja leikkia lasten kanssa.
Kiitos kaikille onnitteluista! Synttarit meni oikein hyvin, me oltiin Brunon kanssa tulivuorella ja illalla meilla oli pienet juhlat yhdessa baarikuppilassa. Soin tosi hyvaa kakkua, ja yllatyksekseni Bruno tanssitti mua salsan rytmeissa.
Mulla meni myos sairaudet ohi, oli pieni flunssa ja vatsapopo. Migreenia on ollut vaan muutaman kerran, ja yleensa lahtenyt laakkeella. Brunokin on terve, vaikka on nukkunut valilla tosi huonosti, nyt paremmin. Toissapaivana me oltiin katsomassa hyva leffa yhdessa hostellissa, mutta se loppui sahkokatkokseen, kun salomoi ja satoi. Me juostiin Brunon kanssa kotiin pimeilla tulvaisilla kujilla ja yritettiin vaistella suuria kuoppia ja kouruja kaytten salamoiden valoa apuna.
Nautin olostani taalla. Brunon kanssa on ollut mahtavaa, keskustellaan ja jaetaan ymparilla oleva, tutkitaan ja opitaan toisistakin lisaa. On hullua ajatella, etta meilla on kohta kuukausi matkaa takana. Mutta viela on paljon edessa.
Laitan tahan pari linkia Guatemalasta: http://youtube.com/watch?v=Q20YxkM-CGI ja http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4074880.stm , http://us.oneworld.net/article/view/113857/1/ . Siella on nyt menossa vaalit, ja vaalikamppanjoijia ja aktivisteja ym on tapettu paljon. Koko maa on jarkyttavassa ryopytyksessa. Se, miksi ja miten tuo kaikki tapahtuu, jaa isoksi kysymysmerkiksi ja Guatemalan eliitin peiteltavaksi. Aktiivisessa vastarinnassa olevat eliminoidaan, ja aatteet oikeudenmukaisemmasta maasta pyritaan tukahduttamaan.
Tuntuu vaikealta miettia omia vaikutusmahdollisuuksiaan ja varsinkin juttujen tekemista tai valokuvaamista. Laittamatta itseaan vaaraan, se on melkein mahdotonta. Taalla paan tunkeminen vaaraan koloon tarkoittaa sen katkaisemista. Asiat, joiden puolesta esim. Guatemalassa taistellaan, katoavat vahin aanin. Murhat ja naisten oikeuksien maahanpoljenta, kansalaisjarjestojen "katoaminen", satojen tuhansien koyhien ihmisten pako Amerikkaan ovat jokapaivaa. Jengit ovat jarjestaytyneen rikollisuuden katyreita, ja huumesota tekee maasta entista vaarallisemman ja korruptoituneemman. Tunnen itseni niin voimattomaksi lukiessani naita artikkeleita. Naisten murhat muuttuvat poikkeuksista saannollisiksi, luonnottomasta jopa luonnolliseksi, eika esteita tai loppua uusille rikoksille ole nakyvissa.
Kirjoitan myohemmin lisaa, tunti jatkuu ja menen tanaan muiden opiskelijoiden kanssa retkelle saaristoon. Pitkasta aikaa kiva paasta pyoran selkaan.
-Meeri
Our first interview - on Casa Xalteva, kids in the streets, contras and commitment.
Yesterday we had our first real interview. We interviewed the director of the Spanish school we´re currently studying in, a place called Casa Xalteva. Meeri started off by asking about the social work aspect of Casa Xalteva and the children's rights issues of Nicaragua. Then I continued interviewing him about the Somoza dynasty, the revolution in 1979, the civil war and the contras.
Jose Luis Bodán, the director of Casa Xalteva, is a dedicated man approaching his 30's. He has been involved in the activities in Casa Xalteva since the beginning and knows both of the two founders of the place
Casa Xalteva is a "non-profit educational and charitable organization" (their definition in their webpage) that has two main functions. The first is to help the kids of Granada - a limited number, of course, given the very limited resources - to get off from the streets. Casa Xalteva provides shelter, schooling and a safe heaven to them. At the moment only one kid lives in Casa Xalteva permanently, but from early in the morning to late evening, excluding the hours which are spent in the governmental school, more or less seven kids are here studying and playing.
Having huge amounts of kids living and working in the streets is not a significant problem here in Granada. Managua, the capital, is a different and worse case, but it's not our focus right now. In the good old days, when this country was ruled by a family dictatorship and its nerve center, the not-so-goofy Guardia Nacional, there used to be a national problem of street kids. After the good old days ended and FSLN took over, the problem pretty much vanished. But not permanently. After the National Opposition Union won the elections in 1990, in circumstances that I wish to elaborate later, the problem started to reappear. And not too slowly: the number of the kids in the streets more or less doubled every year, during many consecutive years.
Meeri also asked Jose Luis whether exploitation of child labour exists in Nicaragua. Child labour phenomenon, a basic and natural indicator of poverty, does exist here, for sure. Like in many other countries, parents are the "employers" of their offspring. There are areas and countries in which private companies, including the international giants, exploit the adult and child labour very efficiently, but Nicaragua is not one of them. Sure, there is maquiladora-style work in Nicaragua, too, but in the particular case of child labour that's not the main issue here. The normal way here, in many poor areas and families, is for the parents to "employ", as it's sometimes put, their kids. What it often means, in practice, is that kids work long hours in the streets. Their actual work is selling all kids small things, like juice, milk, handicraft, tobacco, candies etc. In Managua, the capital more or less triple the size of Helsinki, in which the child labour issue is a major problem, besides selling the same things they sell here in Granada, a lot of kids work in the traffic lights washing windshields. And the parents get a lion's share of the money their kids make.
Jose Luis also shared a very illuminative incident with us. When he was studying in Alaska he ran into a guy who was his countryman. This Nicaraguan was very polite and social, and at one point Jose Luis visited his house. When Jose Luis entered his room he couldn't believe what he saw. There was a picture of Che Guevara in the wall of his room. That's not abnormal - who wouldn't have one in his/her wall - but the interesting part was that the guy, as it had just turned out, was en ex-contra. Contras, or contrarevolucionarios, were a terrorist force created with the substantial help of Central Intelligence Agency and Argentinian government in the 80's to harass the FSLN regime. I will perhaps write about that later. Their regular tactics of warfare were too disgusting to be described at the moment and they were, politically, somewhere boyond far-right. Now, how is it possible that an ex-contra has a picture of Che Guevara, the iconic figure of a leftist revolution and the object of hysterical hatred by right wing worldwide, in his wall? That was the question Jose Luis uttered and the answer was revealing. The core of it was that “well, you know, I didn’t really agree with their politics, but they paid me well”. He went on to say to Che really is his idol. (To Jose Luis this experience seemed to be something he will never forget, a permanent example of how money corrupts, especially when there’s an urgent and never-ending need for it – namely in very poor countries. It is, however, a little difficult not to question the seriousness of anyone’s commitment to any cause if that person is ready to become an active tool for the absolute enemies of that alleged conviction. In short, how serious can a commitment be if it is completely sacrificed when money comes in?)
The example of that Nicaraguan summarizes, in my view, the fallaciousness and, unfortunately, effectiveness of the CIA interventions and bribery in most of the poor countries in which they operate. That particular “Che/Contra”, we shouldn’t forget, was not an exception. A surprisingly big percentage of the contras were, before their new job, “normal people”, whatever that means, not fanatical mass-murderers who maim and mutilate thousands of civilians, which is what the contras were.
Talking about commitment, it's not very hard to point out to a different example right away: Jose Luis, who has master's degree and a lot of work experience which looks good on CV, works at Casa Xalteva, earning very little money and enjoying none of the luxuries he might have if he had chosen otherwise. Why he works there? We all know why.
We will go to Managua next week and there’s a lot of interesting NGOs for us to choose from as we’re trying to figure out who to interview. I will write about what happens when we know it.
Hope you're all doing fine, best wishes,
Bruno.
Jose Luis Bodán, the director of Casa Xalteva, is a dedicated man approaching his 30's. He has been involved in the activities in Casa Xalteva since the beginning and knows both of the two founders of the place
Casa Xalteva is a "non-profit educational and charitable organization" (their definition in their webpage) that has two main functions. The first is to help the kids of Granada - a limited number, of course, given the very limited resources - to get off from the streets. Casa Xalteva provides shelter, schooling and a safe heaven to them. At the moment only one kid lives in Casa Xalteva permanently, but from early in the morning to late evening, excluding the hours which are spent in the governmental school, more or less seven kids are here studying and playing.
Having huge amounts of kids living and working in the streets is not a significant problem here in Granada. Managua, the capital, is a different and worse case, but it's not our focus right now. In the good old days, when this country was ruled by a family dictatorship and its nerve center, the not-so-goofy Guardia Nacional, there used to be a national problem of street kids. After the good old days ended and FSLN took over, the problem pretty much vanished. But not permanently. After the National Opposition Union won the elections in 1990, in circumstances that I wish to elaborate later, the problem started to reappear. And not too slowly: the number of the kids in the streets more or less doubled every year, during many consecutive years.
Meeri also asked Jose Luis whether exploitation of child labour exists in Nicaragua. Child labour phenomenon, a basic and natural indicator of poverty, does exist here, for sure. Like in many other countries, parents are the "employers" of their offspring. There are areas and countries in which private companies, including the international giants, exploit the adult and child labour very efficiently, but Nicaragua is not one of them. Sure, there is maquiladora-style work in Nicaragua, too, but in the particular case of child labour that's not the main issue here. The normal way here, in many poor areas and families, is for the parents to "employ", as it's sometimes put, their kids. What it often means, in practice, is that kids work long hours in the streets. Their actual work is selling all kids small things, like juice, milk, handicraft, tobacco, candies etc. In Managua, the capital more or less triple the size of Helsinki, in which the child labour issue is a major problem, besides selling the same things they sell here in Granada, a lot of kids work in the traffic lights washing windshields. And the parents get a lion's share of the money their kids make.
Jose Luis also shared a very illuminative incident with us. When he was studying in Alaska he ran into a guy who was his countryman. This Nicaraguan was very polite and social, and at one point Jose Luis visited his house. When Jose Luis entered his room he couldn't believe what he saw. There was a picture of Che Guevara in the wall of his room. That's not abnormal - who wouldn't have one in his/her wall - but the interesting part was that the guy, as it had just turned out, was en ex-contra. Contras, or contrarevolucionarios, were a terrorist force created with the substantial help of Central Intelligence Agency and Argentinian government in the 80's to harass the FSLN regime. I will perhaps write about that later. Their regular tactics of warfare were too disgusting to be described at the moment and they were, politically, somewhere boyond far-right. Now, how is it possible that an ex-contra has a picture of Che Guevara, the iconic figure of a leftist revolution and the object of hysterical hatred by right wing worldwide, in his wall? That was the question Jose Luis uttered and the answer was revealing. The core of it was that “well, you know, I didn’t really agree with their politics, but they paid me well”. He went on to say to Che really is his idol. (To Jose Luis this experience seemed to be something he will never forget, a permanent example of how money corrupts, especially when there’s an urgent and never-ending need for it – namely in very poor countries. It is, however, a little difficult not to question the seriousness of anyone’s commitment to any cause if that person is ready to become an active tool for the absolute enemies of that alleged conviction. In short, how serious can a commitment be if it is completely sacrificed when money comes in?)
The example of that Nicaraguan summarizes, in my view, the fallaciousness and, unfortunately, effectiveness of the CIA interventions and bribery in most of the poor countries in which they operate. That particular “Che/Contra”, we shouldn’t forget, was not an exception. A surprisingly big percentage of the contras were, before their new job, “normal people”, whatever that means, not fanatical mass-murderers who maim and mutilate thousands of civilians, which is what the contras were.
Talking about commitment, it's not very hard to point out to a different example right away: Jose Luis, who has master's degree and a lot of work experience which looks good on CV, works at Casa Xalteva, earning very little money and enjoying none of the luxuries he might have if he had chosen otherwise. Why he works there? We all know why.
We will go to Managua next week and there’s a lot of interesting NGOs for us to choose from as we’re trying to figure out who to interview. I will write about what happens when we know it.
Hope you're all doing fine, best wishes,
Bruno.
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