I sat next to a young woman from Nicaragua named Belle on my flight from Atlanta to Chicago on Sunday. She noticed that I was reading a book about US-Central American relations and started talking to me about the status of her country. She is lucky enough to have a middle class family and they could afford to send her to live with relatives here. She wears a blue ribbon tied to her wrist and draws images of violence and bloodshed. A brave woman with a big heart that is brimming with hope. I pray for the safety of her parents and that she will take away a good experience from her stay in America.
Some background on Nicaragua’s current political upheval:
“The Unraveling of Nicaragua” – The Atlantic https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/06/nicaragua-ortega-protests/562094/
“The Nicaraguan Students Who Became Reluctant Rebels: ‘I’m no longer the same.'” – The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/10/nicaragua-students-reluctant-rebels