Nicaraguan exiles in Norway form solidarity group
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A new group has emerged: âNicaragua gruppa LAG-Osloâ, a branch of the Norwegian Committee for Solidarity with Latin America. It is made up of both Nicaraguans and Norwegians who oppose the Ortega-Murillo regime.
By Solange Saballos*
HAVANA TIMES – Reddish lights hover above a small group of gray-haired Norwegians. In their youth, they believed in the ideals of the Second Socialist Revolution in Latin America, which took place in Nicaragua. Now gathered in the lobby of the House of Culture in Oslo, they listen attentively to the denunciations of journalist Carlos Fernando Chamorro, and hear the pain of exile in the voice of singer Katia Cardenal, accompanied by Nina Cardenal. There was a speech by Marcela Prado, who had obtained political asylum in Norway. The utopian dream that drove them to leave their native fjords to come to the aid of a valiant people now evaporates before their incredulous eyes, still filled with dreams.
On Monday, November 8, a seminar was held at the House of Culture in Oslo (Kulturhuset) in the Norwegian capital. It was an âopen meeting regarding Nicaraguaâ. The event featured discussions on the political landscape in Nicaragua, in the wake of the presidential “election” which ratified a new term for dictators Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo. Dozens of countries refused to recognize these elections as legitimate.
The event, which was held in English, was organized by the Nicaragua GAL-Oslo Group, a recently formed branch of the Norwegian Solidarity Committee with Latin America (LAG), with help from the International Student and Academic Support Fund (SAIH).
It included the online participation of Nicaraguan journalist in exile Carlos Fernando Chamorro, as well as Mariel Aguilar Stoen, professor at the Center for Development and Environment at the University of Oslo, and Axel Borchgrevink, professor of international studies at the University of OsloMet. The three discussed the future of the Sandinista revolution and the current socio-political crisis in the country.
Singer-songwriter Katia Cardenal, currently in exile in Norway with her children due to political persecution by the Ortega-Murillo regime, was also present. With her daughter, guitarist Nina Cardenal, they performed the songs “Cancion del fuego â (Song of Fire), “Contracorriente â (against the tide), and “Alla “ (The). “It’s super sad for my generation to see how the revolutionary dream of the young people of the 80s was shattered,” said the singer.
“Latin-Amerika gruppene i Norge (LAG)”: support the revolution but reject the Sandinista party
The NGO Norwegian Solidarity Group with Latin America (LAG) was formed during the 1973 coup d’état in Chile that overthrew then President Salvador Allende. He later supported other left-wing social movements on the continent.
âLAG is the umbrella group for us and other groups, inside and outside of Oslo. There are groups all over Norway, and together we form the group “Latin Americaâ. Many young people went to Nicaragua to work in brigades. An embassy was also created which operated for many years, but has since been dismantled for obvious reasons, âsaid Evelyn Hoen, one of the Nicaragua group coordinators.
Unofficial reports indicate internal tensions within the LAG over Nicaragua. Some consider that the situation only reflects another of the many interventions of the United States in Latin America, while others recognize that the second socialist revolution of Latin America on the continent was betrayed by the actions of the regime of Ortega-Murillo. There were discussions about whether to approach the situation in Nicaragua from the perspective of the citizens, instead of sympathy for Sandinista ideals.
Marcela Prado, systems engineer and political refugee, gave a talk on the situation of Nicaraguan asylum seekers in Norway.
Regarding this latter perspective, Prado commented: âI found out that they initially wanted [to see it that way], but there were some who thought otherwise. There was a lot of discussion, and I don’t think it continued. But then a small group formed (“Nicaraguan group“) and I fell in with them.”
Marcela Prado explained that the Nicaraguans who are part of this group are: âten refugees, plus two people who have been refused asylum and who are now appealing through the Norwegian Organization for Asylum Seekers . I understand that there are two other people claiming asylum, but I do not have their information.
The Nicaraguan group established a public social media presence from October 2021. The open meeting was their first event. âOur group wants to draw attention to what is happening in Nicaragua – the human rights violations, and also all the dead people who are in prison. Obviously, there is no more democracy in Nicaragua. We want to work to help restore democracy there, âsaid Evelyn Hoen.
Difficult road for asylum seekers in Norway
Marcela Prado said a number of asylum claims made by Nicaraguans have been refused by Norway, despite the fact that there have only been a small number. “Under the previous one [conservative] government, many requests were refused. One of the justifications they put forward is that we have to be public or prominent figures to be at risk in Nicaragua, âPrado explained. These contradictions were publicly exposed in the independent Nicaraguan media, which highlighted the cases of Michelle Quezada and engineer Silvia Herrera, who were denied asylum in Norway because they were not ” public figures â.
According to annual reports from the Norwegian Immigration Agency, 40 Nicaraguans applied for political asylum between 2018 and 2021. Norway rejected 34 of these requests.
Indeed, according to a report published by Landinfo, a Norwegian organization responsible for providing information on immigration to the country, “people participating in protests [in Nicaragua] run a great risk. Authorities are monitoring those participating in protests and taking action against them. This claim appeared in the organization’s March 2019 report.
In a third report on Nicaragua, dated September 2019, Landinfo reaffirmed: âEven people without a particular social or political profile were detained in 2020 because of their participation in the 2018 demonstrations, according to Tiiano Breda (analyst at the International Crisis Group). Several of those arrested in 2019 and 2020 were ordinary people. “
Although the Norwegian Labor Party (Arbeiderpartiet), who won the recent Norwegian elections, promised during their political campaign to speed up the asylum process, Prado called the situation “uncertain”.
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* Originally published in Radio Latin America
Learn more about Nicaragua here on Havana Times.
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