'If I go back they'll kill me': Nicaraguan dissenters flee south to survive

[oberliner]

Tears filled Ricardo Pineda’s bloodshot eyes as he relived the solitude and paranoia of his 13-day march to safety.

Five hours earlier, after almost a fortnight on the run, he had slipped over Nicaragua’s southern border, flagged down a taxi and taken his phone off flight mode for the first time since fleeing Managua.

Now the sleep-deprived doctor was sitting in a safe house on the outskirts of Costa Rica’s capital contemplating the sudden unraveling of his country and the start of a new and uncertain life in exile.

“It’s terrifying because you know they are tracking you ... every footstep, every little noise, every branch, every tree – you think it’s the army and they’re going to grab you ... you’re a fugitive,” said Pineda, 54, who bolted after receiving death threats for treating the victims of Daniel Ortega’s crackdown on protesters and denouncing those killings.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/29/nicaragua-refugees-costa-rica-daniel-ortega-violence

[JustAnotherGen]

1. Pura Vida

And the Costa Ricans will welcome them into their homes and arms.

It's what they do. They can't help it.

(Full Disclosure - we bought land and are designing a tiny home in Parrita CR -we kind of love them!)

[texasfiddler]

2. Yes! Pura Vida

I just returned to the U.S. from Costa Rica. That is one nice country. I asked a couple of Costa Ricans about Ortega and the crackdown. They all seemed quite OK taking in Nicaraguan refugees. A lot more generous and less selfish than a big chunk of the U.S.

[Blue_true]

3. Amazing, great article, but you got 3 replies and 1 rec so far.

Hmmmmm, I wonder why some people would rather not discuss Daniel Ortega?

[oberliner]

4. Blood on the streets in Ortega's corrupt Nicaragua

The numbers of dead in Nicaragua since the violence began are disputed: on 16 June the government reported only 34 dead, but the Nicaraguan Centre for Human Rights reported 170; by 27 July Bloomberg reported 448. What is not in dispute is that of the true total most were shot dead by paramilitary/death squad activity controlled by the Ortega dictatorship.

Student protest in Nicaragua is a long-hallowed tradition, but now – as during the Somoza dictatorship – they are being murdered by squads of organised, well-armed, masked men.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/30/blood-on-the-streets-in-ortegas-corrupt-nicaragua

[mcar]

5. Pura Vida

Hubby and I traveled to Costa Rica in March, a trip we'd wanted to do for ages. We learned of the Nicaraguan refugees and brought 7 suitcases full of donated medical supplies (our non profit collects them) for a local medical clinic that treats refugees.

Beautiful country, beautiful people! And yummy food!