Sarah York (born 1978) is an American woman who, at age 10, became the

pen pal Pen pals (or penpals, pen-pals, penfriends or pen friends) are people who regularly write to each other, particularly via postal mail. Pen pals are usually strangers whose relationship is based primarily, or even solely, on their exchange of le ...

Manuel Noriega Manuel Antonio Noriega Moreno (; February 11, 1934 – May 29, 2017) was a Panamanian dictator, politician and military officer who was the ''de facto'' List of heads of state of Panama, ruler of Panama from 1983 to 1989. An authoritaria ...

, the then-''de facto'' ruler of

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

. York began correspondence with Noriega after her father suggested on a whim that she should write to him because she 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.

Overview

York (then 10 years old) and her mother toured Panama from October 5 through October 11, 1988, and they were escorted by a military guard on a tour of the country. She was interviewed constantly during her visit, becoming the main item on the Panamanian news, and the mayor of

Panama City Panama City ( es, Ciudad de Panamá, links=no; ), also known as Panama (or Panamá in Spanish), is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has an urban population of 880,691, with over 1.5 million in its metropolitan area. The city is locat ...

awarded her an honorary key to the city. Upon her return to her home in

Negaunee, Michigan Negaunee ( or ) is a city in Marquette County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 4,568 at the 2010 census. The city is located at the southwest corner of Negaunee Township, which is administratively separate, in the Upper Peni ...

, 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, York would visit Panama and Noriega again the following year in October 1989 – just two months before the

United States invasion of Panama The United States invasion of Panama, codenamed Operation Just Cause, lasted over a month between mid-December 1989 and late January 1990. It occurred during the administration of President George H. W. Bush and ten years after the Torrijos– ...

. Unlike the previous trip, her second visit was planned as a family vacation and was not at the invitation of Noriega. Accompanied by her father, York visited the country October 8 through October 17, meeting Noriega while there. Her parents were criticized for allowing her to visit Panama, and for encouraging her friendship with Noriega, then a highly controversial figure. After her second trip, an editorial in the local newspaper, ''

The Mining Journal ''The Mining Journal'' is the predominant daily newspaper of Marquette, Michigan, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Like most market-dominant daily papers, the ''MJ'' is a six-day paper. ''The Mining Journal'' is distributed over a wide area, ...

'', criticized their return trip in the wake of the coup, in contrast to the previous reception a year earlier. She has since lived on a self-sufficient farm in remote rural

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, and was interviewed by the radio show ''

This American Life ''This American Life'' (''TAL'') is an American monthly hour-long radio program produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media and hosted by Ira Glass. It is broadcast on numerous public radio stations in the United States and internation ...

'' in 2003. Her story was used as the basis for a song, "Pineapple Girl" by the indie rock group,

Mister Heavenly Mister Heavenly is an indie rock supergroup consisting of Ryan Kattner, Honus Honus of Man Man, Nicholas Thorburn of Islands (band), Islands and The Unicorns, and Joe Plummer of Modest Mouse and The Shins. They recorded their first album in late 2 ...

, on their 2011 album, '' Out of Love''.

References

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Overview

See also

References

Further reading