The Foreign Service Journal, March 2007

92 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / M A R C H 2 0 0 7 R EFLECTIONS Mario’s Twin Brother B Y D ANA D EREE V ivid images come to mind when I think about Nicaragua: people selling writhing iguanas on the side of the road, the monkey that jumped from a tree onto our boat, old yellow school buses painted with religious icons side-by-side with Woody Woodpecker. But for the rest of my life, it will be hard to think of Nicaragua without pondering the fate of Mario’s twin brother. My wife, Stephanie, and I met Mario at “Divino Rostro” (Servants of the Divine Image) orphanage in Man- agua, where we took off our shoes, got down on a padded mat, and spent an hour playing with a swarm of crawling infants. We were there because our friends Rusty and Krissi wanted to adopt a baby girl, and asked us to help. They wanted a sister for their son, Jackson. Mario, however, was all boy as he pulled at my hair and tried to steal my glasses. I couldn’t resist putting the smiley lad on the list of potential adoptees along with five girls. I gave our list to the Family Ministry. Soon our friends learned that Mario was the only one of the six who had truly been abandoned, and Krissi, Rusty and Jackson flew to Nicaragua to make his acquaintance. As much as they still wanted a girl, Mario stole their hearts. He stole our hearts, too. Stephanie and I eagerly offered to foster him during the adoption process. My fam- ily, our domestic staff, even our dog enjoyed our time with Mario, the gen- tle giant (he is a big boy!). With two boys of our own, we were prepared for the long nights that usually come with having a baby in the house, but were pleasantly surprised. We would put Mario to bed at 7:30 p.m. and have to wake him up in the morning: what baby sleeps like that? Mario stayed with us until we left for my next assignment. Krissi then came down to take care of her new son and see the tumultuous Nicaraguan adoption process through to the end. It wasn’t easy. Eventually, Krissi spent almost six hard months in Nicaragua away from Rusty and Jackson back in Arkansas. She lived economically, renting small apartments usually used by short-term church mission teams. She suffered through the constant blackouts, petty crime and lack of air conditioning that come with the terri- tory in Managua. But James “Mario” Fry, as he was to be called, was worth the effort. Over the months, we learned more about how Mario came into the Frys’ lives. Mario’s mother had given birth to twins at a hospital in Matagalpa. After being discharged, she gave one baby to an unidentified woman and Mario to a teenager who was visiting a relative who had just had his appendix removed. Mario was soon at Divino Rostro. Despite a concerted search after the Frys said they would adopt both children, the other baby has never been found. The future of Mario’s brother is tied to the prospects for his country. Des- pite taking so many blows, self-inflict- ed and otherwise, Nicaragua still has great promise. From natural resour- ces to pristine beaches and wilderness, and boasting an entrepreneurial spirit like I’ve seen nowhere else, this coun- try has so much to offer its people. I remain hopeful that one day it will realize that potential. At the same time, rampant corruption, poverty and the desperation of people with so little hope that some would hand off a child to a stranger grieve my soul. I am very happy for my “nephew” Mario, and look forward to watching him grow and thrive in a loving envi- ronment of plenty. Yet I am aware that as Mario begins his new life as an Arkansan, his twin stays behind. If nature prevails over nurture then the brother has a fighting chance, for the gene pool he shares with Mario makes him inherently charming and inquisi- tive. Still, my hopes and concerns for Nicaragua will always be reflected in a face that looks just like Mario’s. Dana Deree joined the Foreign Service in 2001. He has served in London and Managua, and is currently a watch offi- cer in the Operations Center. He has been assigned as deputy chief of Ameri- can Citizen Services at Consulate Gen- eral Tijuana beginning this summer. The future of Mario’s brother is tied to the prospects for Nicaragua.