Update From Our Friend Ceci in Nicaragua
"No power for part of the day. No internet for most of the day and some one has sabotaged the water supplies in our area, so no potable water."
This was one of the messages I got from Ceci whilst talking to her on Discord. They have enough potable water, she said, to last until Monday, at which point they will have to go into town and buy bottled water.
"The tanks have water for bathing, laundry and dishes but I don't trust it for drinking. It smells off and have no where to test it to be sure. Better safe than sorry...so bottled water after Monday."
image from one of the links Ceci sent me at: https://havanatimes.org/features/police-repress-protests-in-several-cities-of-nicaragua/
"The water smells really funky, like the worst polluted river with a little chemical thrown in for good measure. I am hesitant to use it so we are boiling the water right now so that most of the bad bugs will be killed off, but the chemicals...who knows what they are. Smells a little like an herbicide like Roundup or Mecca crop. Those have been banned in Canada for decades. But where to first world countries send the crap they can no longer sell? Third world of course!"
They are boiling it to do dishes, not for drinking. I wouldn't trust it for drinking, either...
From: https://havanatimes.org/interviews/a-pattern-of-executions-in-rural-areas-of-nicaragua/
" In the last two months there have been at least six violent deaths in the municipalities of El Cua and San Jose de Bocay, in Jinotega. Even in the municipality of Trojes, in the El Paraiso department of Honduras, where the exiled Francisco Sobalvarro, also known as “Berman,” was murdered. These killings, added to the recent deaths that occurred last week in Mozonte, Nueva Segovia, correspond to a pattern in which the main victims are peasants, ex-military, ex-contras and opponents of Daniel Ortega’s regime."
image from: https://havanatimes.org/opinion/balloons-scare-the-pants-off-the-rulers-in-nicaragua/ "The blue and white balloons, color of the Nicaraguan flag, are considered instruments of terrorism by the government of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo. Thus, anybody caught blowing up or exhibiting balloons is subject to harassment and arrest."
Yes, they arrested five women for putting balloons outside one of their homes in Leon.
More from Ceci when I asked if they had any kind of filter to use in addition to the boiling:
"We can't get a hold of water filters here. Another commodity that is not allowed in to the country. Just like the parts I needed for my wind generators that they are still holding 2 years after the fact. I could probably get them released if I paid a very large bribe (more than $500) and paid another 100% duty on the parts. Not going to happen this week. We believe the sabotage happened outside our walls at night in an area where we don't have a clear line of sight.
I would love to have access to all the really cool things that are available to other homesteaders and preppers in other countries. Anything I would order is stopped at the border."
Things are getting worse for the everyday people in Nicaragua. Send them all the love and solidarity you can!
So, I just noticed this post has been down voted into obscurity. That is DISGUSTING!!! All this fuss about this being a "community" and an update on a COMMUNITY member in dire straits gets DOWNVOTED by people with so much power that all the good folks on steemit cannot counter the down vote? Dammitol, that makes me VERY sad about the future of steemit. Will this become such a mean and vindictive place that only power-crazed assholes can enjoy the platform? How many of those downvotes are fucking bots who do not care what they shit on? Ugh!
It's our old friend Bern because Lynds resteemed this post. I doubt he even looks at what he flags or cares.
Thanks for posting this @phoenixwren, I've been sick so I've been out
Of touch with everything, including discord. I must check to see if
Ceci has sent me anything new. I got 3 Hav Times articles
earlier this week, but then I started getting really sick.
If you hear from her again, give her my love.
Love @cecicastor and @phoenixwren
Oh so sorry you've been sick. She sent me the articles too; most of her words here are from conversation we had back and forth.
Feel better soon!
Sad. She'll pull through though. Only thing I fear is the collective future of the country with such leadership
"leadership"
"Leadership" no kidding. I really appreciate your updates from Ceci. Thanks so much Phe.
Of course! I know we all worry about her and her family.
++++++++++++FURTHER UPDATE+++++++++++++++++++++++
They did two days worth of supply runs. Got enough drinking water to last a week, which is all they could get. Flour is getting hard to source. Also, when I asked about insulin, because she has diabetes supplies to last for a little while, but when it takes so long to get anything ...she said: "I have 4 months supply in the fridge but have kept my eyes open and ears to the ground. There is a huge shipment of medicines sitting in customs for the last 4 months, no refrigeration, so how good will that medicine be? Most meds here have a warning on the packages to keep below 80F and our temperatures for the last 5 weeks has been hovering between 104F and 114F."
So everyone, please think good thoughts about the people there getting medicine that they need. Also, she sent me an article about the state of health care there, and said:
"That is a photo of the hospital in Leon. The one that has cracks in the walls that you can put your arm through to the out side. The one with pigeons living along with the patients. The one where loved ones need to stay with patients, sleeping floors to make sure they are cared for, not robbed and to keep the cockroaches out the bed. Your odds of surviving this place is less than 50-50."
Here's the article:
https://havanatimes.org/nicaragua/mass-firing-of-medical-staff-from-nicaragua-hospitals-one-year-on/
😭 prayers and good thoughts their way. Life of duality suffering, pain vs. joy and love. Smh ❤
This is so sad. I'm sorry your friend is going through this. 😱
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Me too! I wish everyone in the world was free and safe from harm. I don't understand the power-hungry monsters who hurt people for no damn reason who are just trying to live their lives.
Fully agree. Why can we not just livw freely. There are too many power and money hungry people out there and the people on the ground will always suffer for that reason 🙄😱
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What REALLY kills me about these situations is;
Those in control, the crucial 1% have more
Money, homes and property than they could
Ever POSSIBLY make personal use of.
Methinks it is a mental disorder like
OCD needing to control everything.
I like the point that I believe originated with @leecamp that's something like - if you hoard newspaper or cats or empty containers, you're considered sick, but if you hoard dollars, nobody seems to think that's a problem even though it harms a lot more people...
I'll try to remember the source. (I actually went back to bed
Slept for 3 more hrs, got up to check in, and may go
Back to b ed for a while again. 😱)
We had a similar discussion over lunch today. There will never be peace because peace don't make money, war does. We'll never win with saving the planet because that doesn't make money. But destroying it does and the handful that are in control, they reap the benefits while we live with the negatives. 🙄
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It is so very very depressing and just WRONG for things to be this way.
I don't know what we can do about it either.
History has taught us that overthrowing those in power by violent
Means really just means replacing one despot with another, possibly
Worst despot.
We might get one better leader, for his/her lifetime, but inevitably
That much power leads to an equal amount of corruption.
I wish I knew the answer. I know that socialism isn't the answer.
Wow I did not know that things were deteriorating there too? Thanks for sharing!
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Yeah, it's been bad for a while. :(
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Wow... That's truly bad... And wow...
Yeah never good to have wars going on and down there that's nearly all there ever is..
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Dammit, the news I want to hear from Ceci is "We are all out." Thanks for the update.
Right?? I can't wait until one day we get that message. I hope. <3
Were I in Ceci's situation I would be suspicious that the saboteur were intent on more harm than just polluting the water. Therefore I would seek to not act in a predictable way as a result of the water sabotage.
It is very predictable that a trip to acquire water would follow soon after such sabotage, so I would only undertake such a trip if no other options were available, and only with extreme caution.
Were I in that situation I would seek to make a water filter. The most important component is charcoal, which is just wood that is prevented from burning up completely.
My best to Ceci.
It's not that hard to build a standard carbon filter. You just need some sand like from a river, plus some pebbles/gravel, and some charcoal from the bottom of a fire. You put all that into a clothe like an old shirt or something, from smallest grain to biggest, and put it in something to hold it, like an old bottle for a small filter for just yourself, or a bucket to filter more. It just naturally filters out a lot of crap out of the water. You can also just weave a mat with palm leaves or something like that to hold the charcoal and sand from going through. I would still suggest boiling after it goes through the filter, but it actually takes out quite a few bacteria. You can also bring it almost to boiling with the sun too pretty easily.
There are a ton of videos on YouTube that show you how to do this, as well as instructions on various sites, if they can manage to get access to the internet, or someone can to build something to help others.