CGEE programs and staff were not impacted by the eruption. There were no programs running at the time, and our program base is in Quetzaltenango (Xela) which is located over 100 miles from El Fuego.

INGUAT (The Guatemalan Institute of Tourism) made the following statement: “All of the major tourist destinations – such as Tikal National Park, the Semuc Champey Natural Monument, Lake Atitlan, Quetzaltenango, and the Pacaya Volcano, among others – are fully operational and are not under any restrictions….”

Augsburg University’s Center for Global Education & Experience stands in solidarity with those impacted by this tragedy. PBS has compiled a short taking donations for the aid of the local people affected.

The post Update from Guatemala appeared first on Center for Global Education and Experience.

Despite emerging indications that the government of Nicaragua may work out a peaceful resolution to the civil unrest affecting the country, we have decided to err on the side of caution and end our semester program early. Students have returned to the United States.  We are working with our faculty to develop a plan that will allow students to finish the remaining three weeks of classes from the Nicaragua segment of the program through virtual means.

For organizations with planned custom short-term May programs to Nicaragua, we are discussing possibilities for each on a case by case basis.

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While it is entirely possible that the situation in Nicaragua will improve later this week or next, making the decision to end the program early seem unnecessary, student safety—our top priority—requires us to favor current information over speculation.

For questions please contact globaled@augsburg.edu

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Update (Evening of Sunday April 22)

President Ortega has held a press conference announcing the revocation of the social security increase that triggered the street protests, and has invited the business sector and the church to a dialogue. We are not clear if this will be enough to unwind the protests in the coming days, but we are optimistic that the dialogue will bear fruit within a few weeks, restoring calm over the summer.

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Update (Morning of Tuesday April 24)

Semester students all confirmed at their gates at the airport, awaiting flights home. Mark Lester, Site Director for CGEE Central America, is with them until all have safely left the country.

CGEE staff and their families remain safe and accounted for.

The post April 2018 Update: Nicaragua appeared first on Center for Global Education and Experience.

Despite the terrible tragedies caused by the recent earthquakes in Mexico, people are recovering amazingly quickly and demonstrating the incredible warmth and generosity of the Mexican spirit. Small mom and pop businesses have been giving out food and supplies to survivors of the earthquake, as have hardware stores and other businesses.  Almost everywhere you go, you see people who have set up relief collection centers in their homes, and people going to drop off donations. Many schools are serving as shelters for people whose homes were destroyed or damaged in the earthquake, and our state university is helping to coordinate relief efforts throughout the state. The government has opened up toll roads and made them free so that people can travel more easily and inexpensively during this time.  Even a lot of banks have stopped charging a fee to withdraw money regardless of whether it is your bank. These are just a few of the endless examples of the overwhelming love and solidarity being shared by ordinary citizens and all kinds of institutions.

The international response to the earthquake has also been tremendous.  On Friday, I witnessed the arrival of 15 Canadian women rescue workers with their rescue dogs. They received a huge round of applause everywhere they went in the earthquake because people could identify them as a result of the vests that both the women and dogs were wearing.  And the Canadians aren’t alone.  People from the United States and Cuba and all over the world have been helping out in person and through donations.  As a result, students and customized program participants have an incredible opportunity to learn from a wide range of people about what schools, social workers, activists, ordinary citizens, governments, and businesses do to respond to emergency situations.

Our current semester students were with their host families during the last (and worst) earthquake here last Tues., September 19, and they and their Mexican families were all fine.  In addition, the staff in our study center are all fine, and no one lost a home or has had to evacuate, although a few staff members have some damage to their homes. We are among the lucky ones, as are all of our current host families and all of the host families in the neighborhood of Plan de Ayala.

While lives and homes were lost in Cuernavaca, most of the largest tragedies took place in the southeastern part of the state of Morelos, closest to the epicenter of the quake.  Towns such as Jojutla and Axopian and Tenancingo were devastated.   Ixtlilco el Grande, where many CGEE students (especially in the Social Work program) have participated in rural homestays lost at least 15 homes, some of which belong to former host families. Those who haven’t been to Ixtlilco but have studied in Mexico may have learned about the circulatory migration between that town and Minneapolis from Augsburg adjunct professor Raziel Valino, who is completing her doctoral dissertation on that topic. She reports that the host families are physically fine and recovering from the trauma.  Even as they work to rebuild their own homes, they are helping out the other towns in their region that have suffered greater loss. Again, the show of solidarity is very inspiring.

Amatlan de Quetzalcoatl, where numerous CGEE groups have had homestays, also suffered from the earthquake.  Like Ixtlilco, Amatlan did not suffer the loss of lives, but numerous homes were destroyed, including that of elderly farmer Dona Irene Ramirez, who has often given talks about her heirloom corn and her views of GMO corn.

If you have already donated to earthquake relief in Mexico, thank you.  If you haven’t and would like to, there are many great organizations that could use your help.  The following link provides a few great suggestions for how to help:  .

CGEE-Mexico is currently trying to compile a list of host families who lost homes in Amatlan and Ixtlilco that we can share so that you can know how your former host families are if you have not already been in touch with them. We are also hoping to set up a mechanism to channel funds directly to the CGEE host families in Amatlan and Ixtlilco who lost their homes. Therefore, please stay tuned for updates.

Thank you,

Ann Lutterman-Aguilar

CGEE-Mexico Site Director

UPDATE: To donate to our campaign for host families, please visit the go fund me page at: .

The post Generosity, Love, and Support After Earthquake appeared first on Center for Global Education and Experience.

The post Earthquake Updates appeared first on Center for Global Education and Experience.

Within a seven-day period in June, the Nicaraguan government expelled 3 US officials, and 6 foreigners. The first of the three US officials was Evan Ellis, a researcher professor of Latin American Studies for the Strategic Studies Institute of the US Army War College, whose research focus is the canal. He apparently had notified the Nicaraguan government of his visit, and arrived on a diplomatic passport on the same flight as a couple of other US officials on diplomatic passports, But these latter two worked for US Customs, and had arranged their visit with Nicaraguan private enterprise. They were arriving to do a regular inspection of cargo being sent to the US to facilitate the security review required post-Sept 11.

The US Ambassador here in her initial comments on the expulsion stated that she felt that the expulsion of the customs officials was probably a mistake, that the Nicaraguan government mistakenly thought they were with Ellis, because they arrived on the same plane and were lodged in the same hotel as he. But she clarified that they were not related to his canal study. The Nicaraguan Embassy in the US issued a curious statement (attached) that explained that the latter two were expelled because they carried out their work “without the knowledge and/or proper coordination with Nicaraguan authorities”. So the US Ambassador here replied that this coordination in the past was never done with the government, but rather with the particular company wanting the inspection, and that if the rules had changed it would be important to notify the country and the businesses involved.

It is clear that the Nicaraguan government is very sensitive about the proposed canal, and I think these expulsions are related to the canal. It was interesting that in her initial statements to the press here, the US Ambassador did not challenge the expulsion of Ellis. Given the history of US/Nicaragua relations, the expulsion of an “academic” from the US Army War College coming to study the canal would not be surprising, although he had been here in the past and had informed the Nicaraguan government beforehand about his arrival and the purpose of his visit.

The 6 other foreigners expelled were environmentalists who were in the proposed canal zone area teaching local people how to use environmentally friendly appropriate technology, like improved wood stoves. They were being hosted by the leader of the anti-canal movement, and even some were staying in her home. She was detained initially along with them, and then they were expelled. They had met her in an anti-canal event, and then had decided to work in coordination with her organization. The conditions of their arrest did not correspond with international law, in the sense of their ability to contact their embassies etc. So while there were issues of due process, again, this incident also was directly connected to the canal.

Additional thoughts on the statement:

• the warning about “academics” I take as a reference to Ellis, because a week after his expulsion I had contact with two US academics who had no problems entering and doing their work. One studies the Potable Water and Sanitation Committees throughout the country, and the other coffee and ecology. So far we do not see there are problems with academics in general, outside of those working on the canal and possibly on sensitive issues for the government (and elections is clearly one of them). There was a Mexican journalist, Vidriana Rios, who left the country shortly after arriving because she felt she was being followed. She currently works with the Wilson Center, and studies violence and the impact of government corruption on the economy. But when she contacted the Mexican Embassy about her suspicions that she was being followed, at that time 4 Mexicans who were part of the environmentalist group mentioned above had been arrested, so the Mexican Embassy recommended she leave. The elections are a sensitive issue. That being said, we have had no problems in our meeting with opposition parties with our groups.
• We do not usually host volunteer organizations, but checking with a US group that regularly does, they are now confused about that part of the statement. Because on reading it, as the statement recommends, they checked with their normal contact from Cooperación Externa at MINREX (Nicaraguan Foreign Ministry) about the so-called new requirements, and the response they received from MINREX was that nothing had changed, they did not know what the statement referred to, and suggested that the US group contact the US Embassy to get a clarification. The contact person at MINREX seemed irritated at the question, and according to the person reporting the conversation “seemed like he had already answered the question 40 times.” So MINREX contradicts what the statement says, that volunteer groups need prior approval to visit the country.

We will continue to monitor the situation, and while there have been anomalies in terms of how these incidents have been dealt with by the government, it seems clear to us that these actions have not been directed at the general US public, nor even necessarily to the professions mentioned in the warning, but rather specifically to people involved in research on the issue of the canal, and possibly other sensitive areas for the government like elections and government corruption. But like I said we have not had any problems meeting with opposition party officials as part of a normal educational program, nor have we heard of problems by other foreign researchers. Nor have we heard of any problems with groups coming down to do volunteer work. Things have tightened up at the Ministry of Health, but that has been a progressive process that we have kept nursing groups informed about.

Here is a link to what I think is a pretty good article in English on background related to those expulsions:   Within it is a link to an article in Confidencial that provides even more background, but in Spanish.

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