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NICARAGUA: Hurricane Update / Action Against Aleman
Originally posted in IGC member conference: reg.nicaragua
Posted by: nicanet@igc.org
Nicaragua Network Hotline
November 9, 1998
Nearly two weeks after Hurricane Mitch ravaged Central America, Nicaraguan authorities are reporting at least 4,000 deaths, 2,000 of whom were killed by a massive mudslide in the town of Posoltega in the northwestern part of the country. A total of 11,000 people are presumed dead in the region, with at least 6,000 deaths in Honduras. The Nicaraguan daily newspaper El Nuevo Diario lists 763,000 left homeless in Nicaragua, 7,000 missing, $200 million in material losses, 68% of the primary roads destroyed, 50 bridges destroyed and 100 damaged. Development experts predict that it will take Nicaragua at least twenty years to recover from the hurricane damage. Epidemics of malaria, cholera, and dengue fever are expected. And with roughly 50% of this year's harvest having been destroyed, famine is another probable consequence of this hurricane.
President Aleman has received continuing criticism for his slow and ineffective response to the crisis. He has consistently taken advantage of the situation to push forward his own political agenda. He issued a Presidential Decree declaring that the only authorized recipients of international aid are the Catholic Church (and Catholic Relief Services), the Red Cross, and the Nicaraguan-American Foundation, a right-wing organization that participated in efforts to fund Aleman's 1996 presidential campaign. This is a deliberate effort on Aleman's part to "cut off the oxygen supply" to the progressive non-governmental organization (NGO) sector. There have also been a number of reports that confirm that the government is prioritizing sending aid to Liberal Party strongholds, and has been extremely slow in sending relief to areas which have traditionally supported the Sandinistas.
Despite widespread national and international criticism, Aleman persisted in his irresponsible and divisive actions when he deported a USAID official last weekend for having sent e-mails to her friends and family calling the government incapable of handling the crisis. According to an article in El Nuevo Diario, Julie Noble was handed a deportation notice on Saturday, November 7, and she left the country the following day. This deportation has raised questions about the government's involvement in "electronic espionage."
Aleman, in his trips to affected communities, has been met by angry crowds protesting the government's inadequate response to the disaster. In the city of Dario in the department of Leon, one of the towns hardest hit by the hurricane, a multitude of people heckled his caravan. Aleman, visibly shaken by the occurrence, observed only a minimal amount of the damage and then quickly left the town. Similar occurrences took place in Leon and Chinandega.
On Monday, November 16, Nicaragua solidarity activists around the world will protest the Nicaraguan government's pre-Hurricane attempts to cut off humanitarian aid to the poor by taxing aid that is not sent through their own right-wing foundations. In Washington, DC, we will stage a demonstration outside the Nicaraguan Embassy. We will ask that groups in other cities with consulates organize actions for that day - either small pickets, leafletting, or visits with the consulate staff. Activists who are not in one of these cities can support the Day of Action by calling or faxing the Embassy in Washington. We must stop the Nicaraguan government's efforts to manipulate the suffering of the poor for political gain! We ask you to take part in the Day of Action by participating in one of the following activities. [We have received confirmation that the government has relaxed the restrictions on aid, and that any legally-registered NGO in Nicaragua can now receive donations. Nevertheless, we will proceed as planned with our Day of Action in order to demand that Aleman no longer place politically-motivated barriers on aid.]
o Join our protest outside the Nicaraguan Embassy in Washington, DC (1627 New Hampshire Ave., NW) from 12:30-1:30. We will overnight videos and photos with press releases to the Nicaraguan media in order to guarantee that President Aleman hears our demands.
o If you are in a city with a Nicaraguan consulate or another country with an Embassy, organize your own November 16 action or set up a meeting with the staff. Contact the Nicaragua Network at (202) 544-9355 for a list of consulates and embassies or to connect with other solidarity groups in your area.
o Call the Embassy at (202) 939-6570 or fax a letter of protest to (202) 939-6542 on November 16.
The FSLN last week initiated a call for immediate cancellation of Nicaragua's foreign debt in light of the present crisis. Nicaragua's debt stands at $6 billion, one of the highest per capita debts in the world. This debt was unsustainable even before the hurricane; now, facing $200 million in damage, there is no way that Nicaragua will be able to service the debt and rebuild the country at the same time. While the government has echoed this call for immediate debt relief, President Aleman has announced that his government will not alter the IMF-imposed structural adjustment program in any way. However, the massive destruction wrought by the hurricane is directly linked to these structural adjustment policies. Nicaragua's infrastructure and public health system was in shambles before the storm hit due to the deep cuts in public spending mandated by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. Nicaragua will never fully recover from this disaster unless these policies are changed. We urge all activists to contact the following officials and urge them to use their influence to reform the structural adjustment policies upon which multilateral aid has been conditioned.
James Wolfensohn President, World Bank Group fax: 202/522-0355
Michel Camdessus Managing Director, International Monetary Fund fax: 202/623-4661
Robert Rubin U.S. Secretary of the Treasury 202/622-0073
If you would like to make a donation for emergency hurricane relief, please make your tax-deductible check out to Nicaragua Network Education Fund, writing "hurricane relief" on the memo line. Send checks to 1247 E St., S.E. - Washington, DC 20003. Funds will be sent to the August c. Sandino Foundation (FACS), Nicaragua's largest secular development relief organization.
The Nicaragua network and the Committee for Health Rights in the Americas are sending an emergency health care brigade to Nicaragua December 12-20. The Nicaragua Network is also sending a construction brigade to Nicaragua in mid-February.
contact the Nicaragua Network at nicanet@igc.org or 202/544-9355 for more information.