Sarah York
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Sarah York, when she was ten years old, became the pen pal of Manuel Noriega, then the de facto ruler of Panama, after her father suggested on a whim that she should write to him because he liked the general's hat. This correspondence developed to the point where Noriega invited her family to visit him in Panama. Her family agreed to the visit, seeing it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
In October 1988, Sarah (then 11 years old) and her family were escorted by a military guard on a tour of Panama. She was interviewed constantly during her visit, becoming the main item on the Panamanian news, and the mayor of Panama City awarded her an honorary key to Panama City. Upon her return to her home in Palmer, Michigan, she was praised at first, particularly by her school and community, but soon the story was covered in the national media, where she was derided and ridiculed for befriending an enemy of the United States. Nevertheless, Sarah would visit Panama and Noriega again one year later, in October 1989. (Murillo 690)
She now lives with her husband on a self-sufficient farm in remote rural Wisconsin, and was interviewed by the radio show This American Life in 2003.
[edit] References
- My Pen Pal, the This American Life episode
- Murillo, Luis E. (1995). The Noriega Mess: The Drugs, the Canal, and Why America Invaded. Video-Books. ISBN 0-923444-02-5.
