How Much Does a Banana Really Cost?
Nicaragua
Bucknell University
Grace Han, United States
Connie Low, Malaysia
Lauren Weinstein, United States
Brittany Szabo, United States
Bianka Ballina-Calderon, Nicaragua, Red Cross Nordic UWC
Dick Muyambi, Uganda, Red Cross Nordic UWC
Intially, the goal of our project was to raise awareness about the situation of the Nicaraguan
banana workers in their fight against the American fruit corporations. That is, the issue of the usage of the
illegal pesticide, Dibromo chloropropane (DBCP), commercially known as Nemagon and Fumazone.
Our group traveled around Nicaragua from June 16 through July 7 interviewing and filming the
former banana workers as well as their lawyers, doctors, opponents and related persons. With our
footage we created a documentary to tell the story of the banana workers’ fight for survival in Nicaragua.
With the completion of our documentary, we were able to organize a premiere at Bucknell where a large
number of students were able to learn about the story of the banana workers. Our documentary will be
distributed throughout influential human rights organizations. In addition, our group will take our
documentary to various conferences and universities where will be able to educate people about the
complexity of the banana workers fight against the multi-national corporations. Although in the
beginning we had no real expectations for our project other than raising awareness, we are dedicated to
continuing these efforts beyond Projects for Peace to find these banana workers some tangible aid.
The value of this project is that it is not limited to our $10,000 grant. Through our project, we
have developed personal attachments to the people at the banana workers’ encampment in Nicaragua.
These personal attachments will lead the way to a continued commitment to see their current situation
improve. We are trying to change their current situation of hunger, homelessness and illness by
providing money for food, homes and medical care. One of the most meaningful connections that we had
during the project was playing with the children, who despite their situation were able to smile. Their
smiles gave us the courage and hope that our project could indeed make a difference.
The organization of this project previous to leaving the U.S. included collaborating with
organizations in Nicaragua (including Managua, Nueva Vida and Leon) for places to stay as well as
connections with people we could talk to about the banana workers’ story. While in Nicaragua, we spent
the first 10 days in Managua at the Center for Global Education. It is located about a 10-minute walk
away from the National Assembly where the banana workers are camped outside. For these ten days, we
spent time interviewing the leaders of the encampment and other former banana workers who have been
living at the encampment for about 8 years now. Leaving the encampment on the last day was a true
struggle for us. We all plan to go back as soon as possible.
After leaving Managua, we traveled to Leon where we met with an American filmmaker, Jason
Glaser, who has been documenting the lives of the banana and sugar cane workers for about 2 years. He
helped us connect with lawyers and other experts on the subject. This portion of the trip definitely serves
as the investigative side of the documentary. Through these connections, we were able to piece together
the history of DBCP and also came to find out details to the story that cannot be found on the Internet or
in books. In Leon, there is another smaller group of banana workers that are camped outside a
government building. We traveled to this camp to get their story, which varied a little from the group in
Managua. They have a separate lawyer and lawsuits.
Since all six of us had already visited Nicaragua previous to Projects for Peace, we did not have
to deal with the initial cultural shock of visiting this third world country. Instead, we were able to
embrace the culture and focus on the problem at hand. One of the challenges that we did face, however,
was that the six of us students are all from different backgrounds. Some of us are from the United States
and we also have three students from Uganda, Malaysia and Nicaragua. Our diverse backgrounds
provided various perspectives on what we were studying. Although we overcame our differences from
the very beginning through multiple discussions, we were still faced with layers of perspectives from so
many people that we met while in Nicaragua. We became so frustrated as we were trying to attain some
apparent “truth” to the story. What we came to find out was that the story could be told from multiple
points of view. The most “truth” that we saw was the grave situation that these banana workers face
every day. No matter what Dole or Chiquita claims or what the lawyers argue, we saw for our own eyes
the suffering the banana workers experience. This reality is plain and simple, and it needs attention. It
needs attention from American citizens, from the American government and the Nicaraguan
government. We realized that pointing fingers did not solve problems, but rather, working together was
the solution.
Initially, the $10,000 grant seemed as though it would never be spent. However, we soon realized
that there is so much one can do with money in Nicaragua. The problem with money is that it is
inevitably disposable in a sense. We saw that these people needed food, shelters and medical care.
However, $10,000 can only go so far, especially when we had to take money for airfare, accommodation,
food and transportation. This, we realized, is not going to be a sustainable solution. We need to come up
with a way in which we can help the banana workers help themselves in the long run.
One of the questions that a lot of people our age ask is, “What difference can I make?” Through
this project, we were able to see that no matter how small our efforts may seem in the grand scheme of
things, if each one of us does our part, it will most likely result in big change. In this way, this frequently
asked question was answered. One of our hopes is that other students will watch our documentary and
will be inspired to overcome their fears of feeling like they cannot make significant change in this world.
With the support of professors at Bucknell as well as filmmakers and other influential people
who have expressed interest in our efforts, we are able to continue our project and hopefully see it
through to some solution. Through collaboration with Catawampus Films and La Isla Foundation, we are
forming an alliance for long-term change for the banana workers. It is incredible that an organization like
Projects for Peace is able to spark these initiatives that will probably turn into long-standing efforts.
Ultimately, Projects for Peace helps students to discover their potential to encourage peace.
Although our documentary speaks for itself, no film could possibly convey perfectly the
experience that was Projects for Peace. With that, we are glad to present to you, “Missing Seeds: The True
Story of the Banana Workers’ Fight for Survival in Nicaragua.”