Inside Story

Hurricane Mitch already spurred us to publish one commentary ("A Mature Compassion," by Marvin Rees, January-February 1999). Reports from friends and acquaintances who have worked for many years to improve the lives of the poorest people in those places led us to ask Jennifer Casolo, a pastoral and development worker in Tocoa Colon, Honduras, to write from her eyewitness perspective. At one point she contacted managing editor Jim Rice via e-mail to apologize for being behind on her deadline. "No excuse," she said, "just that battle fatigue takes away from inspiration." Then we had word that more rain and mudslides had cut off power for another five days. Delayed (but not stopped) by high water, Jennifer's article did come in. After all that, it is a remarkable word of hope and efforts towards right relationship in the face of massive hardship. Coincidentally, Jennifer was once a member of Assisi Community here in Washington, D.C., a group that is the subject of this issue's "Life in Community" column by Joe Nangle, OFM. This is the final "Life in Community," but we will strive to find other ways to get Joe to come by (his bimonthly delivery of the column was always a high point around here). In his parting words as a columnist, Joe pays tribute to the people (and one shaggy dog) who inspire him. Finally, several people from Sojourners were proud to be among the 7,000 who gathered at Ft. Benning, Georgia, for last November's protest against the School of the Americas (thanks to Pax Christi Metro D.C., which organized a bus for the trip). Learn more about how this movement has grown in our interview with SOA Watch organizers (and mother-daughter team) Carol Richardson and Heather Dean.