Nicaraguan Migrants Fleeing Turmoil Test Costa Rica’s Good Will

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/22/world/americas/nicaragua-migrants-costa-rica.html

In mid-April of 2018, Nicaragua erupted in a violent crisis where hundreds of people have unfortunately perished and where the economy has been damaged. Since then, many Nicaraguans have been unemployed and desperately looking for a job; thus, with many of them gradually immigrating to Costa Rica both legally and illegally. Thousands of Nicaraguans have also applied for asylum, overwhelming the government’s migration bureaucracy, while others have simply melted into the broader population. For years Costa Rica has been known for their “Pura Vida” slogan stating positivity in their lives, and their migration challenge has proven their hospitality and optimism for helping Nicaraguans. On the other hand, Costa Rica has also been known for being prejudice against Nicaraguans. Late last august, in Costa Rica’s capital San José, some protesters were carrying Molotov Cocktails and baseball bats to approach Nicaraguans negatively; nonetheless; there were anti-Nicaraguan invective there. Both groups “clashed”, which then resulted in dozen of arrests, which affected the image of the country greatly. The migration of people fleeing violence, political upheaval, poverty and natural disasters has for years tested the political resolve and good will of governments and populations throughout Latin America. And now Costa Rica is been tested by how well it is able to help their neighbor country Nicaragua. The Costa Rican government has been congratulated by international migration officials and other advocates, and by migrants and refugees themselves for its handling of the migration crisis, even if its migration bureaucracy is threatening to collapse under the strain.This year, more than 24,000 Nicaraguans have formally expressed a desire to apply for asylum in Costa Rica, and most Nicaraguans who have crossed into Costa Rica since the spring have moved in with relatives or friends. In recent months, thousands of newcomers have ended up in La Carpio, a poor, densely populated neighborhood in the capital with many Nicaraguans.The stress is already being felt at the neighborhood’s public school, where about 430 Nicaraguan children have enrolled since February, more than a quarter of them in August alone, and class sizes have grown by about a third. For now,  La Carpio neighborhood can handle it, but there are many questions as to what will happen to Nicaraguans and how well Costa Rica will be able to handle this crisis.

by Isabel G. Torres