Crisis in Nicaragua
April 26, 2018
In the face of deadly violence
April, 2018 the government of Nicaragua raised Social Security taxes and decreased benefits. This became the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back, resulting in massive country-wide protests, violence and deaths. Protests raged on for five days and brought the country to a halt multiple times, especially during this past weekend. School closed early last Thursday.
Although many of the protests were peaceful, they became violent either through mob mentalities or opposition retaliation.
Managua and many other regions of the country saw several of our giant metallic trees come tumbling down, government and police buildings burned, and over two dozen deaths of protesters, riot police and even reporters.
Fear of riots and food shortages have resulted in extremely long lines at gas stations and grocery stores, and indeed some stores and businesses were looted on Saturday and Sunday.
I waited in the checkout line with a few of our close friends for approximately 5 hours on Sunday!
There is also a widespread fear of the unknown, and rumors combined with videos of protesters, shootings and violence have been circulating on social media faster than they can be confirmed to be true. Daniel Ortega, the nation's president, shut down all of the television news stations. Social media was the only way for us to see what was happening.
Classes were suspended at Nicaragua Christian Academy for three and a half days. During this time we stayed safe. Due to safety reasons, we spent two days with our school chaplain in a more heavily guarded apartment complex because we felt our house was not secure enough. The march on Monday and the government's response afterwards brought some clarity to our decision to stay in Nicaragua. We don't believe we need to evacuate at this time. As of right now, things are calm and life seems to be returning back to something more civil. People are still incredibly worried and fearful.
Please Pray!
Please pray for our safety and continue to pray with us for the country and people of Nicaragua! In addition, pray for wisdom for all of Nicaragua's leaders (of government, businesses, communities, educational institutions, non-profit organizations and the church) as they seek ways to work through the controversy without bloodshed and violence.
Please Give!
Due to civil unrest, we have lost income and had additional living expenses which fall outside our usual budget.
