For all the noise, jocularity and familiarity of the inn, the pregnant silence of the stable is the image treasured in countless hearts.

The Indians wanted to be respected by the Government and left alone to control their own affairs; the Sandinistas believed they could be interwoven into the fabric of the new revolutionary Nicaragua. Their interests were on a collision course. In 1981 armed conflict broke out.

As a country with a large proportion of recent immigrants, Australia could have valuable experience for the world in the 21st century.