Eric Volz

Before Wend, our Ed and Chief, Ian, had a job in San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua. It was what most surfers would consider a dream job. He ran a surf guide business, taking clients to various breaks along Nicaragua’s coast. Basically, Ian was paid to surf. I had a chance to visit him a couple of times and got a pretty good feel for the country, its culture, and its waves. Recently, in the news, an American living in Nicaragua was put on trial for a crime he didn’t commit. He was convicted. Ian knew him. His name is Eric Volz, a surfer and journalist who lived in San Juan and Managua. As travelers, we all understand the risk we take when visiting the more dangerous parts of our planet, but rarely do we actually find ourselves caught up in the Kafkaesque story that has enveloped Volz. Volz was convicted of murder, despite clear proof that he was not, in any way shape or form, involved. The evidence that exonerates him is so overwhelming, it defies belief that his conviction could stand. The witness for the prosecution was a man I had met while visiting, a person who turned out to be a thief who preyed on gringos who visited San Juan. This man, likely one of the real culprits of the crime, is responsible for Volz’s imprisonment based on his hearsay testimony and a judge who bowed to the pressure of an angry public. Volz is imprisoned because of corruption. Because of local unrest with “gringo development”. Because of politics. Much of the locals’ unrest with development is well founded. To be blunt, many, many local people are getting screwed, but the issues of globalization, as we all know, are incredibly complex. But when a man’s life comes to embody the symbol of a town’s anger with the way in which globalization effects them, something’s got to give. Somehow, some way, things must change as the world marches on. The current model isn’t sustainable. Ask Eric.

Though America is rife with injustice at times, I can’t help but feel deeply connected to the plight of Volz. Beyond adventure, Wend’s readership is for the DIY traveler that is sensitive to the cultures, economics, environments, and geopolitical realities that exist in the places we visit. Our readers are just like Eric. It isn’t Wend’s place to be overly political, but it is our place to include issues that face us as travelers, writers, photographers, activists and editors. Issues that face us as humans. In the current issue of Wend, we’re running the second half of Tim Harvey’s Vancouver to Vancouver epic. Part of the story takes place in Panama where Tim is detained by the authorities there. Luckily, he makes it out, unscathed. It’s all part of the adventure. Situations such as these serve to remind us of the risks we undertake when we strike out on our own. But unlike Volz, Harvey’s adventure has a happy ending.

The world we live in is large. The world we travel through is even larger; with every footstep our impressions are enriched for better or for worse. But justice, as a concept, has but one true definition. Please take a look at Eric’s website, and familiarize yourself with his story. I suspect in the coming months you will see his story in many different publications across the world as he mounts an appeal.

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