Don TRANSLATED AND EDITED BY MEDEA BENJAMIN “In the clearest of language, this bravest of humans, this courageous woman, Elvia Alvarado, tells the story of her life and the life of the people of Honduras. Read it and understand the straggle against tyranny of the poor. Read it and act."—Alice Walker_ F \?\dX-DJL It's a wonderful book! Elvia Alvarado makes the connections so many have made, and are making, in the continental fight for survival. Medea Benjamin has done us a great service by giving us the voice of this Honduran woman." —Margaret Randall Author, photographer, teacher Here is a voice seldom heard, the voice of Latin America's majority, those who bear the burdens of society. If we are to understand Honduras, Central America, or, for that matter, Latin America, we must listen attentively to this voice. It has much to teach us. It commands the future." —E. Bradford Burns Professor of History, UCLA //Elvia's story provides the reader with a perspective on Honduras—indeed, on all of Central America—that even the best reporting from the outside cannot offer." —Most Reverend John R. Quinn Archbishop of San Francisco /y Elvia Alvarado's insights are simple and penetrating. Her account of the life of a campesina is deeply moving, as is her courage and achievement." —Noam Chomsky Professor and author y/Elvia Alvarado speaks as a woman, a mother, and as a peasant organizer. Her story tells of the courageous efforts of peasant communities to obtain such basic needs as land, food, education, and health care. It is an important contribution to the firsthand accounts that communicate the everyday effects of political and social forces." —Isabel Letelier Chilean human rights activist /yThis peasant woman's touching and open account can help us understand why the turmoil in Central America is not an East-West conflict, but a metaphor for first and third world disparities." —Dr. Charlie Clements Author, Witness to War DON'T BE AFRAID, GRINGO n a e c O ntic Atla R O D A V L A S L E DON'T BE AFRAID, GRINGO A Honduran Woman Speaks from the Heart THE STORY OF ELVIA ALVARADO Translated and Edited by Medea Benjamin jjhl Harper Perennial feMfl A Division o/HarperCollinsPwWisAm This book was originally published in 1987 by The Institute for Food and Development Policy. It is here reprinted by arrangement with The Institute for Food and Development Policy. don't be afraid, gringo. Copyright © 1987 by The Institute for Food and Development Policy. Photos copyright © 1987 by Susan Meiselas/Magnum Photos, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information address Harper & Row, Publishers, Inc., 10 East 53rd Street, New York, N.Y. 10022. First perennial library edition published 1989. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOG CARD NUMBER 88-45725 ISBN 0-06-097205-X 95 96 97 RRD 15 14 13