The Atlantic coast was a British protectorate throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, porated into Nicaragua in 1984. The population coast speaks English includes other Indian peoples.
aThe Atlantic coast was ternatically isolated by ine sonora dictatorship the rest Nicaragua. It is one of the chief areas of activity of the US-backed "contra' forces. The FSLN has had to learn drastically new methods of organisation and work on the Atlantic coast to deal with the problems it confronts.
MARY BUSHEY, a Miskitu Indian, spent two weeks in Manchester recently develop the friendship agreement signed between chester Council and her own town, Puerto Cabezas, the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua in the province of Zelaya Norte. A very modest woman, Mary rarely talked about herself. did not participate in the revolution, she said, I only made a few bombs.
Mary Bushey oi the ? Miskitus who compose the directive board of MISATAN, a newly created Miskite organisation in support of the revolution.
She was the main speaker at a successfut rally on 19 July in Manchester Town Hall, with Betty Heathfield, Graham Stringer, Lade l Manchester Council, and Maria from the Brazilian Workers Party.
SOCIALIST ACTION interviewed Mary Bushey on the current situation in Nicaragua and the situation of the Atlantic Coast in particular.
YOU come from Zelaya Norte on the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua. Can you first explain what is the present situation in Nicaragua?
The present situation is very tense, very difficult. The trade embargo is : affecting us economically. Even to provide ine dany loou tot the population is becoming difficult. I understand that the government has decided to stop a lot of social work and cultural activities because all efforts subsistence agriculture to feed the population and the defence of the country.
The US government has launched the trade embargo and given more aid to the contras based in Honduras and Costa Rica, which has made them more powerful with renewed equipment and arms.
The contras have launched major Ine communities villages which are on the borders with Costa Rica and Honduras. This includes villages on the Atlantic Coast.
But the people of Nicaragua have stepped up defence, both the regular army and the militias, and they have been fighting back the contras destroying some of their camps.
You are also a Miskitu Indian, involyed in the struggle of the Miskitu people. Can you describe your situation? We, the Miskitu people, have suffered historical discrimination and separation from the rest of the country. This started in colonial days and was increased during the Somoza dictatorship. Obviously the revolution herited a very poor country, but the the Pacific Coast.
Although we have a lot of natural resources which could enable us to get out of our underdevelopment, capacity to develop the region.
The United States chose the Miskitu people and other ple to produce their own food because the land which is good for agriculture on the river banks is infested by conthese lands. A lot of the food supplies depend on the government's subsidies and distribution, but transportation is a great problem and food allocated to Alves the fishermen get kidnapped if they go out fishing and the timber and mining activities have been virtually stopped because of the aggression.
the health work with the little they human beings, are afraid to die, to be raped or kidnapped by the contras.
and education campaigns as targets, to intimidate the people against being MISATAN, the Miskitu organisation, was formed a year ago. What have you oraganisation of the Miskitu people, my main interest is to give testimony for the Miskitu people on the Atlantic throuehout long vears and about the Miskitu families are suffering because MISATAN was created on the 22nd July 1984 after a long period of organisation. We started tirst with the structures of the communities which were developed until we reached the point when we could organise an assembly and choose the name of the organisation and elect a leadership. We aim to carry out the work that the Miskitu people organisation do that MISATAN is opposed to other history of the Miskitu people which have all been created top down.
MISATAN 1S
community, 1111people. its programme, the Miskitu people who went to places, , to other countries.
government traitors and who are the instrument. we talk about the Indian had been nave as the Miskitu are the most important we talk about Miskitu Indians, we do blood and race we are not pure any meone who speaks Miskitu as her oi his first language, who identifies as a traditions and customs of the Miskitu people, who lives Miskitu people and feels that the pro blems and needs of the Miskitu peo.
needs. Someone who shares them and strives to improve the living condi tions of the Miskitu people. want the which proves of Miskitu Miskitu people, who leave the Miskitu an organisation which started from the base, from the and went up until developed into a mass organisation which defends the lives of the Miskitu munity land.
land, MISATAN's priority goes to the repatriation of the other and who wish to return to their homelands and Miskitus who live in Honduras, Costa Rica and other places, who suffer from the pressure of those of US imperialism and who are runnThe Miskitu people are maintainelects the ed there against their will, they don't and they have often been taken under HELLEIL pressure of anti-Sandinista propaganNicaragua is a country with a double assimilated into Spanish culture and thus the population speaks Spanish.
The Atlantic Coast has been colonised by England and thus there is a large especially the Black people taken as Amongst the Indians, the Sumu and groups — the Miskitu because of their Bovernment not talk about a pure race because as problems.
Miskitu, who practises the culture, amongst the ple are her/his personal problems and Atlantic We believe that those people who descent, who hate people, are not true children of the certain medicines Miskitus. We can say they are traitors people travel We, the Miskitu people, are opposed to war. We know how to live collectively. Our land is not personally owned, our land as a tradition is comWe learn to share the the sufferings and happiness together how to share the tishes. hov to help a brother build his house, how to comfort a sister when she has lost a loved one, and with the creation of MISATAN, we have tried to rescue all How are the Miskitu Indians participating in the life of Nicaragua? In every community, there is a committee of MISATAN, of five to seven members, elected by the community. All these committees together. forn the assembly of MISATAN which directive board the highest authority of MISATAN.
The assembly discusses important such representatives at government level, since last year, has appointed community development workers -representatives of the government -workers and unfortunately, most of government rather than elected by the This representative goes to the to consulted. If something is wrong in the community, the MISATAN comittee talks to the government. If t regional government. If the regional cannot solve the biem, then it is taken to the nationa MISATAN is autonomous, but the govermel s lepiesenlallyes alc hul This svstem ot communication anc participation has led us to solve many At times, we don't think that the government's projects are adequate. For example, certain pro ducts are prioritised in the Pacific Coast which the government can sub sidise. But they are based on the needs of the peasants of the Pacific Coast Certain needs are specific to the Coast, like fishing lines hooks, flash lights and batteries to hunt, machetes and files to sharpen them, which they don't need so much on the Pacific coast. We also need Because communities are remote OnCe The The Sumu people are very few in number, about 6,000. Their language is one of the oldest on the continent and they have maintained a lot of us in an organisation named 'Creole Although they are separate we have assembly but said they wanted their own organisation. So they organised There is a Miskitu woman in parliament, representative of the FSLN for government minister for the region is also a Miskitu woman. But all government structures are headed by men -they are from the Pacific Coast. The government has tried to promote local headed by local people (for example the leader of ANDEN, the teachers union, is a woman, the leader of FETrepresentatives at regional level and in the communities, but we discussed it because we don't want other people to make decisions for us. We are in the republic of Nicaragua, we are a nation. But under the principles of the revolution we have the right to our own decisions and that is commissións last year: one for North Zelaya, one for South Zelaya and one national to study the structure of the autonomous regional government All ethnic groups were represented autonomous regional government is that it brings together all the different different groups the! should all have participation representation. This IS basic This local government will then make al decisions concerning the region ex cept in certain areas such as detenc‹ of the country and over the sovereignty of Nicaragua - which need to be decided at a central level because of the unity of Nicaragua. This is what the majority of the people from the Atlantic Coast want.
People in the counterrevolution like Brooklyn Rivera say they want to separate the Atlantic Coast complete ly from the Pacific Coast. Brooklyn Rivera claimed that he should be the government representative, that all the soldiers and police should go and his men should be the army That is a treal to une autonomy and sorereigh ty of Nicaragua as a whole, becaus they are already linked to the L5 zc they are not going te chare t
Socialist Action 2 August 1985