CASE STUDY: EXILED NICARAGUAN HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS IN COSTA RICA SOS Nicaragua in particular has a lot of credibility among exile groups. They identify themselves as a self-managed organization that facilitates the channeling of aid and donations from private companies, organizations, churches, among others. Its actions focus on the larger migrant and refugee Nicaraguan population in Costa Rica, which includes HRDs. They coordinate humanitarian assistance, such as: food, clothing, medical and psychological assistance, guidance in immigration and refugee procedures and other humanitarian needs. They maintain close communication with different groups of Nicaraguans, whether they are organized or not, in San José and other cities in the country, in order to distribute humanitarian assistance, a task that they generally carry out on weekends. They have a fairly extensive database of exiles, which is constantly updated. Everyone who works in this organization is a volunteer. UNE-CR is made up mainly of Nicaraguan doctors, a good part of them living in Costa Rica for a long time, but other exile organizations collaborate. One of its most important actions has been to provide medical assistance and provide medicines to the exiles. To do this, they established an assistance center, however, due to lack of resources and increased demand, they were unable to sustain it over time. Another of its tasks is to help facilitate medical assistance for priority cases before public health institutions. There are several other relevant organizations, many of them run by Nicaraguans that had been forced to flee their country and seek refuge in Costa Rica. These organizations often provide some support to Nicaraguan HRDs in exile, including psychosocial and medical services. For example, the human rights organizations Nicaragua Nunca Más, Del Rio Foundation, Hagamos Democracia, CISAS, and the Asociación Nicaragüense Pro-Derechos Humanos (ANPDH). Other international and Costa Rican organizations that can be highlighted for supporting Nicaraguan HRDs in Costa Rica are People in Need (PIN), Center for Justice and International Rights (CEJIL its acronym in Spanish), the Arias Foundation for Peace and Development, and Shelter City. before they were forced into exile. In the case of Nicaraguans HRDs, there is a long history and presence in Costa Rica. Many of the HRDs are binational or have relatives in Costa Rica. Several families have members of both nationalities and move frequently in the two countries; they live in one place, work in the other, they study and receive health care in Costa Rica, and do business in Nicaragua. The borders are extremely porous and, in some places, almost nonexistent. This aspect facilitates family reunification in Costa Rica (often temporary), although the costs of relocation for families is still high. According to interviews and the focus groups results, those who can reunite with their families or are relocated with their families, still face challenges in exile such as supporting them and providing for basic costs, such as food and housing. Support for Nicaraguan HRDs who are relocated in Costa Rica, generally does not include support for family members. Nonetheless, the government economic support programs cover families of refugees and in situations of poverty. When Nicaraguan HRDs in Costa Rica were asked in the survey, the needs of the family members that were left behind, their responses could be categorized in three areas: Security • Advice for risk analysis and physical and digital assistance. • Emergency plan that allows family reunification in case of emergency. • Security training, strategies, precautionary measures, security plan. • Moving them to safe places. Economic • Financial Assistance. • Financial help to move internally to somewhat safe places in the country. • Training on entrepreneurial initiatives. How do HDRs support their families left behind? Like the Venezuelan HRDs, when Nicaraguan HRDs are forced out to leave their home country, they do so without their families. Many HRDs were the breadwinners of their families 16 @FreedomHouse Psychosocial • Psychological and monetary support. • Online psychological support.