HOY Hear Out Yellow

Hola amigos! Brittany here (or should I say Victoria). It is almost 9pm and feels like 2am. We just got back from a visit to the neighborhood Eskimo bar…no, not that type of bar, just an ice cream bar! I’ve had some good ice cream, but I must say, Nicaraguan ice cream tops it off with a cherry on top. Today was a long and exhausting day, but the perfect last day in Managua. We are sad to leave, but are excited to see what the next 10 days in Leon and Chinandega will bring. Managua was a good stepping stone in learning more about the banana workers’ situation firsthand and now we will be visiting the actual plantations and talking to a lot more people who are directly involved and were directly affected. We have a lot more connections there, especially a filmmaker who is, ironically enough, working on a documentary about people affected by pesticides. I have no doubt that we will learn from him, and each person we meet with will allow us to understand the story of the banana workers a little more.

After our usual breakfast of rice and beans (somehow we haven’t gotten sick of them yet), we headed to a big market to buy some more rice and beans. But, alas, they were not for us. We have been planning to bring the banana workers something substantial before we left, either food or clothing. Since we knew that there wasn’t really a way to feed all 1,200 of them, we decided to provide them with as much food as possible, so we bought mass quantities of rice and beans. Of course, we made sure to give the bags of rice and beans directly to the leaders in charge when we arrived at the encampment, to avoid any havoc and chaos. We spent the afternoon playing with the children (my favorite moment was playing hopscotch with Connie and two children), talking with families and adults, dancing in the rain, and just taking it all in for one last time. For those of us who know Spanish and those who just know the basic words, we have come to realize that even if we don’t speak the same language, we still understand each other. It just takes patience. As one man told me today, ´we are all brothers´. We had an interesting encounter with a missionary group from Indiana that came to the encampment to provide music, a performance, and intimate sermons, as well as pass out eyeglasses. We felt distant from such a group of Americans and realized we have come a long way from those first moments at the encampment. We are clearly grateful that other people are helping but we recognize that the banana workers have a much deeper story that cannot be understood in one afternoon.

All in all, as we leave Managua, we are happy we have accomplished all that we have, and feel like we have developed strong connections with the banana workers. Being in their presence has helped us understand their situation and has truly inspired us to tell others about their story. We hope that our documentary will be that opportunity for people to experience all that we have. I personally am amazed by their hope and faith. Even though their pain and hardships are physically visible, their strong will is undeniably present. What is especially hard for me is seeing the children, who have such potential, yet are so limited. I have struggled with how we can live in such a harsh and unfair world, how we can allow others to live the way they do and do little to help them. But I have come to realize that so many people do not know about such terrible living conditions like the banana workers. It is you and me who can change the imprisoned fate of others, and together we can.