example, they recently completed a successful literacy campaign to ensure that the majority of the people can read and write. Russell Johnson, national secretary of the Socialist Action League of New Zealand, recently visited Nicaragua to find out what is happening there and what support workers in other countries can give to the revolution. This is an abridged form of his eye-witness account from Nicaragua.
Politics at every turn. This is the overwhelming impression of Nicaragua today, as the mass of the population, emerging from 50 years of dictatorship, soaks up political ideas.
The radio, the television, the daily newspapers - all are devoted in the first instance to the discussion and debate of politics, both national and international. Television especially is used by the government to explain its policies to people up and down the country. State - the government body which discusses new policy for the country.
PARTICIPATION OF WOMEN A particularly impressive aspect of this democratic organisation is the extent of the participation of women. This despite the fact that Nicaragua is a very poor country with few resources available to spend on providing public facilities like child care to ease the burden of being a wife and mother.
Women were nearly a third of the anti-Somoza guerrilla forces and today are a visible component of the 3C Sandinista army and police. In the unions. in the student organisations, and in the government. we. men seemed to play a gromment role. Women's dull participator in society is conscicusly enconaged by the leadership of the revolution.
Another main achievement of the revolution has been the progress made in reactivating and reconstructing the economy in the interests of working people, despite inadequate aid from other countries. Unemployment has been slashed through the creation of 90,000 jobs in one year.
SOCIAL WELFARE Health care, education and social welfare are being constantly expanded and improved, despite the poverty of the country. Much help in doing this has come from socialist Cuba. It has provided 2,000 teachers and hundreds of doctors to help establish education and health facilities in the most remote parts of the country.
In the countryside the amount of crops that have been planted has exceeded the government's hopes. The big problem they face now is finding sufficient labour to harvest them.
And even in the cities, where the destruction was the greatest, the factories, the houses and the roads are being slowly rebuilt and the ecbeen staying here.
ment. aign.
CONTINUE REVOLUTION overthrow Smoze.
of the rally.
ward". back now.
They struggles against imperialism. Front.
go all the way!"
out bosses. about economic conditions in the country. For instance, there has been a sugar shortage while I have One of the most inspiring meetings I have been to in Nicaragua was the First National Assembly of the July 19 Sandinista Youth MoveAbout 1.000 delegates had gathered to, as a banner put it, "Stop to reflect so as to advance more strongly". And to project new tasks for the nation's revotutionary youth who have been the backbone of a recent literacy campThe assembly had been named in honour o: Pedro Arauz Palacio. a young martyre: te sigee:
His = was brough: orto the stage as pari When she spoke, she simply said: "Keep my son's example in mind. Don't let his sacritice be in vain.
Continue to take the revolution forAnd that is the attitude of the overwhelming mass of the Nicarag. uans today. So many people, especially the young, sacrificed their arouno mem. lives to overthrow the dictator, that they feel there can be no turning want to build a new Nicaragua, one in which their children can have a secure and happy future. They want Nicaragua to develop so that it can be a strong example and RIGHTS firm base of support to the other oppressed peoples of Central and South America in their liberation And they feel that in Nicaragua today this road is being guaranteed children. by the increasing participation of the workers and poor farmers in the running of the country, led by the Sandinista National Liberation As a popular slogan here goes: "Only the workers and farmers will And that means ACTION building a socialist Nicaragua withNCCC members lobby TUC.
On January 24, hundreds of women will be attending the second National Child-Care Conference. The aim of the conference is to work out the aims of the campaign and to launch action The need for such action was never from more urgent than today. One of the major victims of the Tories' cuts programme has been nursery provision for the under 5's. Up and down the country councils have began to axe the (already inadequate) facilities that exist.
The result of this attack is becoming only too clear. Thousands of working motners arouna tne country are being forced either to find untrained babyminders (at a cost they can ill afford) or leave their jobs to care for their This attack upon women's rights fits in with the general thrust of the Thatcher government to drive women out of the workforce back into the home. It fits into the general cuts in social services which attempt to place on women the care of the young, sick and the disabled.
The last child-care conference, in July, was an important step forward in begining a fight-back against Tory policies. It brought together activists from a whole number of local child-care campaigns (from Bristol to Glasgow), began to discuss our une issues ano elected a national ad-hoc committee.
Over the past 6 months or so, the ad-hoc committee has helped issue propaganda ana inuate a number or acavities, such as the lobby of the TUC in September, which won a sympathetic hearing from delegates.
What is needed - at this conference - is a clear national focus which can unite all the various groups fighting local cut-backs in child-care. It is only by placing responsibility where ir belongs - on the government - that we can unite and make a woman's right to a job a national issue. SUPPORT As with the National Abortion Camp. aign, a key element of building such a mass action campaign must be a struggle inside the unions and Labour Party to convince them that women's rights is an issue they cannot ignore or walk away Such a thrust is vital because it is onl by gaining the support of the powerful unions - as did the Campaign Against Corrie - that the government's attacks can be stopped in their tracks A central thrust of this will be fighting for the TUC - which already has its "Charter for the Under 5s' - to begin fighting for, and not just talking about it. A useful step forward here might be calling a national one-day trade union conference around the issue.
Such a fight has also to be taken into the Labour Party. The ad-hoc committee (set up at tne last comerence) recentiy established a Labour Party sub-group to work through the Labour Party nationally.
This was a maior step forward and should be built upon in the coming period. Child-care rights should be promoted within the branches of the Labour Party with the aim of getting them to take up the issue both locally and at a national level.
The aim of such an offensive should be to get the next Labour government to pledge to reverse all cuts on child care as a pre-requisite to establishing a comprehensive child-care service BOLD If the coming NCCC conference can adopt bold policies such as these - and take zen into me labour movemell -there is no reason why it cannot draw thousands into the fight for a women's right to work If you would like to affiliate your local LP/trade union branch to the NULl — or woula lke to attena th conference - please write to: NCCC c'o Surray Docks Child Care ?:!e: Dockiand Settlement, RediE: R: London SE16
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