Sunday the 9^th marked 231 days since banana laborers and workers from other struggling sectors started out from the city of Chinandega to march towards Managua, where they arrived ten days later. It’s been almost eight months of intense struggle, of a peaceful but firm protest, and the workers have finally obtained what they were demanding. 

They had to risk their own lives several times. They threatened to bury themselves alive or set themselves on fire. They started hunger and thirst strikes, and seized facilities and public buildings to call attention to their cause and to make the Nicaraguan government hear their voices and heed their demands instead of hiding behind a shield of silence and indifference. Throughout this entire protest they lived in plastic makeshift tents, with little food and under very harsh conditions, making enormous sacrifices.

During their stay in Managua, more than 200 of our fellow workers from the different sectors (banana and sugar cane laborers) have died, and the memory of all these men and women will remain with us forever. They succeeded in getting the Nicaraguan people involved, receiving in turn much solidarity and concrete support. The media followed the progress of their struggle, every step of the way, a struggle that eventually expanded beyond Nicaraguan borders, reaching several corners of the world, thanks to international solidarity, and generating a strong reaction of protest and concrete support.

Moreover, the struggle was never without a broader significance, as it is ultimately a challenge to the transnational corporations responsible for the state of poverty, neglect and disease these workers are in.

After only a few days of their departure, a bittersweet sensation remains. They are happy to return to their families with tangible results, but also sad at leaving behind the relationships and comradeship forged over these eight months with the many people who visited the Stronghold every day bringing their solidarity, and who now stay here in Managua. After eight months, they became not only an integral part of the city, but also a part of the everyday life of the common people and of the many individuals that have stood besides them in their struggle.

But their leaving marks the beginning of something new. For the first time, after so many marches, significant and meaningful relations have been established with Nicaraguan and international civil society movements, relations that will contribute in the future to provide ongoing support for the hard struggle that awaits them. In order for the Nicaraguan authorities to honor the agreements signed, it will also be necessary to continually strengthen these ties to create a common pressure front.

A great march is convened for October 23 in Chinandega to celebrate these important victories. It will also be an opportunity to remind the authorities that their attention to the struggle of banana workers and the solidarity with the thousands of people affected does not end here. It will not be over and will not decrease with their departure from Managua. We will continue to be alert until the agreements are concluded and honored.

On October 7, protesting sectors met with Nicaraguan and international civil society with the aim of discussing the means to communicate among themselves and maintain their alliance. The banana workers have informed public opinion that they will join the other sectors that participated in the "March of No Return” to form a Workers’ Federation, and to bring together the sectors of men and women workers who risk their lives daily as a result of their contact with agrochemicals or due to their dreadful working conditions (tobacco, coffee, banana, sugar cane, etc.). As they closed the activity the workers read a declaration.

October 21, 2005