Singing protest songs, enjoying folkloric dance, reading poetry, and sharing stories of Linder's life, around 125 Nicaraguans and internationalistas remembered Linder among the many heroes and martyrs of the Nicaraguan Revolution. The mood was solemn as people approached Linder's grave, thinking both of Linder and the long 10 years that Nicaragua has endured since his death. One Nicaraguan woman, a mother who had lost family in the war, called Linder "a light" and poignantly noted that light came at the cost of blood. At the same time in Washington, D.C., a crowd gathered on the Capitol steps to remember Linder and call attention to ongoing U.S. government policies that promote injustice in Central America. Other ceremonies were held in New York and Portland.
Ben Linder came to Nicaragua in the summer of 1983 after graduating from the University of Washington with a degree in mechanical engineering. Linder was not only an engineer but a circus clown, and he entertained Nicaraguan children by riding his unicycle and performing in a clown suit -- often using his persona as a clown to draw children into vaccination campaigns. He also became part of an international community calling attention to U.S. government policies regarding Nicaragua through a number of activities, including weekly protests at the U.S. Embassy in Managua.
At the time of his death, Linder was helping to build a hydroelectric plant in San Jose de Bocay, a village in the province of Jinotega. Linder's friend Rebecca Leaf, an engineer from M.I.T. working in Nicaragua, stepped in to oversee the project. The Linder family helped raise money in the U.S. to complete the project and in May of 1994 came to San Jose de Bocay to celebrate the plant's official inauguration.
News in 1987 of Ben Linder's death sparked controversy in the U.S. and cast an increasingly critical light upon U.S. government support for the contras. In Nicaragua internationals grieved for Linder and resolved not to forget him. Today several church and solidarity organizations from the U.S. jointly own a house named Casa Ben Linder, where internationals gather for fellowship and conversation, invited speakers share perspectives every Thursday morning on what is happening in Nicaragua, and where the offices of FUNDECI (a Nicaraguan development agency) are housed. Casa Ben Linder is decorated with murals celebrating Linder's life and contributions to the people of Nicaragua both as an engineer and as a clown. At the Casa Benjamin Linder, at the Benjamin Linder Hydroelectric Mini-Power Plant in San Jose de Bocay, at Linder's grave in Matagalpa, and in the spirit of international solidarity that seeks empowerment and justice for the poor, Nicaraguans and internationals together say, "Ben Linder presente, presente, presente!"