Focus on the Roundtable Discussion with Former Combatants in the Counterrevolutionary War
The second day of the seminar is dedicated to the conflict that brought 170,000 Nicaraguans to bear arms in the 1980s: its motives, its consequences and its aftermath into the 21st century.
The day begins with the presentation of a half-hour video on the war, showing actual footage of the time from both the national and international perspectives. Afterwards, seminar participants talk with Roberto Cajina, author and former adviser to Gen. Humberto Ortega, who was the Commander of the Sandinista Popular Army at the time. Cajina provides a unique account of the war, drawing both on his personal experience as a top security advisor during the war and on his experience as a researcher on the matter.
Already having the necessary background material, seminar participants are then introduced to a roundtable with former combatants from both sides: the Compas and the Contras. Generally there are two from each side, and each one of them makes a brief exposition about their personal background and in what capacity they participated in the conflict. After that, everything is up for conversation; from the motives for joining either side, to each panellists´ most traumatic experience during the conflict. Special emphasis is made on the matter of reconciliation, and on how the former foes have now joined efforts to overcome the still open wounds left by the war.
From left, Julio César Blandón (Commander Kalimán) and José Benito Bravo (Commander Mack) from the Resistance Army, Iván Escobar Pereira Captain (ret.) Alberto Gomez Rayo and Major (ret.) from the Sandinista Popular Army.
