“The mark of a civilized society is how it treats its children”

I could not agree more with the above quote from Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was executed for resisting the Nazis, when he said said, “The mark of a civilized society is how it treats its children”. The thing that stood out for me working in Cuba was how they treated and cared for their children and elderly. I once asked a Cuban policeman what is the worst crime one could commit in Cuba? Without hesitation he answered; “a crime against a child. We lock him up and throw away the key”.

Crimes against children I do not understand, or the insignificant sentences these criminals often get. Politicians in developed counties focus on economic growth and helping their donors get richer. I do have a problem with activists who campaign to protect the unborn of women who don’t want more children and when the infant is born into a dysfunctional family or poverty? They could care less what happens to the child.

Whatever one thinks of Daniel Ortega and his Sandinista socialist Government, what is clear is their efforts to improve the lives of the “many” Nicaraguans who never had much and don’t have the sense of entitlement many people in developing countries have. Certainly not wealthy Nicaraguans have who criticise every single thing the Sandinista Government does in Nicaragua. Political parties in development countries feed on this sense of entitlement, just arguing over who is most entitled. I have no problem with someone becoming rich as long as they pay the people who generated their wealth, a living wage. Then those people can pay tax for the government to provide the public services a civilised society requires. That in a nutshell is the Scandinavian model. I remember my mother telling me in the late 80s that it was what the Sandinista socialists aspired to create in Nicaragua. Its why my mother supported them and asked people to donate to Nicaragua at her funeral instead of flowers. So children of poor families, like the one she grew up in, could have the same opportunities in life as children from well off families.

This little boy lives in a very rural area. When he was two he was bitten by a snake on the leg. The family lived in a remote area similar to the one where Angel had his Crisp factory and with the help of the Sandinista Government transformed the lives of the community there. Fortunately the boys community now had a medical centre, thanks to the Government and the boy was taken there. The doctor was unable to manage the swelling as blood clots were forming. The boy was rushed to hospital and his leg had to be amputated he was only two years of age. It made me think of all those children being maimed and killed in Gaza, not by the unpredictability of nature but by evil humans. Israeli state sponsored terrorism, funded by politicians in developed countries in the west, who cover their eyes and ears and pretend not to know what is going on. They same politicians who put sanctions on Nicaragua for putting down an attempted coup which began with the shooting of two government policeman.

After the amputation a period of rehabilitation began at the “Aldo Chavarria Rehabilitation Hospital” (where I am work in Managua). The pictures show the three stages of recovery and development of a prosthesis for a child. . This was all provided by the FSLN government free of charge. Interestingly fifty procent of Nicaragua’s MPs are women, which may be one reason they put so much effort into providing child care. Only Scandinavia is ahead of Nicaragua in the role of women in influencing political policy.

This little boy would not have survived had this injury happened before the Revolution in 1979 and he probably would not have not survived had it happened in the 90s, during the 16 year period of American supported “Neo Con” Government. The boy would probably not have survived had this happened in most South American countries and some states in the US. The Sandinistas spend 19% of GDP on building a health care system for its people, higher than any south American country Daniel Ortega was re-elected in 2006, and again in 2011 and 2016 and 2021. The US and EU says the “elections must be rigged” Why would people keep voting for a Socialist? They ask. This little boy is why and he represents the many who vote, not the few watching from the beach houses in Miami.