Resistance to Dispossession

by Tania Paz, AIDA

"How do I explain do my son that to be a landowner will soon mean to be an employee?" asked a woman who may soon lose her land because of the proposed Nicaraguan Interoceanic Grand Canal. Her question resounds in my head each time I hear news of the canal's construction.

There is nothing more valuable than a piece of land to cultivate, land you’ve dreamed of your whole life, land that your children will some day inherit, land that makes the early mornings and long days working under the hot sun worth it.

People throughout Nicaragua have said "no" to the proposed canal. They have decided to fight because they're not willing to lose their dreams for nothing more than the promise of a job.