Arlen Siu

   Arlen Siu was a Chinese-Nicaraguan Sandinista soldadera who was one of the first women to die in the Sandinista revolution. At 18, she joined the Sandinistas as an ardent believer in the revolution. Her essays on Marxism and feminism were reportedly widely read. Given that I have been unable to find any of her essays, my guess is that her essays only remained an unpublished manuscript (or were destroyed).

   Arlen had also gained fame at the onset of the revolution for her role in the music of folkloric group, Grupo Pancasan. At 20, she was killed in an ambush, leaving behind her image which members of the FLSN have regarded to this day as a powerful figure of inspiration and memory. Her image invoked in the youth a spirit of rebellion and hope, a wish for a better Nicaragua, abundant with freedom and bread. In an interview with her mother and brother, both expressed their joy and gratitude for the FLSN's recognition and adoption of Arlen as a symbol of youthful vigilance and opposition to tyranny. Her family recall that Arlen, as a little girl, was imbued with Christian values which would manifest in her eagerness to help the poor in the communities she ventured in. It was clear to Arlen, from the very start, that she lived in a country in which the poor, the sick, and the outcasts were in need of attention. Her compassion did not just stem from being raised a Christian, but in her ability to see the depth of the suffering to which her fellow neighbors and her family were subject to daily. In her childhood and teen years, Arlen gathered used clothes and food to give to the most needed. She would stay with them for hours, consoling them, teaching them the alphabet, and learning about them. She gave her time and hands to any kind of communal campaign that was involved in working directly with the people. Her mother recalls that Arlen, as a little girl, once said to her, "Mami, the children want bread, let's give it to them!"

  Although many websites record Arlen's death in 1972, other sources, including testimony from her siblings, attest to her death in 1975. In late December of 1972 up until January 1973, Arlen was in Carazo, helping refugees from the Managua earthquake. A few days prior to that, many testify that Arlen was in Managua, assisting students in a hunger strike for a campaign called "Navidad sin reos politicos" (Christmas without political prisoners).

  But Arlen also had more personality than the main one that made it her life and ethic to help the poor. Her brother recalls that Arlen had a series of personas that were lively and creative. Arlen also painted, sang, wrote poetry, danced, and learned to play the guitar. Her enthusiasm affected those around her, enticing them to join her. She composed "Maria Rural", a beautiful song she wrote with her sister. Arlen combined her revolutionary fervor with her artistic ability, viewing both endeavors as an expressive vision of a future Nicaragua. The day that Arlen joined the FSLN, she did not return home to inform her family and forbid them farewell. Arlen immediately left with the Sandinistas and sent a letter home, assuring her mother that she was safe and explaining her commitment to the revolution.

  Apart from Arlen as the revolutionary, Christian, and important communal figure, Arlen was also a vital voice to the women's movement. The Sandinista movement, in general, failed to emphasize the importance of the liberation of women, which is why they did not gain as much support from the women's sector as they could have. Although main leaders of the FLSN, like Carlos Fonseca, saw the importance of women's involvement and did shock many of his male companions with his high esteem and treatment of women, the question of women did not garner much attention or detail in Sandinista ideology. Arlen, however, was one of the few Sandinistas, who spoke and wrote about the necessity of women's rights and political development in the movement.

   I encourage my comrades to listen to her song and to listen also to Grupo Pancasan, both can either be youtubed or downloaded at www.perrerac.org. If there is anyone who represents better the unity between christian values and Sandinista ideology, fused with the women's movement, it is Arlen Siu. Reading about Arlen has encouraged me to learn more about the influence of Sandinista ideology and attention to the several feminist movements that were happening during the revolution. In the future, I am hoping to write an essay, drawing the comparative connections where Sandinismo and Marxist feminist thought crossed each other's paths.

Hat tip to my comrade, Selucha, for sending me the interview with her mother and brother!

Sources:
"Entrevistas a la familiares de la Compañera, Arlen Siu, Su mama, Señora Nubia Bermudez, y su hermano, Marlon Siu". 2010, August 2. Juan Jose Lacayo.
"Mothers of Heroes and Martyrs: Gender Identity Politics in Nicaragua, 1979-1999". 2001. Bayard de Volo, Loraine.