The Nicaragua Exchange (NE) records provide incomplete documentation about the organization's own origins and operations, but they contain rich information about the importance that Nicaragua held as an issue to the American people and about the impact that volunteer work in that country had on many individuals. The voluminous files of volunteer applications and evaluations, as well as the clippings and the Brigadista Bulletin (which is available in the SHSW Library), provide extensive data about the individuals recruited for the brigades and about their experiences in Nicaragua.
The CORRESPONDENCE is arranged into three sections: Incoming, Outgoing, and Organizational correspondence. The extensive, chronologically-arranged, incoming correspondence has been weeded to remove routine requests for information. Remaining are letters from applicants that reveal their views on Nicaragua and from returned volunteers that concern their experiences or comment on topics discussed in the Brigadista Bulletin. There are also many letters about local activities in support of the Sandinista government. During the early months of 1984 the correspondence almost exclusively deals with the publication of the newsletter.
Outgoing correspondence is very extensive for 1984 and the early months of 1985. Because of the organization's financial problems after this time Miles and Rafferty were forced to find other employment. The NE office was thereafter managed primarily by volunteer Suzanne Marten, and the diminished volume of outgoing letters reflects this smaller staff. Undated form letters and news releases are filed at the end of the outgoing correspondence.
The organizational correspondence contains exchanges with Nicaragua Network, Nuevo Instituto de Centro America (NICA), Student Brigades for Peace, and several other groups actively involved with the Nicaragua issue. The Nicaragua Network files contain both correspondence and informational mailings (many of which are undated). Although there is some correspondence with Debbie Reuben, national coordinator of NNSNP in Washington, D.C., it is likely that these files are incomplete. The incomplete nature of the correspondence is especially prominent for 1983 and early 1984 when NNSNP was still responsible for organizing the harvest brigades as well as the special project brigades. A letter dated February 19, 1985, from Reuben to Dale Wiehoff, another NE staff member, indicates that relations between the two groups were strained at the time. Also of interest is a memo concerning a meeting with Reuben which discussed the role of Abbie Hoffman in the Nicaragua movement. While the NNSNP correspondence appears incomplete, the flyers and informational mailings in the collection provide relatively good coverage of NNSNP's own activities through early 1987.
The files about NICA are similar but much smaller. About CNSP there is a memo on a brigade evaluation meeting in Managua dated October 14, 1985. Also of interest are files on the FBI harassment experienced by some brigadistas and on the Third World Brigade, one of the special groups organized by Nicaragua Exchange. (Other special brigades were comprised of senior citizens, women, and students and youth.) This file documents the work of Audrey Seniors in organizing a brigade composed of third world and Black volunteers.
The ADMINISTRATIVE RECORDS contain fragmentary information about the operation of NE's New York City office. Included are phone messages, notes, and appointment calendars, but administrative documentation as basic as the articles of incorporation are missing. In addition, although it is very clear that Nicaragua Exchange suffered from financial problems, the only records of this type are receipts from a special 1985 fundraising effort. Also of interest are applications completed by office volunteers (including Gail Gabler who handled NE's peace outreach activities and who figured prominently in the outgoing 1984 correspondence) and a sample of the release form that was signed by all volunteers.
PROMOTIONAL RECORDS suggest the emphasis that Nicaragua Exchange placed on using the experiences of brigadistas to educate the American public about conditions in Nicaragua. Information of this type may be found in newspaper clippings and in the file entitled “Recollections,” as well as in the Brigadista Bulletin, which is available in the SHSW Library. Also part of the collection are several promotional films and tape recordings produced by other organizations which referred potential volunteers to Nicaragua Exchange. Of special interest is the RKO news feature “An American in Nicaragua” which includes an interview with Sara Miles.
The questionnaires completed by volunteers concerning their willingness to do outreach and publicity about Nicaragua also contain some information on newsworthy events volunteers witnessed during their stay in Nicaragua. Also part of this series is recruiting material such as posters and leaflets and several public service announcements and programs prepared by other organizations that mentioned Nicaragua Exchange.
BRIGADE AND LEADERSHIP RECORDS are subdivided into information about each brigade, which is then arranged chronologically by date of departure, and separate files on each of the brigade leadership positions: area organizers, group leaders, and health personnel (which Nicaragua Exchange referred to as Health Responsibles).
About each of the brigades, even those sponsored by NNSNP in 1983 and 1984, there are applications and evaluations, although the evaluations appear less complete than the application files. The 1983-1984 evaluations have been combined into one file, while the later evaluations are separated by brigade. The applications provide information about each individual, their backgrounds, and their reasons for wishing to work in Nicaragua. Several brigades are also documented here by correspondence and promotional materials. Separate files of passport photographs are included for some delegations, while photos of applicants are attached to the applications of later brigades. These files are followed by folders containing applications from volunteers who withdrew and a smaller category of applications and correspondence pertaining to individuals whose applications were rejected.
