1. Danielle Cresci
COM 448: GWAR
People of the Dump
Imagine waking up on your bed made out of a burlap sack, wet from the cold moist dirt
under you. Your home is made of scrap metal, tarps, and cardboard boxes that your parents put
together so there is a roof over your head, protecting you from the elements. You step outside
and for as far as you can see, is mountains of trash and an ever-hovering cloud of dust, small
fires, and other malnourished peoples who look just like yourself. This is the daily life of 1,000
people, fifty percent of that being children under the age of 18, who live in La Chureca in
Managua, Nicaragua. La Chureca is a slang term for the city landfill; it refers to the community
who live and work there, sifting and filtering through the garbage daily to find bottles to recycle
or food to eat daily (Athanasiadou, Cuadra, Marsh, Bergman & Jakobsson, 2008).
Nicaragua is the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, following Haiti. In
December of 1972, a large earthquake struck Managua leaving most of the city in rubble. This
event lead to a significant increase in poverty; approximately 700 people faced unemployment
(Bergin, 2008) A census collected by the Central Intelligence Agency [CIA] (2005) found that
the population living below the poverty line was 48%. Having no home and no work, families
migrated to La Chureca to build a new life. Approximately 200 families call this city trash dump
their home. Aside from being home for the poorest families in the country, it is also the only
municipal domestic and industrial waste disposal site in the capital city of Managua, resting on
the banks of Lake Managua. This lake is the second largest lake in Nicaragua, and the recipient
of domestic and industrial water waste from the city (Cuadra, Linderholm, Athanasiadou &
Jakobsson, 2006). The degree of risk for major infectious diseases runs high throughout
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2. Nicaragua. Food and waterborne diseases that affect communities include bacterial diarrhea,
hepatitis A, and typhoid fever; they are also subject to malaria and leptospirosis (CIA, 2009).
The horrible injustices that the community and environment of La Chureca face is a civil
rights issue, and an example of a “sacrifice zone.” According to Higgins and Bullard, a
“sacrifice zone” is “located far away from and out of view of the centers of power.” (Hendry,
2010) Sacrifice is a heavy term with strong emotional connotation attached to it, and is used to
evoke deep emotions. It is commonly used to demonstrate the surrender of something prized for
the sake of the “whole” which is valued more.
My reason for focusing on the crisis of La Chureca for this paper is to shine light on the
situation. When doing research, I realized just how little attention it gets from the mass media,
and even from the local media in Nicaragua. It is surprising and disheartening that this subject is
not commonly prevalent in public discourse. The majority of web sites that I found relating to
La Chureca were from mission groups, most being from the United States’ Midwest region.
Because of this, the information provided on these sites have a religion based bias, and have a
specific intention. Many devices and strategies used by these groups play to one’s emotional
side to channel thinking.
In this research paper, I will be discussing how La Chureca is discussed in public
discourse. My paper is organized by splitting it into three sections of rhetorical analysis. The
first is pathos, followed by jeremiad, and concluding with dystopia. I will provide separate texts
of religious based web sources to further demonstrate how the specified strategies are being
used. By highlighting these three specific strategies, I will show how the use of emotion
evocative language can channel one’s thinking and the image that is placed onto La Chureca. I
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3. will conclude my paper by proposing a call to action that I believe is a step in the right direction
to be the voice of the people.
As previously mentioned, pathos is a dominant player when discussing La Chureca.
Hendry (2010) explains pathos as the appeal used “to move the audience to become emotionally
engaged and to move the audience to action.” It commonly arouses feelings of fear, pity, sorrow,
and sympathy. The two elements of emotional narrative are suasive and enargeia. Suasive
language is designed to channel the audience’s opinion in favor or against a subject. Enargeia
language is the element that persuades the audience to act (Kies, 2011). In the texts about La
Chureca, backed by mission groups, the act being urged is that of charity; the goal is to collect
donations claimed to go towards education and rebuilding the community.
A prime example of pathos that I found is the website La Chureca: Children of the
Garbage. By using the phrase “children of the garbage” in the title, it pushes the mindset that
these children are products of the garbage community that they live in; it encourages the reader
to connect their experience to “garbage” and the difficult lifestyle the children of Managua live.
The main focus on the screen in a grayscale picture of a young girl with an infant on her
shoulders, standing between the mountains of trash in La Chureca. In big, light green letters it
reads, “In need of HOPE.” The image speaks volumes about the power of pathos; it evokes
emotions that makes the audience feel sorrow, pity, and sympathy towards this little girl.
Underneath the image is a short paragraph about the girl, Maria, and makes the intentions of The
Holy Cross of Nicaragua that established the website clear. Words and phrases that are used are
“depriving,” “all day long...rummages,” “home to her shack,” and “to give children like Maria a
chance at life” are used to induce intense emotions and urge action to donate. Using this
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4. language, it plays to the sympathy that most humans naturally have, and the mentality that many
share: No child should be subjected to live in these conditions. Adding to that, by giving a story
about this girl named Maria, it puts a soul into the image provided; it’s not just a picture, it’s real
life, and makes it three dimensional.
A similar example is on the World Challenge Organization web site. The title of their
section on La Chureca is the similar to the previous, Children of the Garbage Dump. Words and
phrases are used to rouse sympathetic emotions throughout the page, and emphasize the religious
aspect of the World Challenge Organization. One phrase in particular that effectively makes the
reader feel an emotional connection is “The longing in their hearts goes deeper than we can even
imagine.” It allows the reader to think of their individual wants, and compares it to the children
of La Chureca not having their basic needs met. The narrative on the page is a comparison
between the life of a “typical” teenager in the United States, and life of a “typical” child in the
Managua dump. It uses polarizing language to show the contrast between these two lifestyles
with phrases such as “my healthy sons” and “malnourished and diseased children.”
This web site in particular uses heavy, descriptive words like “unimaginable horror,”
“horrid realities,” and “mountains of stench.” These words used by the author channel the
reader’s thinking to the worst place imaginable, and places the mental image of children calling
this place “home.” It is pathos rhetoric because it relates to all parts: it arouses feelings of fear,
pity, sorrow, and sympathy, as well as urges the reader to act upon these emotions.
The pathos rhetorical style is similar to that of Jeremiad, it is based on emotion and the
urge to act. There are three parts in the jeremiad form; it starts with a criticism, followed by a
call to change, and leads to a vision of hope for the future. Evocative strategies of the jeremiad
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5. are apparent throughout the texts I have analyzed. It is based on the story of Jeremiah from the
Biblical Old Testament, and therefore uses allusions to biblical texts, poetic and metaphorical
language, and heavy imagery that is close to the human life-world (Hendry, 2010).
Food For The Poor, a religious organization that travels to the poorest countries in the
world, featured an article that exemplifies this jeremiad rhetoric. Laced with pictures of starving
children and animals, accompanied by strong statements with bold typeface, it draws the reader
in. The article, Experiences in Hell, captures that the storyteller’s experience of visiting the
dump, as well as influences the mindset of the audience. A strong word such as “hell” is biblical,
and relies upon the use of imagery to make the reader feel the depths of despair that these people
are living. The use of “hell” by a religious group is particularly interesting; it speaks of hell as
this deep, dark and eternal place that is known as the “underworld.” It says La Chureca is the
equivalent to this underworld, and these people are subject to this damnation, as if these people
did something so wrong to deserve this punishment, or participated in some sin that disgraced by
God. The text follows the goals of jeremiad rhetoric, starting with putting blame on the
government of Nicaragua. The author quoted a worker saying, “If the prices of food and other
goods went down also, it wouldn’t have been so devastating.” The author is agreeing with this
worker in chastising those in control for allowing the situation to be so damaging and
devastating. It also mentions how more than thirty mission groups claim to be working with the
community of La Chureca, promising to tell the stories of the people, and even jobs outside of
the dump. However, these promises have proven to be empty. The tone used by the author is
negative towards the groups that did not fulfill their promises, thereby scolding them.
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6. The second purpose of using jeremiad rhetoric to persuade is also met, while using the
evocative strategy of biblical references. The author compares La Chureca to a trash dump
outside of Jerusalem, where the people are living in a similar situation. This reference is then
followed by a quote from the prophet Isaiah, “Without a dream, the people will perish.” This has
influence on the author’s positive outlook, paired with phrases such as “the ability to dream”
when referencing the mission’s goal. By using allusions to the bible and including The Holy
Land of Jerusalem, if the audience does have a religious background, they might feel morally
obligated to take action. Even for the non-religious audience, they can imagine what it would be
like if they had no goals or dreams for the future, and can be persuaded to feel the emotions of
devastation and tragedy.
The third purpose of jeremiad rhetoric is to provide a message of hope for the future.
This is done by Food For The Poor by promising to help make a change in the community. Also
they discuss that most people of La Chureca have not given up hope, still believe in the power of
their dreams, and the power of their spirituality. It ends on the optimistic outlook that through
prayer and working with the people that they will “help these battered people.” I found that by
the author using negative language including “anger,” “frustration,” “relieve their misery,” and
“restlessness” it was a refreshing way of giving hope. Because many organizations use positive
language to encourage hope, this organization uses emotions that people feel on a daily basis so
they can relate. This evocative strategy of using imagery that we can experience and know in
our everyday lives, as Hendry (2010) says, is more concrete and tangible.
The rhetorical strategies of pathos and jeremiad not only use imagery to evoke emotion
and encourage change, but also use dystopia language. Dystopia is the anti-utopia; this narrative
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7. warns the reader of the barren future if the destructive path that we are on is not changed, and the
status quo is not challenged (Hendry, 2010) It asks the reader to imagine the unthinkable
happening to better understand the repercussions of the actions we are making. This dystopia
society is characterized by misery, oppression, disease and over population. This world is real in
La Chureca, and it is shown in an article by Vanderbilt University’s student magazine. A group
of students from Vanderbilt formed a service oriented group named Manna Project, and they
visited Managua’s trash dump. The article, “Generation Global” brings a zest for practical
solutions to intractable problems Ray Waddle (2009) describes of their journey, and uses
imagery to recreate the dystopian society.
Waddle uses strong words to describe what they saw, “a zone of toxic air, burning debris,
fetid drinking water, lead poisoning, drug addiction and chronic malnutrition.’ These descriptive
words do not describe a place where everything is perfect, an easy lifestyle, with an Edenic
narrative. The place they describe is the complete opposite of that; it describes the life of La
Chureca’s people. The article refers to these people as “prisoners of the garbage,” because there
is no realistic escape for them, unless the cycle is stopped and the destructive path is no longer
accepted.
The goal of dystopian rhetoric is to stop and think about what is going on, and imagine
the future if these acts are continued. Waddle (2009) includes this goal when discussing the
experience of Manna Group and encourages the reader to do so, as well. By telling of the
grueling work and poor lifestyle of the community, it confronts the issues really going on, and
will hopefully have an impact on the kind of choices that we make; it hopes to change the way
we look at the world. The article later tells the story of many children, having sexually
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8. transmitted diseases before their age even reaches double digits; they are taught at young ages to
sell their bodies and to steal. This paints the picture that these children are no longer kids, they
are just young people. They do not get to play with Barbies and Tonka Trucks, they are forced to
deal with the reality of their situation, and were stripped of the childhood that millions of
children get to live.
Many writers use dystopian rhetoric as a warning and to act now. However, this article
by Waddle describes the dystopian society that already exists in La Chureca, and warns that it
will only get worse with time if change does not come soon. This trash dump is too accepted by
many people, and not known by enough others who are willing to make the change.
In conclusion of my rhetorical analysis, I have conveyed the definitions and use of
pathos, jeremiad, and dystopian strategies. By defining the strategies and identifying the specific
strategies of each, I was then able to demonstrate how they are used in texts about La Chureca.
Now that I have effectively analyzed public discourse, I will present a call to action that I see fit
in bringing attention to this cause, and start a revolution for the people of Nicaragua.
As previously mentioned, the poverty that Nicraguans succumb to is not discussed in the
greater public discourse. It was difficult to find any articles that were up-to-date about La
Chureca or the poverty in Nicaragua, even in news sources from Latin American countries.
Through dozens of articles that I searched for and read, there was only one that actually included
quotations from the people of the dump. Quite frankly, this was extremely frustrating to me as a
reader, and as a researcher. Although I understand the reasoning behind these religious groups
portraying only their view of La Chureca, so they could present themselves as these great entities
serving and helping the people. I still wanted more; I want to hear from the people, not from
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9. people speaking on behalf of them. This is something to think about more deeply. Living in a
place unsafe environmentally and on people is a phenomena occurring all over the world, La
Chureca is just one example of it. In the United States, we are very persistent about NIMBY,
Not In My Backyard. People fight for their rights to live in a safe environment, and not be
treated like second-class citizens who are forced to make home near a waste disposal site.
Although this is not always successful, people fight for their right and try to make a change. The
people of La Chureca participate in similar protests, but they are so oppressed that their cause
gets lost. It can be hard to fight for freedom from the dump, especially when one is trying to
fight for food for their family.
The President of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, is noted to be a large issue in the oppression
of the Nicaraguan people. Ortega was one of the leaders of the Nicaraguan Revolution that took
place to overthrow the Military/Nationalist Liberal Party in 1979, and took office in 1985.
Ortega claimed he was “one of the people,” but soon after he felt the power of being in charge,
he fell back into the same patterns at the previous presidents, and was ruled by the green ugly
monster of greed. Venezuelan President Huga Chavez has given $2 billion in aid since 2006 to
Nicaragua, meant to help the country. However, Ortega and the leaders of his political party, the
Sandinistas, have stolen “chunks of the money to purchase private ownership of Nicaraguan
companies...and to corner entire industries in Nicaragua.” One may wonder why the people
continue to elect Ortega. The answer is simple, Ortega has spent a modest amount of money to
bribe the vulnerable people of his country with food, roofing material, and basic health care
services (Rogers, 2011). His reign is a dictatorship, and masked by a democratic face.
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10. The problems that Nicaragua faces cannot be solved with a simple answer, like give the
people money and create jobs. Although, this would be a great start. It must start from the
inside, and be talked about by the people who live it, have experienced it, and have played a part
in creating this lifestyle. The people of La Chureca help themselves as much as they can, but the
ability to escape from the prison of trash is weighed down by the need to just survive. If the
cause is talked about and brought into the light, and President Ortega even attempted to look at
the vulnerability and begging of his people and tried to change it instead of just feeding it, then
maybe the change could be made.
There are many missionaries with the goal of helping the people and use rhetorical
strategies to make the reader feel empathetic towards the people of La Chureca. However,
feeling sorry for them is not what the people need. They need someone who will fight for them,
and not back down. I can imagine the anger that the people feel towards their situation and their
government. They are willing to do anything for basic health care and scraps of food, even if it
means contributing to their oppression. What the world needs to see in public discourse about
La Chureca is the anger that the people feel; anger is a starting place for riot and revolution. It is
the base of change. If the people come to the point that they can no longer tolerate their
situation, that anger will push them to the change they need.
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11. References
Bergin, Kerry. (2008). Litter on the path to peace: The causes and consequences of trash in
Nicaragua. SIT Study Abroad. Retrieved from http://digitalcollections.sit.edu/
isp_collection/4/
Central Intelligence Agency. (2011). The world factbook. Retrieved from https://www.cia.gov/
library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/nu.html
Cuadra, S, Linderholm, L, Athanasiadou, M, and Jakobsson, K. (2006). Persistent organochlorine
pollutants in children working at a waste-disposal site and in young females with high fish
consumption in Managua, Nicaragua. Allen Press. 35 (3), 109-116. Retrieved from http://
www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1579/0044-7447(2006)35%5B109:POPICW%5D2.0.CO%3B2
Food For The Poor. (2011). Experiences in hell. Retrieved from http://
www.foodforthepoor.org/resources/angel/experiences5_09.html
Hendry, J. (2010). Communication and the natural world. State College, PA: Strata Publishing,
Inc.
Kiess, Danielle. (2011). English Composition 1: Emotional Appeal. Retrieved from http://
papyr.com/hypertextbooks/comp1/pathos.htm
La Chureca. (2007). Children of the garbage. Retrieved from http://www.lachureca.org/
Rogers. (November 4, 2011). President Daniel Ortega isn’t a nice guy, but Nicaraguans will re-
elect him anyway. Time Magazine. Retrieved from http://www.time.com/time/world/
article/0,8599,2098720,00.html
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12. Waddle, Ray. (Spring 2009). Manna Falls on La Chureca: “Generation Global” brings a zest
for practical solutions to intractable problems. Vanderbilt University Magazine (web)
Retrieved from: http://www.vanderbilt.edu/magazines/vanderbilt-magazine/2009/03/
manna-falls-on-la-chureca/
World Challenge Organization. (2006). Nicaragua - children of the garbage dump. Retrieved
from http://www.worldchallenge.org/node/1414
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