coraje en las calles...

i've been looking at this blank screen all day and while the students are putting off their homework, i've been doing all sorts of my own procrastinating. i want to, and need to write today - but how does one convey the coraje (rage) of an unheard people?

here in managua the municipal elections were held yesterday. people weren't thrilled with the candidates or the political parties and many predicted violence, but it didn't actually start until today when it became fairly certain that some pretty major electoral fraud had taken place.

the president's party claimed the victory early, but the opposing party went out into the streets to protest, to 'defend their vote'. i stood there watching the footage of streets just blocks from our house...of people screaming at each other in the streets, throwing out threats to the opposition, boys breaking apart rocks to throw at the people on the other side, groups destroying 'citizen power' campaign huts, bloody bodies being carted out...and it all seemed so surreal. i just wondered, who would go out into that by choice? but what other choice do they have? in a country where so many don't have anything - don't have food to eat, don't have land to farm, don't have a house for their family - i guess i can see why there's so much rage when they take away one thing they are supposed to have, their vote.

it also made me incredibly grateful for the democratic process in the states. i thought about how upset i was in the 2004 elections, how enormous my feeling of despair was, and at the same time how i still knew that our votes had been counted and that the people had decided. i can't imagine that feeling of despair on top of feeling like the system was completely broken.

today feels heavy and anxious and the air is charged. i feel sad and grateful and unjustly blessed. we're all staying indoors and the house is safe (please don't worry about my safety) but if you think of it, pray for resolution and transparency.