source: Jubilee Community House in Nicaragua
July 19 marked the 46th anniversary of the Sandinista Revolution. In 1983, a young engineer from Oregon, Ben Linder, went to Nicaragua to bring electricity to war zones in the north where U.S.-funded Contra guerillas attacked villages in the dark; electricity made them safer. Four years later, while working on plans for a hydroelectric plant in San José de Bocay near the Honduran border, Ben and two Nicaraguan colleagues, Pablo Rosales and Sergio Hernandez, were ambushed and murdered by the Contra on April 28, 1987. Although many other international solidarity workers had been killed, Ben was the only U.S. citizen to be killed by the U.S.-funded Contras.
Join us to hear about the mission of Casa Benjamin Linder and the development of family and community-based tourism in Nicaragua, and how it contrasts with other travel of today and of past decades. Becca Renk of Casa Benjamin Linder will lead a discussion with other featured speakers who will describe recent travel under the current model, compared to past experiences.
The Nicaragua Webinars series is hosted and sponsored by Nicaragua Solidarity Coalition, NicaSolidarity.com. You can sign up to receive the coalition’s bi-weekly newsletter, action alerts, and other event notifications at bit.ly/NicaSubs.
Grateful thanks to all our series co-sponsors, who help spread the word about our webinars! If your organization would also like to co-sponsor, email NicaraguaWebinars@gmail.com.
Sign up for this webinar on July 27 here: bit.ly/NicaJuly27.
https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ogcWfSw-RUy7Gs5NtI1RMQ#/registration
CASA BENJAMIN LINDER
https://www.casabenjaminlinder.org/
Located near downtown Managua, Nicaragua, Casa Ben Linder is a large, tree-filled property tucked into a quiet neighborhood just two blocks from a main street.
Casa Benjamin Linder hosts week-long study tours, where participants volunteer at a local project, learn Spanish, or take an afternoon’s historical tour. Whatever your interests and time-frame, we bring Nicaragua’s story alive through art and anecdote, and take you on a discovery of this amazing country, in the capital and beyond.
Income generated from the stays of travelers, tourists and solidarity workers goes to help cover the Casa’s operating costs. All of the rooms of the guest house are furnished with unique wood pieces made by local workshop Nicaragua Naturally. As part of our educational mission, Casa Benjamin Linder offers guests fun, educational tours all over Nicaragua. Why not turn your vacation into an opportunity to learn something about Nicaragua?
Casa Benjamin Linder is operated by the Jubilee House Community and it’s project in Nicaragua, the Center for Development in Central America.
Named in memory of Ben Linder from Portland, Oregon
The Casa is dedicated to the memory of Benjamin Linder; a young engineer from Portland, Oregon, who moved to Nicaragua in 1983 to contribute his skills to the popular Sandinista Revolution. He was a clown and a unicyclist who worked with the poor circuses in Managua where he is still remembered fondly today. As an engineer, Ben worked to bring electricity to war zones in northern Nicaragua where U.S.-funded Contra guerillas attacked villages in the dark - electricity made them safer.
After building a successful hydroelectric plant in El Cua, Ben began work on a new plant in San Jose de Bocay near the Honduran border. While measuring a stream near Bocay on April 28, 1987, Ben and two Nicaraguan colleagues, Pablo Rosales and Sergio Hernandez, were ambushed and murdered by the Contra. Although many other international solidarity workers had been killed, Ben was the only U.S. citizen to be killed by the U.S.-funded Contras.
The Casa Benjamin Linder property was purchased in 1988 by a group of U.S. citizens living in Nicaragua who organized demonstrations against the war in front of the U.S. embassy in Managua every Thursday morning. They named the house for their hero and martyr, Ben Linder, and it became a gathering space for U.S. citizens in solidarity with the Nicaraguan Revolution.
When the Contra War ended in 1990, the group began hosting regular Thursday morning educational talks at Casa Benjamin Linder, a practice that lasted for 25 years. The Casa was also home to FUNDECI, which was founded by Father Miguel D'Escoto Brockman to work with the poor. Padre Miguel was a Liberation Theologian and a great lover of Nicaraguan Revolutionary art. In the 1990s when murals in Managua were being painted over in an attempt to erase the Revolution, Padre Miguel commissioned eleven murals at the Casa, included four murals that honor Ben's life.
Today, our vision at Casa Benjamin Linder is to preserve and promote the spirit that led Nicaraguans and international solidarity workers to become a part of the Revolution.
The house is a solidarity center and gathering space where the murals can be appreciated by all, and where we promote Nicaraguan art and family life through regular events like art workshops and children’s theater through our partnership with the Guachipilin Puppet Theater.
+505 8700 9703
