Lini M. De Vries (July 25, 1905—March 27, 1982), born Lena Moerkerk in
Prospect Park, New Jersey
Prospect Park is a borough in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 5,865,Dutch–American author, public health nurse, and teacher. She worked as chief of American Hospital Number 3 on the Madrid-Valencia Road during the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...
and later organized health clinics in
New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Tiguex
, OfficialLang = None
, Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...
,
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
, and
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...
. She moved to
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
in 1949 after her membership in the
Communist Party
A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ...
was exposed. In Mexico, De Vries taught medicine and public health to indigenous villagers in the
Papaloapan River
The Papaloapan River () is one of the main rivers of the Mexican state of Veracruz. Its name comes from the Nahuatl ''papaloapan'' meaning "river of the butterflies".
In 1517, Juan de Grijalva's expedition spotted the river, naming it Río de Alva ...
Basin in
Oaxaca
Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of Mexico. It is ...
CIDOC
The International Council of Museums (ICOM) is a non-governmental organisation dedicated to museums, maintaining formal relations with UNESCO and having a consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council. Founded in 1946, I ...
, a religious, educational and cultural school; and helped found Cemanahuac, an educational community in
Cuernavaca
Cuernavaca (; nci-IPA, Cuauhnāhuac, kʷawˈnaːwak "near the woods", ) is the capital and largest city of the state of Morelos in Mexico. The city is located around a 90-minute drive south of Mexico City using the Federal Highway 95D.
The na ...
, Mexico.
Early life and family
Dutch was the language of her childhood home, and De Vries did not learn English until she attended
grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...
. After completing the sixth grade, De Vries was sent to work in silk mills. Her work and experience in the silk mills is detailed in her autobiography (1979) ''Up from the Cellar.'' In 1921, De Vries' left the silk mills to work for a telephone company in Paterson, New Jersey. In 1925, she matriculated to a nurses training program at New Rochelle Hospital Training School for Nurses in New York. After receiving her nursing degree, De Vries married Wilbur Fuhr (June 5, 1928). A daughter, Mary Lee, was born to the couple in 1930. Shortly after Mary Lee's birth, Fuhr died unexpectedly. De Vries remarried in 1943 to Lou Stoumen and gave birth to a second daughter, Toby, in 1946. Stouman and De Vries divorced in 1949.
Life Work
De Vries is remembered for her work as a public health nurse in Mexico. Before living in Mexico, De Vries joined the Communist Party in 1935. Two years later, in 1937, she volunteered to travel to Spain with the Medical Bureau to Aid Spanish Democracy, which provided medical care for the international brigades and Spanish anti-fascist fighters during the Spanish Civil War. She was at the Madrid front in February 1937 during the Battle of Jarama. "Within four hours after the battle had begun, we had 93 wounded. Our hospital was equipped for fifty," writes De Vries of the battle in her memoirs.
Later, she was sent to Villa Paz where she oversaw the administration of the hospital of Castillejo. Recounting her efforts to sustain the running of the hospital, De Vries managed to convince the male soldiers to participate in the chores needed to free nursing hands, including dish-washing, scrubbing, washing, digging latrines. Her memoirs describe her time at Castillejo as revolutionary in the co-operative that was being formed. Moreover, she writes of the concerns of farmers and soldiers to their own futures, which led to the opening of new clinics and even new trenches that included special sections for classroom work. As such, she remembers this as a time of idealism: "This was a crusade for the freedom of man."
Upon her return to the United States, De Vries embarked on a fundraising lecture tour. When the lecture tour concluded, De Vries worked as a nurse and public health educator. She held positions with the San Miguel County Public Health Demonstration Unit in New Mexico, the Department of Public Health in Puerto Rico, and the Agricultural Workers Health and Medical Association of Southern California.
De Vries moved to Mexico in 1949. She was the director of health education for the Comisión del Papaloapan serving the indigenous communities in the Papaloapan River Valley in the states of Oaxaca and Veracruz. She was also an instructor of public health at the
Universidad Veracruzana
Universidad Veracruzana (Spanish for ''University of Veracruz'') is a public autonomous university located in the Mexican state of Veracruz. Established in 1944, the university is one of the most important in the southeast region of México. Its ...
in Jalapa, Veracruz, and established summer schools for foreign students both there and at the Universidad de Morelos in Cuernavaca. In 1962, a presidential decree granted De Vries Mexican citizenship (her American citizenship was withdrawn in 1963.)
Publications
* 1959: ''El Sótano'' ("The Cellar"), an autobiography that recounts her life from childhood to 1925 was published (in various versions) in both Spanish and English.
* 1965: ''España 1937: Memorias'', an account of De Vries' experience providing medical care for the international brigades and Spanish anti-fascist fighters during Spanish Civil War.
* 1969: ''The People of the Mountains: Health Education Among Indian Communities in Oaxaca, Mexico'' details De Vries' work with the Comisión del Papaloapan.
* 1972: ''Please, God, Take Care of the Mule'' describes De Vries's life in Mexico from 1949 to 1962
* 1979: ''Up From the Cellar'' recounts her life from 1905 through 1962.
Death
Lini De Vries died at age 76 on March 27, 1982, of several strokes following surgery, in