Two bishops of the Catholic Church lamented this Sunday the situation of families, some crying “because of the brutality of the tyrants”, and others because all their members went into exile and become “export products” with their remittances.
“We cannot ignore the suffering of so many families due to the fear in which they live, the siege, the lack of work, today many of our families lack the basic means to minimally obtain bread,” said Bishop of Matagalpa Rolando Álvarez.
The Catholic hierarch lamented the “forced migration” during his reflections on the biblical reading of the wedding at Cana, to which they referred. For him, the family is the most important issue in the Christian community, because that is where values are transmitted and it is the cell of society.
For this reason, the bishop emphasizes that the family needs stability, security, to be protected by society, but contrary to that, what they see is that they abandon their belongings, their affections and their rights to start a path—a caravan—where freedom reigns. uncertainty.
The mention of the caravans comes a day after the departure from San Pedro Sula, in Honduras, of a group made up of 600 people, between Hondurans and Nicaraguans, who are heading to the United States in search of a better life.
Honduran welder Olvin López explained to the international media about this new caravan that “the majority of this group are Nicaraguan citizens fleeing the Daniel Ortega regime, they crossed through blind spots” to join the mobilization.
The year 2021 was record for Nicaraguans who left the country with a record of 72,192 apprehensions on the border with the United States, while Costa Rica received 52,928 refugee applications, according to official data from both countries.
The “cruelty of tyrants”
The auxiliary bishop of Managua, Silvio Báez, focused on describing societies where joy is lacking, which are the same “when there are dominators and victims, when cruelty is imposed as a strategy to preserve power.”
So much Alvarez What Baez They are known for their commitment to the defense of human rights and democracy, and have been the target of smear campaigns by the Nicaraguan regime.
Báez officiated the mass from the Santa Agatha church in Miami, Florida, which has become the meeting point for the Nicaraguan community with the religious leader, who has been in exile since 2019 by decision of Pope Francis, who ordered his exit after he received threats from Sandinista fanatics.
The lack of joy in society, according to Báez, occurs because people live in fear due to violent repression and lying and threatening speeches. “When families cry because of the brutality of tyrants,” he said.
Nicaragua is experiencing a serious human rights crisis, one of the worst on the continent. After the 2018 massacre, in which 355 people were killed and the excessive use of force by the State was proven, Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo cling to power, arguing without evidence that they were victims of an attempted coup.
The Nicaraguan regime has, however, violated the civil rights of Nicaraguans and is holding more than 160 political prisoners in total isolation, despite requests from the international community to release them immediately and restore citizenship rights.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (OAS), attached to the OAS, which investigated the human rights violations committed by the State in 2018, stated that 100,000 people went into exile to protect their safety. Another group from the same organization maintained that crimes against humanity were committed during the violent acts against opponents.
Báez recalled that the lack of joy is evident when “the serene and humble political will to listen, dialogue and give in for the common good is absent”, a signal that occurs when, from the ruling party, an attempt is made to encourage a political dialogue, while the victims of the repression ask that there be no “clean slate” as Daniel Ortega proposed, but rather justice.
“Wine continues to be lacking in society when there are no decent job opportunities for the poor, when there are prisoners for political reasons and when many are forced into exile in order to survive. A divided, sad and oppressed society is a society in which the wine of life, joy and love is lacking”, lamented Báez, who explains that in the miracle of the wedding at Cana, when the guests think they are staying without wine it is seen as the end of the party and the joy.
Ortega maintains a fierce propaganda campaign against the Catholic Church, whom he accuses of conspiring against him. However, bishops and priests have stood out for their defense of citizens against the abuses of the State and have denounced the lack of democratic conditions for the voting last November, with which Ortega, 76, ensured a fourth consecutive term since 2007 at the hands of his wife Rosario Murillo, current vice president and his constitutional successor.
