This post is also available in: Spanish
It’s well known that relationships can be hard, but they can be even harder when we are trying to establish a relationship between people from different countries, and it’s extremely hard if those countries have issues between each other. So it won’t be a surprise that, in my role as MCC Connecting People’s Coordinator (CPC) in Nicaragua, I was a little nervous about leading an event called ILUMINA, an exchange program held this past February where young Anabaptists from Nicaragua and Costa Rica gathered to talk about migration.
For many years, Costa Rica and Nicaragua have had a special dynamic, like siblings fighting each other but sharing the same bond. During the civil war in Nicaragua in the 1980s, many Nicaraguan families had to flee to Costa Rica seeking better opportunities for themselves and their families, resulting in a significant and growing Nicaraguan community in Costa Rica. Since the beginning of Nicaragua’s current sociopolitical crisis in April of 2018, many more have fled to Costa Rica seeking refugee status but, like the generation before, they have not always been welcomed, and have often faced a lot of racism and xenophobia.
Photo: Wendy Vado
So there we were, gathering for a weekend with six young people from Costa Rica and six young people from Nicaragua, talking about love, service, and also migration—a hard topic given the circumstances. According to La Fundación Nicaragüense para el Desarrollo Económico y Social (FUNIDES) so far 55,000 Nicaraguans have fled to Costa Rica due to the social crisis the country is facing. The national coordinators of both countries, Nicaragua and Costa Rica, agreed to talk about migration, but we were anxious about what response we would receive from the group.
The truth is that their response really amazed us!
The night before the migration talk, we had a cultural night. At the beginning, the Ticos (Costa Ricans) and Nicas (Nicaraguans) were a little bit shy. But as each group started sharing their culture—food, dancing, and icons—it was an ice-breaking moment. They were laughing and sharing their identity as countries, communities, and churches. After that, the large group split into smaller groups, where the participants shared the challenges they face as young leaders. It was at that moment when the group left their boundaries behind. They opened up about their struggles as individuals, the pain they have been carrying, and the hope and dreams they have for the future. At that moment I realized how powerful it is to have a cross-cultural experience, because when we are in a common place sharing a smile, a meal, or even a prayer or song, it is in that moment when we have the opportunity to build a bridge between cultures, countries, and, most importantly, between people.
Photo: Wendy Vado
Bridges are important not just for geographic spaces, but also for human relationships. We need more than ever to extend bridges to the “other,” especially those who are suffering or being discriminated against within our society. When we build this bridge, we realize that they are not so different from us. They’re no longer the “other.” “They” and “we” become “us”, humans, brothers and sisters who share our fears, our dreams, and our hopes, regardless of accent, race or language.
The energy in the group was visible and palpable. In fact, in their evaluations of the event, many of the participants mentioned how they had felt as a group. The challenge they have now is to be a peacemaker in their home communities and churches, paving the way to build bridges piece by piece, person by person, instead of building walls. I can’t wait to see what will happen in the next ILUMINA event.
Wendy Vado is the Connecting Peoples Coordinator for MCC in Nicaragua.