Benjamin Ernest Linder (July 7, 1959–April 28, 1987), born in California, was a young American engineer who was working on a small hydroelectric dam in rural northern Nicaragua when he was killed by anti-government Contra rebels. Coming at a time when U.S. support for the Contras was already highly controversial, Linder's death made front-page headlines around the world and further polarized opinion in the United States. is the 188th day of the year (189th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 118th day of the year (119th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar). ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... Hydroelectric dam diagram The waters of Llyn Stwlan, the upper reservoir of the Ffestiniog Pumped-Storage Scheme in north Wales, can just be glimpsed on the right. ... For other uses, see Contra. ...

Biography

While in College at the University of Washington, Linder enjoyed juggling and was often seen around Seattle riding a 5-to-6-foot tall unicycle. He graduated in 1983, with a degree in mechanical engineering. He left his Oregon home that summer and moved to Managua, the capital of Nicaragua, bringing his unicycle along with him. The University of Washington, founded in 1861, is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. ... Juggling is a form of skillful, often artful, object manipulation. ... City nickname Emerald City City bird Great Blue Heron City flower Dahlia City mottos The City of Flowers The City of Goodwill City song Seattle, the Peerless City Mayor Greg Nickels County King County Area   - Total   - Land   - Water   - % water 369. ... A Torker unicycle A unicycle is a one-wheeled human-powered vehicle. ... Mechanical Engineering is an engineering discipline that involves the application of principles of physics for analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of mechanical systems. ... This article is about the capital city of Nicaragua. ...

Like hundreds of other young Americans (and others) at the time, Linder felt inspired by the 1979 Sandinista revolution, and wanted to support its efforts to improve the lives of the country's poorest people. The Reagan administration, however, saw the Sandinistas as a beachhead of Soviet Communism in the Western Hemisphere, and was determined to cripple the revolution. Beginning in 1981, the Central Intelligence Agency secretly trained, armed and supplied thousands of Contra rebels. A major element of the Contras' strategy was to launch attacks on rural schools, health clinics and power stations — the very things that most exemplified the improvements that had been brought about by the revolution. “Sandinista” redirects here. ... Reagan redirects here. ... CCCP redirects here. ... This article is about the form of society and political movement. ... The geographical western hemisphere of Earth, highlighted in yellow. ... CIA redirects here. ... For other uses, see Contra. ...

In 1986, Linder moved from Managua to El Cuá, a village in the Nicaraguan war zone, where he helped form a team to build a hydroelectric plant to bring electricity to the town. While living in El Cuá, he participated in vaccination campaigns, using his talents as a clown, juggler, and unicyclist to entertain the local children, for whom he expressed great affection and concern. El Cuá is a municipality in the Jinotega department of Nicaragua. ...

On 28 April 1987, Linder and two Nicaraguans were killed in a Contra ambush while working at the construction site for a new dam for the nearby village of San José de Bocay. The autopsy showed that Linder had been wounded by a grenade, then shot at point-blank range in the head. The two Nicaraguans — Sergio Hernández and Pablo Rosales — were also killed at close range. is the 118th day of the year (119th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar). ... San José de Bocay is a municipality in the Jinotega department of Nicaragua. ... This article is about the medical procedure. ... Grenade may refer to: The well-known hand grenade commonly used by soldiers. ...

Controversy

Linder's death quickly inflamed the already-polarized debate inside the United States, with opponents of U.S. policy decrying the use of taxpayers' dollars to finance the killing of an American citizen as well as thousands of Nicaraguan civilians.

The administration fought back, with White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater quoted in The New York Times as saying that U.S. citizens working in Nicaragua had "put themselves in harm's way". Assistant Secretary of State Elliott Abrams, an ardent proponent of the Contra War, echoed that view, saying that Linder should have known better than to be in a combat zone. For other uses, see White House (disambiguation). ... Max Marlin Fitzwater (born November 24, 1942) was White House Press Secretary for six years under presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush, making him one of the longest-serving press secretaries in history. ... The New York Times is a daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed internationally. ... The Assistant Secretary of State, from 1853 until 1913, was the second-ranking official within the American Department of State. ... Elliot Abrams Elliott Abrams (born January 24, 1948) is an American lawyer who has served in foreign policy positions for a number of U.S. Presidents, most recently George W. Bush. ...

Linder's mother Elizabeth, in Nicaragua for her son's funeral, said, "My son was brutally murdered for bringing electricity to a few poor people in northern Nicaragua. He was murdered because he had a dream and because he had the courage to make that dream come true. ... Ben told me the first year that he was here, and this is a quote, 'It's a wonderful feeling to work in a country where the government's first concern is for its people, for all of its people.' "

During a Congressional hearing in May 1987, some defenders of U.S. policy in Nicaragua responded, launching personal attacks on Linder's family and other witnesses. The Village Voice reported one exchange between Republican Congressman Connie Mack of Florida and Elizabeth Linder, who had just given emotional testimony about her son's work and motivations. Mack accused Mrs. Linder of using her grief "to politicize this situation", adding, "I don't want to be tough on you, but I really feel you have asked for it." The Village Voice is a New York City-based weekly newspaper featuring investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts reviews and events listings for New York City. ... GOP redirects here. ... Connie Mack III Cornelius Alexander McGillicuddy III (born October 29, 1940 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), known as Connie Mack for short, is a former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1983 to 1989 and of the United States Senate from 1989 to 2001, all from Florida. ... This article is about the U.S. State of Florida. ...

The death of Linder, coming as Congressional hearings investigated the Iran-Contra Affair, fueled the debate in the U.S. over the covert war in Nicaragua. The next year, Congress refused to renew aid to the Contras. But the civil war, conscription into the army, the collapse of the economy, and the curtailment of civil liberties in the mid-1980s all combined to cause the landslide defeat of the FSLN government in February 1990 elections. The Iran-Contra Affair was a political scandal occurring in 1987 as a result of earlier events during the Reagan administration in which members of the executive branch sold weapons to Iran, an avowed enemy, and illegally used the profits to continue funding anti-Communist rebels, the Contras, in Nicaragua. ... Civil liberties is the name given to freedoms that protect the individual from government. ... Sandinista! is also the name of a popular music album by The Clash. ...

In July 1996, an American journalist named Paul Berman wrote an article in the The New Yorker ("In search of Ben Linder's killers" The New Yorker. Sep 23, 1996. Vol. 72, Iss. 28; p. 58), which featured an interview with a man who claimed to have killed Linder. Linder's parents and their lawyers publicly denounced the article and disputed the veracity of the man Berman interviewed. In 2001 Joan Kruckewitt, an American journalist who lived in Nicaragua from 1983 to 1991 and covered the war between the Sandinistas and the Contras for ABC Radio wrote a book The Death of Ben Linder (Seven Stories Press 2001) giving a more sympathetic portrait of Linder's life, work, and death. Paul Berman is a prominent liberal American intellectual. ... For other uses, see New Yorker. ... For other uses, see ABC Radio (disambiguation). ...

The song "Fragile" on Sting's 1987 album, ...Nothing Like the Sun, is a tribute to Ben Linder. The 1990 book Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver is dedicated to his memory. This article is about the musician. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Animal Dreams is a 1990 novel by Barbara Kingsolver. ... Barbara Kingsolver (born April 8, 1955) is an American fiction writer. ...

See also

• Witness for Peace
• Bill Stewart, an ABC reporter killed along with his interpreter a decade earlier in Nicaragua.
• Rachel Corrie, an American killed in Palestine while protesting against Israel.
• Brian Willson, an American injured by a Naval Munitions train while protesting US arms shipments to Central America.

There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... Bill Stewart was a reporter for ABC news who was executed by government forces in Nicaragua. ... This article is about the American broadcast network. ... Rachel Corrie Rachel Corrie (April 10, 1979 – March 16, 2003) was an American member of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) who traveled to the Gaza Strip during the Al-Aqsa Intifada. ... Brian Willson giving a talk in Canada, 2003 S. Brian Willson, (b. ...

External links

• The Death of a Dreamer, from the Religious Task Force on Central America and Mexico
• Publisher's webpage for The Death of Ben Linder, by Joan Kruckewitt ISBN 1-58322-068-2
  • The Death of Ben Linder (excerpt)
• Ben Linder explains the functions of the small scale hydro-electric facility in El Cuá, Nicaragua requires RealAudio
• Photo gallery of Ben Linder as a unicyclist
• Casa Ben Linder is a meeting place and has served as an "incubator" for solidarity organizations in Nicaragua
• Ben Linder Marc Becker's site
• The Linder House Co-op at the University of Michigan.