Mirian Olivas JarquinCampesina activist and leader in community development in El Regadio, Nicaragua
Collateral Damage Tour
Political, Economic and Social Fallout of the present Globalization Model and Prospects for Transformed U.S. Trade Relations
Thursday, October 21, 7:00 (come at 6:30 to enjoy a Dominican dinner!)
Heritage Room, Ellison Campus Center
Salem State College
* What is the "Collateral Damage" of globalization?
* What do we mean by the "cycles of military and economic violence"
* How does the U.S.-Central America Free Trade Agreement threaten the livelihoods of rural communities in Central America
* What can you do to assure US policies are fair and sustainable for the "Seventh Generation"?
Witness for Peace speaker tour will host Mirian Olivas Jarquin a campesina activist and leader in community development in El Regadio, the farming community near Esteli, Nicaragua where she was born. She worked in the education system for 42 years, beginning teaching at age 15 in two rural, one-room schools. After going back to finish high school and teacher's college as a mother, she worked as the school's administrator. She also worked on the literacy campaign that attempted to eliminate illiteracy in Nicaragua in 1980. Despite IMF-forced cutbacks in education, she led the struggle to bring high school-level education to El Regadio, bringing new opportunities to the children of farming families.
Mirian has experienced many of the cycles of military and economic violence that have affected El Regadio. She participated in the Community Defense Committee during the insurrection that ended the US-backed Somoza dictatorship. And after the Sandinista government came into power, she watched as several of her children defended Nicaragua from US-back Contra rebels.
Mirian has never tired of working towards community development. During the 1980's she was a leader in the town council, and worked with national women's organizations to "get women out of the house and active in the community". Since 1990, she has worked on the community development board successfully bringing drinking water and electrification projects to El Regadio. After IMF-imposed reforms left small, family farmers "totally abandoned, without credit or access to technical assistence", she worked to organize local farmers into a cooperative to gain access to financing. Since 2000, the El Progreso "Progress" Cooperative has expanded from 120 to 274 members, including 145 women, and it serves 12 rural communities.
Now, the US-Central America Free Trade Agreement threatens the livelihoods of rural Nicaraguan communities. If ratified, CAFTA would increase competition between struggling Nicaraguan farmers and the farming industry in the United States, forcing even more Nicaraguans to leave the countryside for cities, or to leave Nicaragua altogether. New England WFP's Fall Speakers Tour 2004
For more information call 978-542-6389; leave a message! Or email achomsky@salemstate.edu.
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