Newsletter, January, 2023

 A few recent tidbits 

• Repression has deepened and widened. The number of political prisoners keeps increasing. The 235+ prisoners (up from 170 at the beginning of the year) now include family members of "wanted" activists, detained when authorities can't find the person they are looking for. Family members of prisoners are also being harassed and silenced, even those in exile, for fear of reprisals against family members still in Nicaragua. 

• Forced migration has reached unprecedented levels, with Nicaraguans flooding the U.S. border, in addition to the waves of refugees going into Costa Rica, Mexico, other Central American countries and Europe. Hundreds of thousands of families are separated and living in desperate situations.  

• The closings of NGOs accelerated this year: more than 3,000 have been closed. Universities continue to be closed as well. The persecution of the Catholic Church has continued and intensified, with formal charges against Bishop Rolando Alvarez and more arrests andsurveillance of priests. While the Vatican and the Nicaraguan Episcopal conference have remained silent, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops weighed in this weekend.

• The Ortega-Murillo dictatorship held sham elections in November to consolidate even more its stranglehold on the country by self-assigning itself control of all 153 municipal governments. 

Raising awareness 

In the midst of all the desperation, Nicaraguan and international activists are doing what we can to bring awareness to the situation in Nicaragua. This past week, for example, Nicaraguan-born Bianca Jagger spoke before the US House of Representatives’ Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, offering her perspective on the country’s crisis, calling on both President Joe Biden and Pope Francis to show “greater firmness” against the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo. 

International organizations are also doing what they can to raise up the demand for freedom for political prisoners –a central and unified demand of the entire left-center-right spectrum of the anti-dictatorship and pro-democracy movement in Nicaragua:

• Dora María Téllez was recently awarded both an honorary doctorate degree by the Nouvelle Sorbonne in Paris and an important human rights award by the Basque government in Spain. 
• Suyen Barahona was awarded the Human Rights Award for Outstanding Political Courage by theProgressive Alliance  
• The 22+ women political prisoners were honored with the Champions of Justice Award by the U.S.-based Global Women's Institute. 
• The "Mothers of April" Association received a "Social Design" award in New York for its Constructing Memory Interactive Art Book, showcasing video and written stories of 100 victims of state violence in Nicaragua and their families' demand for justice. 
• The Coalition of Social Movements and Civil Society received the Life and Human Rights awardfrom the Asturias government in Spain, and dedicated the prize to some five of their members who are currently political prisoners. 

How you can help 

As the new year opens, the most urgent demand is for political prisoners' freedom and a Christmas/New Year without political prisoners. See below for how you can help amplify that demand. Knowing their liberation is highly unlikely in the short term, the most urgent need is, once again, financial support for prisoners and their families.  

The number of political prisoners has grown significantly this year, while at the same time funding sources and donations have decreased. 

Those of you on this list of '80s solidarity folks who have contributed to the  in the past (thank you so much!), constitute the most significant source of support for 130+ families every month.  (Of the now more than 235 political prisoners, 30 have specific individual sponsors, some 30 have families with sufficient funds to cover their needs, and around 35 are not yet receiving support because their families have not yet wanted to include them in the official list of political prisoners in the hopes they might get released before being formally charged. The fund supports the other 130.) 

The common fund currently has enough money to cover January, but we desperately need to raise $11,000 to be able to cover February and March. Please give what you can! It is sooo appreciated by families who are trying to keep their incarcerated loved ones' spirits up.   (This newsletter went out to more than just Nica Family Support.  We do not collect this much.  Yet.)

As always, the funds are distributed equitably to all families or political prisoners who request support, with a system to avoid duplications and make sure no one is left behind. The stipend of approximately $42 dollars a month in córdobas helps families of political prisoners pay for food, medicine and personal hygiene items as well as for transportation to be able to visit and take these items to their loved ones in prison. 

Donate!

• PayPal or Venmo: support@nicafamilysupport.org. They take a cut or 4.5 to 5%.
• Checks can be made out to Nica Family Support and sent to: C/O Victoria Baker, 15047 W. 68th Pl., Arvada, CO, 80007. 
• Tax-deductible contributions ($500 and up): Write to us to get the info. We are now a Colorado non-profit organization and going to apply for tax exemption ourselves.
• Help raise funds! Please write to us if you're interested in helping out. One way to raise both $$ and awareness is with a house concert. We'd love to help you with that. We also need volunteers to help with social media.

Get involved! 

Be an advocate and amplifier! We have seen that international public pressure does have some impact in terms of advancing political prisoners' rights. However, as noted above, even family members of political prisoners who are outside the country are having a harder and harder time advocating for their loved ones because of the heightened repression that includes reprisals against family members in Nicaragua. You can amplify their demands for freedom and for respect for their human rights while they are incarcerated. We are looking for folks who are on social media who are willing to post to your networks once a week (or as often as you feel comfortable) with news about Nicaragua and demands regarding the situation of political prisoners. We can help provide content and graphics. Please write to us if you are interested.  

Calling on health workers! Soon the People's Health Network –a global network of grassroots health activists and medical personnel, NGOs and academic institutions from more than 70 countries– will be promoting a case study of political prisoner Dora María Téllez, former Nicaraguan Minister of Health.  This online gallery of emblematic cases seeks to raise awareness and promote calls to action in the many PHM countries. Check out the site and become part of the campaign for Dora Maria and other health workers who are under attack.

Keep updated! 

Given the lack of mainstream press coverage of Nicaragua in English, the best way to stay up-to-date is to subscribe to The Dispatch, the weekly English-language news round-up published by Confidencial. Subscribe here, and if you can, donate or become a member, to keep independent Nicaraguan journalism alive and well. 

In conclusion…

This has been a heartbreaking year for Nicaraguans. Let's hope that next year brings better news. Meanwhile, the kind of grassroots solidarity and support each of us can provide helps more than we can know. 

May you and yours have a happy and healthy holiday season. Saludos and hopes that Nicaragua will once again be free, sooner rather than later.