Professor Finnegan
English 111 (009)
7 October 2012
The death of the young man in the Nicaraguan war The photograph by Koen Wessing, “Nicaragua” (1970) shows a group of people around a dead body on a torn up street in a tragic scene. In the foreground, lies a dead young man on a bumpy road covered with a white sheet, looks like an army boot on one foot sticking out. In the foreground, at the head of the body blood stains are noticeable. A woman who seems to be the young man’s mother walks right up to the body, holding up a sheet to her mouth, and starts to shed tears. In the background four people stand in the street, who appear to be family members or friends of the deceased. A man, who seems to be the boy’s father or uncle, walks behind the body towards the mother. He does not confront or look at the body, with his head down and his hands together in front of him at his waist as a sign of grief. Behind the man, a friend of the family stares at the body with a handkerchief to her nose, protecting her from the stench. Alongside her is a family member who is partially hidden by the man. Only a little part of her hair, arms and legs are visible. A family member also stares at the body with a sheet wrapped across her arm. I also notice that behind these people is graffiti on the door of a building which says “FSLN” which stands for Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional (Spanish). In English, this means Sandinista National Liberation Front which is a social democratic party in Nicaragua. On that same building I can see holes on a building behind the group of people maybe they are bullet holes, from the gun when they fired at the young man. Look like there is even a spent shell to the left of the head of the body. In this photo by Koen Wessing, it indicates how the family members and friends have been affected by the death of the young man, not only them but how the country as a whole has been deeply affected with the deaths and
Cited: Koen, Wessing. Nicaragua. 1970. Photograph. English 111 Course Page. Web.