The Big Move – or EA goes North
After a long time of processing, and another of planning, it was a fact: We were moving from Nicaragua to my native Finland. It had to do with the crisis […]
Snapshots of Dark Days in Nicaragua
June 19th: The house put on fire by government forces early morning Saturday 16th, in the midst of a fragile re-inaugurated dialogue between the govt and civil society, mediated by […]
Very long 48 hours
There was a new attempt of finding a negotiated solution for the crisis in Nicaragua when bishops met with Ortega last Thursday and presented them their proposal – very much […]
Students and riot police face-to-face – and who are the students?
There are marches and mobilizations every day in Nicaragua these days – in special in Managua. Yesterday afternoon students were planting trees to replace the burnt down “Trees of Life” […]
The Church – and the Peasants – took the streets
Today was the day of the Catholic Church – and the peasants from mainly the northern part of the country. For years they have protested against the interoceanic canal in […]
The students won not only the day
The students won the day today with an enormous march through Managua. It was, according to unofficial sources, a historical event with its some 100 000 participants – totally independent […]
Five days of chaos & violence
After five days of violence and chaos, part of the sad balance of Nicaragua is: app. 30 dead, among them a journalist and three policemen, at least 100 injured, many […]
Peaceful walks – or walks for peace
We have recently joined an initiative which we find the best of the century. At least one of the best we have experienced during our four and a half years […]
Lima in five days
Not easy to capture a city in only five days, also working most of the time (a book on sustainable tourism). But there was time for glimpses of something in […]
Smiles and Tears on The Day of the Dead
The Day of the Dead in El Salvador is NOT Halloween. No, it has its roots in the Mexican celebration “EL Dia de los Muertos”. Unlike Mexico, where it is […]
¡Nacatamales!
Nacatamales are the national dish of Nicaragua. But I had lived in the country for quite a while before trying them for the first time. You don´ t get them anywhere. […]
“El Negro”: “We are part of the solution”
My third post about gang-members, in honour of their battle for peace, and recently celebrated 2nd anniversary for the truce, is on Guillermo, or “El Negro”, whom I met exactly […]
“El Mentiroso”, El Negro”, and the others
Tomorrow, Sunday the 9th of March, is a historic day in El Salvador. It´s a double feast, like the bands put it: “The 9th of March the country has a […]
Horror, Despair & Suspense
The horror story of Nicaragua is not ending. Early morning today, students from the National University of Engineering, UNI, occupied their university, as a last resource in the search for […]
No direction
Yesterday, May 9th, the opposition of the Ortega-government, once again, took to the streets of Managua, convoked by the students and the peasants, that is, the anti-canal movement. There was […]
Organización de la juventud surgida de autoconvocados/19 de abril
He intentado hacer un listado de las organizaciones surgidas a base de los autoconvocados y/o 19 de abril. Las fuentes son secundarias, en parte contradictorias entre sí, y no puedo […]
The Sandinistas (try to) show muscles
I went to the Sandinista march today, the ruling party´s answer to the previous two massive manifestations from part of the opposition. To show muscles – because the two […]
Hangover
Most Nicaraguans want a change – but a peaceful one Today we woke up to an almost “normal” Nicaragua. The kids are back in school, the supermarkets and the banks […]
Raúl Mijango
Perhaps someone would have talked about a death foretold. But the impossible and perhaps predictable happened. Raúl Mijango, the intireable peace-mediator in El Salvador was imprisoned earlier this month together […]
There are no words for it
We left El Salvador on December 20th 2015. It was a relief. A selfish relief. Because we left 7 million people behind. Among them friends, colleagues. Close people. Some of them in […]
The Pacific goes Bananas!
The past days enormous waves have been lashing the Pacific, from Mexico to Chile, product of yearly storms. This year, though, the storm was stronger than ever, hitting the coasts […]
Two marches – two messages
Last week, the 26th of March, the streets of El Salvador were filled with thousands of people, dressed in white. Half a million Salvadorans, according to the Government, took to […]
Back after 19 years
Something special happened in December last year: I returned to Bolivia after 19 years. It was unfortunately only for a few days. But I knew the conditions and enjoyed every […]
