Catalogue Number
NMLH.1994.168.456
Object Name
Poster
Title
War on Want poster to support Nicaragua - "Nicaragua must survive...women need our help now."
People
Ronald Reagan
Events
Nicaraguan Revolution
Description
This is a poster published by 'War on Want', an anti-poverty charity. The colours on the poster are white, black, white, light pink and dark pink. At the top it says "Nicaragua must survive..." and at the bottom "women need our help now." The top left has a box with information describing the socio-economcic situation of the women and why the charity want support. The cause/fundraiser was called 'women in Nicaragua container appeal.' The photograph in the middle is central to the poster, which is three Nicaraguan women in a field working. This photograph is in black and white. There is no description of these women, no names are given. From a current perspective this poster could be perpetuating white saviour narratives, with the Nicarguan women coming across as 'voiceless.' The photo does not identify the people in the photograph, there is no indication of who took the photo and whether the women in the photo gave informed consent for the photo to be taken. The historical context for the poster is provided on the top left - it says "since the Sandinista victory in 1979 women in Nicaragua have gained access to health care, education, employement..etc" It says the women are at risk due to "U.S backed military and econonomic destabilisation" - the charity says that money is needed for urgent needs and long term self sufficiency. Nicaragua was under Spanish rule until 1821, and was occuped by America from 1909 to 1933. The Sandinista National Liberation Front is a socialist political party which took over in 1979, overthrowing the Somoza Dynasty. The Somoza family were a hereditary dictatorship. The U.S military were involved in Nicaragua by providing aid, suspending the aid, and then the Reagan Administration funding the rebel groups with money, arms and training. They engaged in a systematic campaign of terror among the rural Nicaraguan population to disrupt the social reform projects of the Sandinistas. There de-stabilisation was funded by America. and meant many poorer Nicaraguans were murdered, raped and tortured. The poster is in good condition.
