The “Exiles” Campaign: Scars of the Nicaraguan Crisis

Three years after the crisis in Nicaragua exploded, the “People in Need” organization has unveiled a project they call the “Exiles Campaign”. The campaign “delves into the consequences and scars” of this political conflict that still persists.

“People in Need” issued a press release explaining their initiative. “’Exiles’ aims to expose and sensitize the international public about the political problems and the human rights crisis that Nicaragua is suffering under the regime headed by Daniel Ortega and the current Sandinista Liberation Front Party. The project focuses on the testimony of grassroots leaders and human rights advocates, who found themselves forced to leave their country due to the political persecution that accelerated during 2018.”

The campaign consists of five videos of recorded testimonies, plus two videos giving the context of the situation and some pertinent data.

“During the two wars [I lived through], I never thought about leaving the country. Not during the 70s war [to overturn the Somoza dictatorship], nor during the 80s war,” Dulce states in one of the testimonies.

Dulce, was departmental president of the Sandinista Renewal Movement in Jinotepe, Carazo. The Ortega government subsequently accused her of financing terrorism in Nicaragua.

Dulce’s experiences coincide with those of Flor, Iris, Enrique and Angelica. They, too, “recount firsthand the details of their leaving, their difficulties adapting to a new place and their desires for freedom and justice in their country.”

The campaign was directed by Roberto Jaen and produced by Maria Jose Merino. It seeks to create materials that can be shared on social media, using a broad outreach platform which has also been frequently employed by Cuban activist collectives.

The seven videos can be viewed below with subtitles in English. They’re also available on the Facebook and Instagram profile pages of People in Need – America Latina.