Blood of Brothers
Nicaraguans are an enduring people.
Their history is one of a proud, diverse people who have witnessed a lot of
calamity and disaster in their country… and Stephen Kinzer has witnessed a lot
of their recent history, first-hand. Kinzer started his career as an
independent reporter in Central America in
1976 and continued until 1989. Initially, he found himself roaming from country
to country, going wherever there was a hotspot or new scoop. However, he always
found himself drawn to Nicaragua,
finally returning and developing an earnest interest in its people. This
passion led him to accepting a job with the Boston Globe, and on those merits,
later with the New York Times, who awarded him a full-time position reporting
exclusively in Nicaragua,
with an office in Managua
- the first of its kind for The Times.
Stephen Kinzer was there before the
revolution, during the revolution, and after the revolution. His detailed
chronology of this era has been published in, "Blood of Brothers, Life and
War in Nicaragua".
In his book, Kinzer delves into the history of Nicaragua to explain how the Somoza
dictatorship fell apart as well as the impetus for the war that brought the
revolutionary Sandinista government to power. He does a good job in remaining
politically impartial while recognizing the Sandinista's strength as
revolutionaries, their commitment to the people in ousting the Samoza regime,
and their terrible ineptitude in governing a country. Likewise, Kinzer relays
the earnest intentions of the Contras and the Catholic priests, their
international infractions with the CIA and Honduras, and their killing of Ben
Linder, an American volunteer whose crime was helping impoverished communities
build small hydroelectric plants. However, it is impossible for the author not
to be effected by the sight of so many non-military corpses. In a six-year
span, thirty thousand Nicaraguans perished amidst their civil war (fifteen
people every day for two thousand days). Most of the civilians were killed by
their fellow countrymen, in what was perceived to be for the best of
intentions.
Kinzer also did an exceptional job
reporting on the plight of the indigenous peoples of the Caribbean;
how they were transplanted and abused by both sides during this nearly
decade-long confrontation, and how some tribes never recovered. The modern
history of the indigenous peoples of the Americas has traditionally been
swept under the carpet, but in ”Blood Brothers”, the author brought their story
to the forefront. Commendably, he also did not hold back reporting on the
deplorable, covert actions of the United States during their
revolution, as well as their inhuman and bullying tactics. The CIA’s role came
to light when Eugene Hasenfus, an independent contractor employed by the CIA to
drop supplies to the contras, survived the crash of his C-123, which was shot
out of the sky by a Sandinista patrol. Hesenfus’ testimony, along with the
documents uncovered at the wreckage, confirmed covert CIA activities and proved
that a portion of the profits from the sale of weaponry to Iran was
funding the Contras. Unbelievably but truly, the U.S. was laundering money with
sales to the Ayatollah Khomeni from missiles that he was secretly buying to
fund their war against the Sandinistas. By the same token, Kinzer was quick to
point out that the Sandinistas were not hesitant to seek help from North Korea and
the PLO, two frightening bedmates.
Ultimately, it was Costa Rica's
new president, Oscar Arias, who was instrumental in getting the opposing
factions to sit down and hammer out an agreement, including an open election
that led to Ortega's demise. Still, it will take decades for Nicaragua to
recover. Stephen Kinzer's book is enlightening, revealing and non-partisan,
making it a must-read for anyone interested in the modern history of Nicaragua.
All comments concerning this article are gladly welcomed.
All comments concerning this article are gladly welcomed.
