
          U.S. Community Organizer Wounded by Contras
          By Garber, CarterCarter Garber
          Vol. 10, No.5, 1988, p. 8
          
          The Rev. Lucius Walker, of the Interreligious Foundation for
Community Organization was wounded in August while leading a study
tour to Nicaragua. Walker is the founding director of IFCO, a
national, ecumenical, social justice agency.
          Walker and nine other tour members were on a civilian ferry from
the Atlantic coast to the inland town of Rama when the boat wee hit by
gunfire and mortars. Of the 197 people on board, two Nicaraguan
civilians were killed and twenty-nine others were wounded including
Walker. He was fortunate only to have been grazed by a bullet.
          Walker said the attack was deliberately aimed at civilians and was
an attempt to sink the ferry. Contras have attacked the express boat
three times in the past, but have not previously denied responsibility
as they did in the August 2 incident. Walker suggested the denials for
the recent attack were due to the presence on the ferry of
U.S. citizens. Walker said Nicaraguan civilians continue to be
"wounded and terrorized in contra attacks," despite ceasefire
agreements.
          This study tour was one of many that have taken North American
community and church leaders to Central America. An estimated 70,000
U.S. citizens have traveled to Nicaragua in the past decade. The IFCO
study tour lost no time in communicating what they had experienced,
holding press conferences in Managua, Miami, New York, and
Washington. Walker urged concerned citizens to ask their
representatives to reject all further aid to the contract, and to
encourage the Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere Affairs to hold
hearings on destabilization of the peace process by the U.S. State
Department and the increased attacks by the contras on civilian
targets (Contact: Rep. George Crokett, Chair, 2235 Rayburn Bldg.,
Washington, DC 20015; 2022252261).
          The majority of IFCO's work is in the U.S. where the
twenty-two-year-old group fosters church support for community
organizing. IFCO provides technical assistance and training in
proposal writing, program planning, and organizing. It serves as a
fiscal agent and is initiating a fellowship program so that Third
World organizers can take a sabbatical to improve their work.
          Walker said organizers need a broader world view to understand the
context of problems they face locally. "Fine basic issues on which
communities organize--poverty, unemployment, homelessness--are similar
in both North and Central America," states Walker. IFCO study
tours are intended to help North Americans learn why and how Central
Americans are organizing and changing their communities. IFCO also
sponsors Central American Information Weeks during which speakers are
made available throughout a state. Such events were held recently in
South Carolina and Kentucky. For information, contact IFCO, 402
W. 145th St., New York, NY 10031; 212-926-6757.
        