Nan McCurdy, Nica Notes, October 20th 2022
https://afgj.org/es-LA/nicanotes-10-20-2022
Last week, on October 13th, we launched a campaign to raise emergency funds to support the Nicaraguan government’s efforts to rebuild damaged infrastructure and support the millions of people who have been severely affected by Hurricane Julia. You can donate to the Nicaragua Solidarity Fund “Padre Miguel D’Escoto Brockmann, a project of the Alliance for Global Justice, to help hurricane victims.
Nearly four million of Nicaragua’s 6.6 million people were affected by Hurricane Julia.
(Photo: El 19 Digita)l
The hurricane made landfall in the early morning hours of October 9th, on Nicaragua’s Southern Caribbean Autonomous Region in the areas of Bluefields, Pearl Lagoon and Tasba Pauni. Torrential rains followed, devasting large parts of the rest of the country. Almost four million people in 123 municipalities were affected to some degree. Government preparedness in evacuating 20,000 persons and placing 12,858 in 33 shelters was key to saving lives. Dr. Guillermo González, Director of the National System for Disaster Prevention, Mitigation and Attention (SINAPRED) noted that “no deaths due to the hurricane were reported. Saving lives was priority number one.” Click here to donate!
Initial reports of damages and losses have been estimated at US$400 million, 2% of the GDP but that number is preliminary given that the basic infrastructure and services damages in areas like El Rama, Laguna de Perlas and Bluefields are still being calculated and losses in the agricultural, fishing and tourism sectors nationwide are also still under study, according to Ivan Acosta, Nicaragua’s Minister of Finance.
At present, teams of specialists are working around the clock to restore basic services of communications, electricity and water. Food packages and roofing materials are arriving for families in El Rama, Bluefields and Corn Island and other municipalities of Nicaragua’s Southern Caribbean Autonomous region.
Nicaragua needs support to help rebuild.
We can show our support by donating to the “Padre Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann” Nicaragua Solidarity Fund. Donations received will be sent to SINAPRED’s disaster emergency fund. We will also try to make an additional donation to the Municipality of Bluefields.
Please make a tax deductible contribution today at https://afgj.salsalabs.org/nicaragua-solidarity-fund/index.html or send a check to Alliance for Global Justice, 225 E 26th St., Ste 1, Tucson, AZ 85713. Please put “Nicaraguan Hurricane Recovery” in the memo line.
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Here are some links to photos and information about the hurricane’s impact:
Nicaragua presentará informe consolidado de daños ocasionados por el huracán Julia
Cuadrillas de ENATREL trabajan para restablecer energía en comunidad Orinoco
More Information about the Padre Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann Nicaragua Solidarity Fund
This is the second time that fundraising for the Fund has been activated for hurricane relief.
In 2020, we raised money for Hurricanes Eta and Iota relief and reconstruction efforts on the North Caribbean Coast. AfGJ/Nicaragua Network sent $27,500 to SINAPRED, the country´s award-winning disaster prevention and mitigation agency.
The Nicaragua Solidarity Fund, established in 2020 via the AFGJ, is an opportunity for US citizens to support the needs of the Nicaraguan people at a time when the United States continues to violate international law by placing sanctions against Nicaragua. These sanctions, over the past several years, have prevented Nicaragua from accessing concessional loans, grants or debt relief from multilateral sources such as the World Bank, the Interamerican Development Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
It should be noted that the United States still has the moral and legal responsibility to comply with the ruling of the International Court of Justice (World Court) of 1986. The Republic of Nicaragua vs. the United States of America was a case where the World Court held that the U.S. had violated international law by waging war against the Nicaraguan government utilizing the Contras to mine the harbors as well as kill Nicaraguans and destroy schools, health centers, electricity towers and more. The World Court ruled in favor of Nicaragua and against the United States awarding reparation to Nicaragua. The United States refused to participate in the proceedings after the Court rejected its argument that the World Court lacked jurisdiction to hear the case. The U.S. also blocked enforcement of the judgment by the United Nations Security Council and thereby prevented Nicaragua from obtaining any compensation. The US pressured the post-FSLN government of Violeta Chamorro to withdraw the complaint from the court in 1992.
In 1986 the damages to Nicaragua were calculated at approximately US$17 billion dollars. Thirty-six years of cumulated interest makes the amount due the country more like US$160 billion. Although the Nicaragua Solidarity Fund does not replace the debt owed by the US, it is an opportunity for US citizens to recognize their government´s
responsibility and to assist Nicaragua in responding to the needs of its people.
Please make your donation online using the secure form.
If you would like to donate by check instead, please make it payable to Alliance for Global Justice with Nicaragua Solidarity Fund in the memo line, and mail to 225 E. 26th Street, Suite 1, Tucson, AZ 85713
Your donation is tax deductible! Nicaragua Solidarity Fund “Padre Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann” is a Project of the Alliance for Global Justice, a 501c3 non profit.