 Good afternoon to everyone online and in person here at USIP. My name is Keith Mines. I'm the director for Latin America at the Institute, which is an institute that's very interesting. If you haven't been here before, we'll give you a tour of the building afterwards. But it's an institute that was created by Congress in 1984 with the idea of helping to seek resolution to violent conflict around the world and to help countries that are in conflict to leave those conflicts and stay peaceful. We have a very robust program in Latin America. We're active in eight countries, Colombia, Venezuela, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Bolivia, and Haiti. We work from the bottom to the top. We do policy recommendations, analysis, programs, and support to peace builders on the ground. Today it's my pleasure to welcome four discussions from the hemisphere who will offer their insights on the role of diasporas in building a more peaceful hemisphere. So joining us today is Sandra Duval, an educator who works with Conec Plus from Haiti. Amparo Marroquín, dean of social science and humanities at the University of Central America from El Salvador. Rosalia Miller, president of the Nicaragua Freedom Coalition. And Hernando Viveros Cabecabasis, the commissioner on Latin American Community Development in the DC government, who will join us in just a second. Our discussion will be moderated by Jose Luis Sanz, editor of El Faro in English. And we'll have a nice discussion, a very interesting discussion about the relationship between diasporas and their home countries, which is very complex, differs widely between countries and within the various communities in the US where they reside, but has the key to much of what we are all striving for in achieving a more peaceful hemisphere that has a better future for development and humanitarian assistance. So look forward to this rich discussion, and hopefully some of these conclusions will be things that we can all take with us back to our communities and that we at USIP can help to promote in our analysis and in the way that we work in the hemisphere. So I'd like to invite our discussants to please join me on the stage. Jose, first you'll be at the end. Rosalia, Sandra. And then as I said, Hernando will join us in just a second. No, here he is. Is all mic'd up? Is all mic'd up? Great, Jose Luis, turn it over to you. Thank you, Keith. Thank you for being here. Thank you, USIP, for the invitation. Sorry for my accent. I'm glad to be here trying to facilitate this conversation. And thank you, especially Hernando, for joining, because you just arrived from New York. Your train just arrived in DC. We're going to start with a few ideas from Amparo. And then, if you're OK, we will guide a few questions for the panel, and then we will open to questions from the audience. But first of all, Amparo. OK, thank you. I think I can just be here. Yeah. OK, I want to thank you to the Institute of Peace for inviting me and for being here. It's really an honor to be with all of you. And I have to apologize because I speak a broken English, but I try to do my best. So I'm going to read. To talk about mobility in a continent that hosts a large part of the population that moves around the world is really a challenge. Talking about the role and influence migrant communities have had in their countries of origins is a huge challenge, especially since there are many types of diasporas and many ways to migrate. Let us think, for example, of my country, El Salvador. The UN data tell us that one in four Salvadorians lives outside the country. And from every three Salvadorians who have a job, two have found the work outside their country. This means that my country is a country with a large majority of the population that is mobilized. This is not a strength for other countries like Nicaragua, Haiti, or Colombia. Destination forms change, but the structure is the same. In general, when talking about the importance of diasporas is their place of origin, they usually talk about the importance of migration in economic terms. A very old fact in El Salvador, for example, no, this. This slide told us how we live in El Salvador in 1978 and how we live in El Salvador in 2004. It's like 20 years ago, but I want to focus in two indicates in the graph. This is a graph that shows us the income that we earn in El Salvador. And the red part implies the income earned from agriculture, the red one. In 1978, 80% of our income comes from agriculture. In 2004, just the 4% of our income come from agriculture. And the yellow part is remittances. So in 1978, I can see it here, but it's like 9%. 8% comes from remittances. And in 2004, almost 70% comes from remittances. So it's like we have two different countries there. And this is a situation that continues almost this year. This is a comparative graph between remittances and the export. So this is a study of Central Reserve Bank published last February, revealed that 49% of these families will fall into poverty if they do not have remittances. During the first four months of these years, remittances have exceeded exports by more than $300 million. But the influence of the diasporas is not only focused on the economy. The same forms of social and political organizations have been influenced by migrants who deeply know the needs of their countries of origins, but who also have enriched by knowledge of other organizational processes. Migrants have the ability to build institutional synergies programs such as 2x1 and 3x1 in Mexico have been a sign of the ability of migrants to present in their local territories of their origin countries. Migrant organizations cross borders to link territories locally. The strength, local leaderships, and promote development projects that often go where the states of origin do not have a presence. In the daily life of the towns, many migrants have returned to become majors, for example, community leaders, questioning counterweights, critical figures, or simple voices that convene and build the community. The entire social life has been changing by migration from its most important base, the family. Our families have always been diverse, but now they are also transnational. The grandmother, who from Cuyultitan in El Salvador, speak with the mother who is in Milan in Italy, for example, and tells her about the child. She has already finished her homework, for example. Or the dad who sings Happy Birthday by a video call from Montreal, winter to his teenage son. The global campaign that IOM starts seeks to praise how all people contribute to making their communities a better place to live and to call home, regardless of where they come from. That is what our countries have, the communities that we need to continue working. But this is not the only thing that migrants have given to their communities, to their communities of origin. New tolerance exercise arrived, turned into music or prayers that were unknown to us. Migration has transformed the forms of celebrating in many communities of origin. If we go down from Mexico to the south, we will find ancestral traditions that incorporate other languages, dances, costumes, and gestures of the new transnational communities from which we live. Migration has enriched religious practices, food, and cooking, ways of dressing in different moments, forms of communication, which have become more and more digital in communities where there is a lot of migration. What is communicate, since it is not just about learning about local life, but about the life of the other territories we inhabit, such as the community radio station that broadcasts a soccer game in Washington and in Iñipucá, in El Salvador. And the forms, how we communicate. We think, speak, and live in English, and Spanish, and Spanglish, and Kechi, and Miskito, or Kecho. Migrants and community members are working together to make the places where they live and work more productive, innovative, caring, safe, and welcoming. They are committed to making their countries places that believe in the importance of inclusion, tolerance, acceptance, and collaboration. This is my first thought. So now let's have a conversation. Thank you. Thank you, Amparo. You say the topic of the diaspora is often addressed from the perspective of migration, of the defense of the rights, but this little address or they are little recognized as political subjects, as cultural transformators, of course, but especially as political subjects in their countries of origin. Especially, we want to talk about today about the diasporas factor in the building of democracy, both in the US, especially in the countries of origin. I have a sense of questions about this topic because I think we are especially in Central America and many of our countries in a moment of transformation where the diasporas are complying new spaces and a new leadership is being recognized. But I will just make a few of them and then, as I said, we can include the audience. I want to start with you, Rosalia, mostly because the Nicaraguan diaspora is probably one of the most dynamic at this moment tragically because in the last years, hundreds of thousands of Nicaraguans have fled their pressure in Nicaragua. Just last February, 222 political prisoners arrived in Washington directly from jail into exile. And I think that's a dramatic expression of something that happens with most of the diasporas. We are talking about contributing to democracy and to change in Nicaragua, but at the same time, many of them barely had time to settle. So at some point, I want to ask you and talk about how can a diaspora, you have been for decades here in the US, but most of them have not, can the diaspora find the time, the energy for political activism when many of them have to find a job at home or process, follow the asylum process. I mean, we are asking usually those who have been expelled to lead the fight for democracy in the counter-forging. That's a paradox. What do you think about that and what is your experience with the Nicaraguan diaspora? Thank you. Thank you so much for the questions, which I will answer momentarily. And you mentioned that the Nicaraguan diaspora is dynamic. Yes, we are dynamic before I go on. So good afternoon, everyone. I do want to thank the United States Institute for Peace representatives here. And of course, Keith Mainz, the director for the Latin American program. And my colleagues, panelists, who are with me and the audience here and at todos los Nicaraguanes que están por todo el mundo, buenas tardes. You know, I wanted to just put a point of reference that diaspora is sometimes not confused, but it's not the use interchangeably. And I think rather than going to an academic description and turn this into an academic session, which is not, I just want to say that we are really all together, the exiles and the diaspora right now. And that brings me then to your questions and your comments about the 222 Nicaraguanes who came on February 9th, the Nicaraguanes boarded that plane, not knowing where they were going to be going. They were in jail. There had been jail and tortured psychologically, something called white torture as well. In any case, they were asked to get dressed because they were going somewhere. Some of them that I spoke with and my other colleagues in the diaspora were told that they thought they were going to be going to the firing squad. So that's how serious and terrible this was. I also, though, before I continue, I want to be sure that I am very clear to express to all of you that I am not the representative of the diaspora, the Nicaraguan diaspora. I'm just one of the voices. And in fact, there is no one person that represents the diaspora. It's a whole lot of us. And we are dynamic. And we are working very, very hard. So you mentioned quite a few things, in fact. And I wanted to get that really clear out of the way. We are doing what we call, it all begins at a lower level of incidents, meaning resistance. And so we have the everyday person, all kinds of people who decide to do a march in the streets with cartelones and saying, we want to hear the things that we want. There are very specific points that the diaspora would like to. It's not just to have but to work for. One of them is the release of all political prisoners. There are 50-plus prisoners in the jails of Nicaragua right now. And there's one very, very special person there. And that's Monsignor Alvarez. Rolando Alvarez, he's being tortured in all kinds of ways. And that is just not acceptable. In that same vein, there is the persecution of the Catholic Church as well and other religious entities, also unacceptable. And I believe it was last Friday, the Ortega Murillo regime cancel froze the bank accounts of the religious entities at Catholic Church and others. And I think that we all understand what that means. Very soon, there's not going to be resources to even buy the food for the priests. So that's one part of that. That's one point. Another point that the Nicaraguan diaspora is just very much actively engaged is in just trying to see how the act of renacer can actually be put into, it just needs more. I say that it just needs like an injection shot in the arm to just lift it to be more, to address the actual issues of sanctions and all of that. I won't go through the Renacer Act here today, but it's somewhat dormant. And we want Congress, the United States Congress, we very much, and I hope they're all listening. And if they're not, we'll all make sure our colleagues that they do listen, that Renacer needs to be acted upon. So that's another point. We are also concerned about the way that the financial institutions have been supporting Rotega. For example, during the COVID pandemic, resources were sent to Nicaragua for those vaccines, for those people, for the pueblo, and they were not. The resources, the money was used for some other things, certainly not for the populace. I want to be clear, though, about the sanctions just quickly that what we're hoping for is that sanctions are targeted sanctions. We don't want the people of Nicaragua, the everyday person, who are already struggling to eat, to survive. We don't want them to be harmed. So we're talking about targeted sanctions, for instance, to the inner circle of Rotega, where it's really going to hurt the most. And there are other things that the diaspora is working on. But I do, maybe I'll have an opportunity later. But before I finish, I hope that I have addressed the points that you mentioned. Couple of things. The 222 ex-political prisoners, and it's a pleasure to say ex, because they're no longer. They're here with us and other parts of the world. I want to mention to you that the US government really came through at the beginning to welcome them. USAID leased the plane. They came through. It was a beautiful sight to go into that hotel where they came, where there was a corner here to give telephones and travel agency to help with the trips, et cetera. They were wonderful. Everyone was well-intentioned. But now the reality is that three and a half months have passed by. And these people are in desperate need to be placed in more permanent basis. And here we go again with the resources. And I am directing this to Congress as well, because the laws come from Congress, the representatives of the people of this country. And it could all change if the parole situation is switched so that they can, the TPS, excuse me, TPS is so important for Nicaraguans, just as it was done for the Afghanis, so that they can have a better protection for medical and all of that medical services, jobs, and just a whole lot of things that TPS, so TPS is temporary protection, suddenly when blank. In any case, TPS is what we're desperately fighting for. And we hope that we will get that for Nicaraguans. And if they're listening, they hope that they do that. Just lastly, it's good to say that, well, we are a very young diaspora. We really became actively engaged since April 18th when there was the massacre of the students. And this month, April that we just passed, and yesterday, was Mother's Day in Nicaragua. And we honor the mothers who lost those children. And I am wearing black and white to honor them, because black is luto, when I was growing up, it's for adults, and white is for the innocent, and they were innocent. Maybe I'll just leave it at that, because I think I've spoken far enough. Thank you. Maybe I exceeded myself. We all are like leaders to how the diasporas struggle with both their challenge here and the challenge in the countries of origin. That's in Sandra. I want to continue with you. You were just telling me that you arrived in the US when you were 11. I'm interested in talking with you about another of the challenges that diasporas often face, and is the question of identity and the relationship, the sometimes complex relationship with the country of origin that impacts especially in the second generation migrants, and how usually, or often, the level of involvement in politics, in social debates, in the country of origin, kind of diminish with the generational changes. Which is your experience with that, your personal experience, and who do you think that generational change has affected the Haiti and diaspora? Because maybe I'm wrong, but I think it's less visible now that it was a few years ago. Do you think that's one of the factors? So to answer your first question, I will say that I am a child of immigrants. So I greet you as a Haitian woman, Haitian-American woman. My parents came here in the 1960s, the end of the 60s, 70s, in order to escape the dictator, which lasted about 30 years, the Duvalier regime. During that time, there were just one of thousands of Haitian immigrants who arrived on American shores, seeking more peaceful life. And hence, thank you again for the Institute. As you can see, the lack of peace has displaced so many for too long around the world. So they arrived here with everyone coming with the same needs, the same goals, the same stories. And the story was pretty much the same. We'll be here for a few years until home becomes better. So home has been the central part of every conversation for my mother generation and my generation. They wanted to go back home. And everything that they did centered around when they returned home. So that first generation, they were physically here, but their soul really was still at home. The children of that generation grew up in the United States, but in Haitian households, meaning the norms, the values, the family values, the norms, what they call family education, not formal education. Family education was pretty much just like you'll find in a Haitian household back home. So we lived in New York, but really in Haiti in some ways. So church was in Haitian Creole. I went to a bilingual school, which was French and English. Many Haitian teachers. So we were one of the oldest communities after the Cubans. So we've been here for a long time. And prior to that, I think also Haitian took pride that their history in the country went way back. So you had Haitians who came right after the Haitian independence or during the revolution, early 1800s, mostly settling in Louisiana. And going further than that, you had Jean-Baptiste Pondissab, who was the founder of Chicago. So in coming here in some ways, Haitian knew that the American history and Haitian history was always intertwined. So we find ways to make the US home and many facets and every facet of our lives. Do you think the interest of having an impact in Haiti has diminished? Definitely. Again, in the 70s and 60s, there are multiple ways of immigrants. Again, the ones that came in the 60s, 70s, we had another wave that came right after hurricane. We have multiple hurricanes. We had the waves that came in the 80s. Actually, I forgot that. 80s, 90s were called both people. That was a large wave, escaping both political upheavals and economic hardships. So that was a big wave of immigrants also coming with different skillset. So the generation of the 70s were pushed out, exiled. They were mostly educated that were pushed out by the Duvalier regime out of fear of having a coup. So he exiled mostly professors, mostly professionals. So that generation quickly found spaces in the American tapestry for work and so forth. The generation of the 80s, who came the wave, it was more difficult for them. They came with less skillset after living years in a country that had suffered a lot of civil unrest, where many children suffered what we call interrupted education, where school was open some days close and many days because it wasn't safe for kids to attend school. So that generation had more challenges. And the 60s against 70s, historically, it was after Vietnam and the US had an economic boom. So it was better times. Later on, new immigrants were often, I guess, demonized as taking American jobs, taking from resources that are already lacking. So that, again, caused more challenges. So then we have multi-generations. So at the beginning, it was one generation mostly. Mostly all of us were born in Haiti. So now we have, from the 60s to now, we have multi-generations. So that's one issue. You have different goals and different needs. For someone, let's say, who was born in the United States, never been to Haiti, their needs and their wants are totally different from the generation that was preparing to go back home. We are more spread out. The Haitian population is the fourth largest Caribbean population in the US after Cuba, Jamaica, and the DR. So pretty sizable in terms of Caribbean population. We're able to contribute in form of remittances back home, $3.3 billion. That's about 37% of our gross national product. So those contributions are helping every day from the Haitian population back home. There's always, I guess, it's a transnational living. People travel back and forth less now because of what's happening and contributing in many ways. I'm jumping to you, Hernando. We know that articulating the diasporas, that usually are heterogeneous, complex, is hard. And finding common goals, common ways to participate, or common ideas is hard. But you have been also, you came to the US as a political asylum seeker. But last year, you were a candidate for the Colombian House of Representatives, representing the international constituency. I'm interested in the politics. It's harder, you also work here in the city of Washington, in the major office, in the European and Latino community. It's harder to put together and create a political conversation in the diaspora. It's harder to be part of the political discussion in the country of origin. As you tried, and many of you Colombian citizens are trying from abroad. Hello, everybody. Thank you for your question. And I just want to say thank you to USIP for inviting me to this event, Miriam Kay. And I want to start in, you know, say hello to my Latino diaspora or Spanish diaspora. I want to say hello to Cristina Spinell from the Colombian Human Rights Committee. Gustavo Amaya, from CK, El Salvador, and part of the Reg Lab, Latin American and the Caribbean Network for Democracy. Andres Jara from Ecuador. And I mean, this is very good to see you here and all the ones talking about the diaspora. I just want to say something about myself. I'm coming from Colombia from the Pacific Coast. I was born in Cali. And I'm African-Columbian Black or African-descendant. I'm also Colombian. And here I'm Latino, Hispanic, Afro-Latino. I mean, in the terms of the diaspora, my colleagues say dynamic, but it's Versatil, too. I had a history from Africa, coming from the slave. And like a free in America, like above Marley say, coming from Africa, but in America, too, like Alastor, you say, and America, too. We are a Western, we are the continent, but we're coming from the South to the North. And not just the transatlantic issue is the regional issue for us. I'm coming from New York from the second season of the Permanent Forum of African-descendant. It's over 2,000 people in United Nations in New York. This we call the African diaspora. Now trying to put in public issue the discrimination, the racism, the systemic racism. And it is the fight every day for us, like African-descendant, black or African-American. And in terms of the question, forgive me, if I say something correctly, we have accent, like you say, because we're coming from Latino countries and trying to get English like as a second language. And I have some experience in that from my colleague from Haiti, from Sandra Duval, as a professor, and help to the Black community, just the Latino community, too. And this is an important thing for us. The Colombian migration hacks on historical contests that denote the mobility for diplomatic reasons. The last year, we celebrate or commemorate the 200 years of the relationship between Colombia and United States. And it means a lot, 200 years. It's, I mean, a diplomatic reason. But it's the labor too, and the education issues as well, and the several opportunities about when the Francinatra and other people call the American dream. Now, everybody coming trying to find the American dream. It means for the other people to dream, for other people, it's an nightmare. We talk about the migration of, or diaspora, and the border of the South. Now, the people coming through Mexico, it's an nightmare. And also, we don't have a policy, we are here to support the migration, the diaspora, to be better. It's necessary to make the animation of Colombian migration due to the context of the war and the internal conflict that lead to displacement and the many compatriots came to United States seeking to save their life through the refugee or political asylum. You know, this is a crisis, you know, the war in Colombia, our conflict. And this, in terms of the USIP health, a lot of time, you know, to speak up, the voice, the realities in Colombia. Now we have a new government trying to change, you know, that reality for the people. And for me, the message of the president, Pedro, called the Colombia Potencia Mundial de la Vida, you know, the Colombian Potential Life of the War, that is very important, you know. That's a life too. And the Colombian population of the diaspora is among more than 6 million around the world. It's over one and a half million here in the United States. The last year, we had no more than 230,000, you know, people from Colombia, you know, abroad. A return back to Colombia. And this is an issue. We had to think about it, you know. And the CERAC is the institute about the immigration, say something about the 35% of the Colombian immigration are young people between 18 years and 30 years age. This is a question, you know, for all the youth coming out from the beautiful country. And every four of the six, every four of the 10 Colombians coming by the flight, you know, and then stay here, don't return. It's not just the immigration about coming through Mexico. Now it's another kind of immigration, you know, certified by visa or whatever you got. But in terms of the remittances, the last year, Colombia is seeing the 10 billion dollars, you know, the people in remittance to Colombia. And that's a very important issue, you know. But when you ask to the people what they do with that money, you know, is for food, a rent, education, you know, something like that. And how can, you know, turn off and develop the country with that money? That is another question for the diaspora, too. And, I mean, in terms of your last question, it's necessary to connect with Colombian politics. We have, you know, a minimal representation in the Congress, just one seat for the Colombian abroad, you know, like I say, it's over 6 million people and you have one seat. But the other thing is pretty good because we got guaranteed our civil rights out of the countries, you know, the voice of the Colombian inside. But we got just one seat. And this is the challenge, you know, for us about the Colombian diaspora. Thank you. Thank you, Lon. Amparo, just one question, a general question for you on the Salvadorian case. You have studied the Salvadoran diaspora for years. And I want to make you two questions. One, is democracy important for them? Is democracy in the Salvador something that they are concerned about? And two, after years of being marginalized from the political debate in El Salvador, suddenly the Salvadoran diaspora is in the center of the political stage because President Naly Bukele decided to push harder in order to finally create the opportunity for the diaspora to vote, probably because he thinks that his popularity will convert into votes, but at the same time, that opens a debate in the political relationship between those that are abroad and the Salvadorians in the territory and kind of that idea, that abstract idea of the diaspora who sends money, sends amenities, suddenly they can have a seat. Probably the opposition candidate to the presidency will be a Virginia resident. And the vote of the diaspora can be relevant in the local scene, in the domestic scene. Again, that's the diaspora worry about democracy in El Salvador. And how do you think that the change of role will affect or impact the diaspora here? In terms of democracy, I think we have to ask all of our country how much their population are thinking about democracies or how they care about democracy. I think that the Salvadoran diaspora cares about democracy as much as the Salvadoran population cares about democracy. Nada, nothing. Or 80% of Salvadoran people think that democracy is not better than other regimes like, I don't know, monarchy or vocalization of society. They don't care about that. But I think Ecuador don't care much about democracy. The majority of the people who are seated here today, Colombia is the same. Colombia is talking about the Milagro Bukele, the miracle of Bukeles and the improvements that Bukele does in our countries. And a lot of people are thinking that. So I think the diaspora is not different in that way. It's not in Mune. We don't have a vaccination to be more democracy and to take distance from these kind of proposals. And about the person in the diaspora about Luis Parada, I think, personally, I think it's a recognition about the importance of the migrant people. And I think it's something really incredible to have this candidate that is thinking to fight for his beliefs. I think at last, our diaspora is historically invisibilized in El Salvador. So I think it's really important for us to have this migration candidate that finally we are recognizing as a country that we are not just the territory in El Salvador. We are the country that lives in a lot of countries that have people here in Washington, in Los Angeles, in Brisbane, in Milan. And that is important to listen, to understand, and to embrace the heritage that they have to give us. Thank you. Rosario, you wanted to add something. Thank you. And thank you for giving me a time. I won't be very long at all. It's something really, I think, important, especially being here at the Institute for Peace. I should say the United States Institute for Peace is that for the first time ever in Nicaragua, we're fighting without arms. It's a peaceful revolution. There are no arms. And I think that should be noted because, as I said, it's historical. And it fits this moment to share that with you. And one other brief point is that I want to be sure that I recognize our diaspora groups all over the world, specifically in Costa Rica, and where a lot of concentration of Nicaraguans are there. That's the closest place to Nicaragua. So they go there, of course, on dunas. And here in the United States, it's so interesting. We have active engagement in the north, south, east, and west of the United States, and even in the middle part of the country. We, believe it or not, we communicate daily and support one another so that we can then be there for those people like the 222 people that came in the airplane and others who desperately need our help who have been here already. So we are together in this. Do we disagree? Yes, many times. But we agree to disagree, and we try to be civil and respectful in the differences. Do we fight? Yes, we fight. It's not all roses. But then again, we remember why we're doing this. Because we want to go back to Nicaragua because we want to give Nicaragua the chance to obtain the democracy that we need. And we are, and I will close with this, we are the diaspora is the voice, the voice of the voice who cannot speak. Because in Nicaragua, you cannot even fly this flag, which I brought here to show you. This is our flag. This flag cannot be flown in Nicaragua because you will go to jail if you're flying it. And I'm not kidding. And I'll leave it at that, but I did want to recognize the diaspora recognition, have a recognition for them. I don't think it's going to mention their names, but I thought I would. But I think it's best not to. Anyway, thank you for giving me the time. Carlos Fresno Chamorro, the German journalist, said a few days ago in an interview that journalists from exile is the last of the freedoms. I think it's extraordinary how in some of our contexts, exile or being abroad is a space from which build not only democracy, but conversation, when it's impossible. You cannot do it at all. And I just forget that Ortega Murillo took away the nationality of all the 222 people. The moment by the time the plane landed, which was not the agreement, they had already been taken there, Nicaragua citizen. And two days later, he did it to 94 opposition leaders. I am certain of the list. So I can also not go to my country. But then I was in jail, so I cannot complain. Thank you. And I mean to you, I'm closing with your son. But first of all, usually probably because of the Cuban case or the Cuban model in Florida, some people think that the capacity of influence in the US policies depends, in the case of diasporas, on the capacity not only of articulating a discourse, but the capacity of building themselves as a constituency. I mean, if you vote here, you can have influence. If you're not, you are not articulate, you can't. Do you agree with that? I mean, the Cuban case is different. Yeah. I mean, sorry. I mean, the Colombian case is very different from the Cuban case, but it has a very similar mechanism as in other countries. But we have to rethink about the advocacy and the influence we generate from the United States to our countries sometimes can be good, sometimes can not. And not just in terms of Cuba, but the other countries like Venezuela, Nicaragua, Colombia or Ecuador. And we have a lot of experience about the other countries conducting. But I want to say, as a Colombian, we create a very strong network. I have to say all the times I can, the Human Rights Committee, like Cristina and other ones, voila, this is a network to support the Colombian issues. But in fact, it's the first time in the Colombian history, we got the first Afro-Colombian US ambassador. It's coming from the idea of the diversity and the inclusion of the President Petro to develop that kind of things and recognize. And also, we had, in different ways, in 2010 in Colombia, we had the first Afro-Colombian minister from culture. And it was a negotiation, the president that they trying to negotiate the TLC, the TLC, the trade agreement, being Colombian and United States. But the Congressional Black Caucus, I mean, you don't have anybody in the first position as a Black. And Colombia had over 10 million of Black population. And you, while you're thinking about the democracy and diversity, but what's the Congressional Black Caucus push in front of that president, that reality? And I mean, what's worth for us? And the issue of the peace and human rights to the incident of the organizations in Tintanz helped to create a new narrative, a new history now, a new about the Colombian process. And it's necessary now for our people, for our country. And we got the agreement in 2016, the peace agreement, support by the President Obama. The President Obama doesn't support the peace agreement in Colombia. Doesn't know what's on each. But all the people you know here in Washington DC now do the job to be now what we have. Thank you, Sandra. Last question, and then we go to the audience. The situation in Haiti is always challenging in many ways. In terms of humanitarian priorities, especially after the 2010 earthquake, it overlaps with the extreme crisis of violence that is happening now. And obviously, the need for democratic reconstruction, which are the priorities from your perspective? And where should the Haiti and the diaspora be focusing in order to have some impact in a so complex situation? So looking at Haiti, in order to understand the challenges of Haiti today, one must definitely look at history and historical impacts of decisions, policies, foreign policies, internal policies that have led Haiti to what she is today. Haiti, again, for me as an educator, I feel that there is a desperate need to have counter narratives about Haiti, a desperate need to share accurate narratives about Haiti. So when we speak about Haiti, often the next sentence is Haiti, the poorest country in the Western hemisphere. So when conversations start as such, for me, it seems that what follows is a lack of hope because it's been happening for so long. And often I find myself trying to remind many that this is not the history of Haiti. It is part of the history staring us in the face every day that we have to contend with. But it's not the sole history of Haiti. Haiti started as a nation as the sole, the only country, black nation, to gain independence after a revolution. But that was not enough. Haiti has gone on after that to support Simon Bolivar since I'm with my sisters and brothers from Latin America and South America. What was known as Grand Columbia, the flag of Venezuela was created in Jack Mill, Haiti. Haiti has fought in the American Revolutionary War here in Savannah. And when you go to Savannah, please do stop and see the monuments erected to salute those who fought. Haiti has been integral in many countries, from Israel to Greece around the world as a beacon of hope, not just for Haitians, but for us as a human race. And it's ironic today that everywhere she knocks, we are not wanted. Ironic that Haiti, part of the Constitution of 1805 was to welcome people who were enslaved all over the world. Desaline, at the time, who was our leader at the time, invited the United States to sin. Those who were enslaved and promised to pay for each enslaved person was a small amount, $40, not enough, but the quest of Haiti has always been freedom. And to find her, to see her in this state where often I feel that she's invisible, unheard, is very painful for most Haitians. So that is the narrative, I think, for most that is really important, where the diaspora must do to share the different narrative of Haiti. I think that's the first step, to understand the Haitian diaspora. Unlike many diasporas, we don't really have political voice or representatives in Haiti. But again, because of the support we, not just the money, which is a lot, $3.3 billion, but the resources that the diaspora brings to Haiti. For example, I'm part of the Haitian Academy Cuyol, which is there to make sure that there's equity in language. The Haitian Constitution, for the first time, had recognized both French and Haitian Creole as official languages of Haiti. So again, bringing equity and education. So diaspora participating in making sure that they preserve the culture of Haiti in the United States, or wherever they are, is important. And the ultimate way that, in priority for me, is peace. And that's why I was so grateful to be invited here and share my voice, which is only one voice. But many carry those wishes, which is to see peace in Haiti. Every day is a challenge for people going to school, going to buy bread, their kidnappings, extortion for money from gangs. There is no life. So democracy happens when people are educated. People have time to philosophize about what the ideal life is. But every day in Haiti is a challenge. So for me, having dialogue about what is happening, what has happened, having dialogue that is inclusive, because Haiti, we found that over the years, there has been a classist system from the time of revolution. You had the mulattos versus the maroons and the enslaved, or newly freed. Later on, you have the Arabs, mostly coming from Syria, another class of cultures. Then you had the American occupation before that, I guess, 1915. So there are so many unresolved discussion or dialogues that needs to be openly viewed, discussed, in order to bring peace to Haiti. There is no cohesion, because there's a lack of understanding. There is no cohesion, because there's the conflict between those who practice voodoo, which is the religion of our ancestors from Africa, and the Christian religious groups has been clashing since 1860s, I want to say. Those need to be resolved. We need to have those hard, difficult conversations. So for me, I would love to see the continuation of those dialogue before we jump to action and let the Haitian community at home also participate in honest dialogue about their needs. And they are capable of solving the problems that they understand way better than us. We can share resources. We can share our own knowledge. But they are bringing with them intimate knowledge of the suffering and the challenges that we definitely need to account for that. So first, I guess, safety. Nothing can happen. Innovation cannot happen if people cannot sleep at night. Innovation cannot happen if kids cannot go to universities. So that's the first. Thank you. We have time for a lot of hands. Let's get some questions. And then we'll make a final round of answers, please. Let's start on the top. And I will, please, speak for the Spanish or English. Wow. English, Spanish, English. OK. There is one thing that I think we are getting confused, migration and diaspora. Diaspora is something that might cause migration. That's something. And the thing, the diaspora is just when the people is not feeling belong or doesn't feel pertinence in that place. And the thing that I see and the link is how democracy can help on that. How much people is identified or how can be identified with their own countries so they can be there, fight there, and do something in there without becoming diasporas. We have the Venezuelan KAs. We have the Colombian. We have the Nicaraguan, which is so serious. So that is the thing. And I think that is the question for you guys. How democracies can really solve the problem? Is the Democratic Party a solution? It reinforces democracy. It might be a solution to do not cause diasporas. Thank you. Thank you. Here and down here. Thank you. I want to ask this question. And you answer part of my question. But it's very curious because I want to know the definition of diaspora. Because the saying, I was hearing diaspora and immigration and I was very confused. And I'm asking this why, because we talk about, for example, the Nicaraguanses, when the political prisoners arrive here in Washington, some people from Nicaragua living in Washington reject them. And other people support them. In the case of Colombia, I'm a human rights defender. And I reject it for a lot of Colombians because I think the way that I think. And then that's very confused. Diaspora, but diaspora, I don't know. It's a little confusing. Maybe I can help just not to make a mess before we go further into this. Diaspora, by definition, is the spread of people out of his homeland. So it includes, we can go into semantics, but it includes any kind, any reason, that force or makes people to live abroad. That's why we talk about diaspora, including exiled people, migration, many kinds of migrations. Including all the people of the nationals abroad, that's a diaspora. So it's including different reasons, different profiles, just to make this clear, to make it easier for us to. Yeah, can I give you a sign? Yeah. So yeah, I just want to, if you don't mind. Yes, because I'll make a video. OK. Thank you very much. I'll make it quick. First of all, great conversation. Thank you for USIP for convening this great panel. Sandra, thank you for sharing the history of your country. I salute your heritage. My question goes to Amparo. I want to pick up on the moderators on Jose Luis's question about the upcoming elections. Any opposition candidate against the unconstitutional re-election of President Bukele is going to engage in a quixotic fight. The odds will be stacked against him or her or them, whoever they might be. We are now eight months away from the elections, basically. Give or take a few days. My understanding is that in this election is going to have a diaspora vote by electronic means, which is going to make it a lot easier. And more than likely is going to increase significantly the number of votes. My understanding is that the contract for the company, the software company that's going to manage it, has actually not been let yet. And this takes preparation. We saw what happened with the rollout of the Chivo wallet, the Bitcoin wallet, which was an absolute disaster. So one has reason, I think, to be concerned. And the OAS has not yet been invited to monitor the elections. And I think that at a minimum, those quixotes that will engage in the election against Bukele, they deserve to have the rules respected, whatever those rules are. So how concerned are you about the integrity of the elections, independent of the odds stacked against whoever might be in position, but the integrity of the elections? Thank you very much. Thank you. Joaquin, we can make a final round standing there and with final comments on the questions of anything you want to add. Nando? Thank you. In terms of the question for Andrés and Cristina, I mean, the response was, like you said, that I asked for a unanimous dispersion of the people. As an African descendant, we had the sample like the African Union, the Africa have five regions. In 2001, they developed the sixth region and they called the diaspora. It means the people were enslaved, you know, and dispersed around the world, you know. That's mean for the African descendant diaspora. And I agree with Cristina, you know, because when we're talking about the Colombian diaspora or Colombian population, it's a different ideology, you know, different perspective. We're coming from different regions from our home, you know, I'm from the Pacific coast, you know, Cristina from the center, you know, from the Bogota. We have from the Caribbean. And also we have the island called San Andrés in Providence and they relate it by the feel more comfortable, now, or more accurate with the Nicaraguans because it's the sea flower region, you know, and we lose the fight and the international core about the San Andrés because they are a rise up or creole population, now on the Caribbean Sea. And, but the diaspora is mean to when the people, you know, are coming, you know, not returning home. Like I say, my mom is not part of the diaspora because she live in Colombia, she doesn't move from the hometown and part of the Colombian diaspora. But she's part of the African diaspora. It means, you know, but we have two discuss and redefine, you know, the diaspora because like I say, it's dynamic, versatile, you know, and the new generation had a new thinking, you know, because the new generation are more connected around the world, you know, about with the technology and other issues. Thank you, Amparo. One thought about diaspora. We, some years ago, we interviewed 500 Salvadoran people in the airport of El Salvador and we asked them where they want to be buried. And 50, we talk with people who has lived in the United States for 40 years or for 30 years or in Calgary for 25 years. And 60% of all of these Salvadorans say they want to be buried in El Salvador. So I think in terms of migration, in terms of diaspora, the bands, the roots are really strong. We don't lose this identity, so it's just interesting. And about your question about how concerned I am. Well, I am really concerned about what is going to happen. And I think I am reading a book that I don't remember the title, but it's a book that is studying the democracy process or the systemic political process in Philippines, in Turkey, in Brazil, in Hungary, and in Turkey. I don't know. It's five countries. And in this book they have this question that said, can democracies die democratically? And I think that's the question that we can answer in the process of El Salvador. I think we are testifying that democracies can die democratically because Bukele was a democratic president elected by a lot of the people. But he is now fighting against all the democratic principles. And I think we are going to leave a lot of anti-democratic process in the next years, not in the next eight months. I think in the next 10 years, we are going to rethink about what the academic people in El Salvador and the diasporas talk about the democracy with a lot of Salvadoran people. Thank you. Sandra? Thinking about diaspora, for most Haitians traveling to Haiti, diaspora, that word almost feels like a curse, like you've been, oh, you don't know anything. You're just diaspora. Oh, you cannot contribute anything. You don't understand because you're just a diaspora. But we come to understand the meaning of diaspora, of those who've been either displaced, forced to escape or choose to leave a space, a country on their own volition. Or sometimes I call it my house is on fire. I go to my neighbors. Is it really your choice? And that was for many Haitians being part of the diaspora, due to both push because the dictator, supposedly democratic dictator elected Francois Duvalier for 30 years, pushed many out. And of course, the pool, because the ideal that the United States offered, the pursuit of happiness, education, opportunities, beyond dreams. And often I call my parent generation the sacrifice generation. Because it's interesting you bought, where do you want to be buried? For Haitians of that generation is, don't let me die here. If I'm dying, bring me home. If you have my ashes, bring them home. That sense of connection, and Haiti culturally also, they always say where your umbilical cord is buried. So in all old African tradition, when a child is born, they will take the umbilical cord and bury it and put a seed and plant a tree. It makes sense now that we understand science. Maybe all that gives nourishment to the tree. So often, people relate to where their umbilical cord is buried at home. Not only the country, but the actual province or city where they're from. And so that's what means different things to different people. For some people, they shun the word, meaning you don't totally belong here. And often me, I call myself the in-between generation. Because even though I went to Haiti back and forth all my life, from the time I came here 10, 11 years until graduate school, until currently back and forth, I was never truly Haitian because I had African-American norms that became some of my repertoire when I went back to Haiti. And then when I was here, I wasn't totally African-American because I wasn't black enough. And unfortunately, many hadn't widened their understanding of what blackness is, the full breadth of what it means to be black, or to have roots in the African continent. So that narrow definition left many of us vacillating somewhere in between. At some point, thank God, identities fluid. I came to embrace in-between. It's a beautiful place to live where I truly understand American norms, Haitian norms, and even norms that are masked in places that I visited, Japan and Indonesia that resemble my norms and not having to choose, choosing to love both the United States that has given me so much. And Haiti, where my soul has flourished, I think diaspora has to be a term that allows different people to see themselves whichever way they may see themselves, either fully or hyphenated, meaning something American. And I think that allowance is also the start of peace, allowing people to self-identify and allowing that identity to find ways to contribute to the native country from that lens, from that understanding. All those voices are part of the diaspora. Yes, thank you. We're on time, but I think we can take two minutes. I will definitely be trying to be brief. But I was taking it back a little bit, but I understand what you were saying about Nicaragua and the diaspora, and maybe not accepting everyone. I think that's a human nature. That's something that maybe will never be resolved is the have-nots, the have-s and have-nots perhaps. It's something that is not resolved yet, but I do know that the Nicaraguans that came and that continue to come are embraced by the majority of Nicaraguans. That's one thing, and I'm going to time myself here with that minutes. I wanted to also, even though we had a very good explanation of what the diaspora term means, I just wanted to give a, and I'm not going to repeat, but it's just an interesting little fact that the first known diaspora was the result of the Babylonian exile. And I had this prepared before I came. I didn't just get it here. It was the Babylonian exile of the Jews in 586 BCE, which to my knowledge, I used to use BC before, but it's actually meaning before the common era, and both terms are interchangeable. So after the Babylonians conquered the kingdom of Judah, part of the Jewish population was deported into slavery and became the first known diaspora. I wanted to repeat what I said before, that exile is the consequence of political persecution in Nicaragua, I'm referring to, and threats to one's liberty. And in Nicaragua, that's why they're here, especially those 222 people. And in closing, I think it's fair for me, for you to know how interestingly it is that we, Nicaraguans, the young diaspora that began only to form itself in 2018, we are so caring and trying to come together to help others. And among those are NFSA, NFSA here in Washington, Nicaragua Freedom Coalition, Funadex in Texas, Assemblea Nicaragua, Libre Los Angeles, Nicaraguans is in El Exilio, in Ohio, Alamesa, New York, New Jersey. I just have two more to go. IPC in Florida, NARA, which is the legal arm of the diaspora here, and in Costa Rica, eso es Nicaragua, gamos democracia. I could go on and on. The European diaspora is also working together to welcome those Nicaraguans. So we are doing our best. We have some good examples. The Cubans have organized themselves very well. They've been here for 60 plus years. And so we keep trying to do our best. I am so grateful to be here, because as far as I know, and I am Nicaraguan in the United States for 60 plus years, but when 2018 came, 2018, I jumped off my seat and I said, I cannot sit back. I must do something about this. And there I am, but I'm only one example of so many of us. Lastly, it's the first time that I remember that an organization, an entity like the United States Institute for Peace, has given this opportunity for the theme, the topic of the diaspora. So thank you for that. And we applaud you. Thank you so much. Before going to kiss to say by closing, I just want to close with something that I think is interesting. In San Salvador, when you enter the city coming from the airport, there is this really ugly monument that used to be called for a while, for some time, Monumento Alemando-Lejano. And the diaspora communities ask explicitly to change that name, because they say, roughly, obviously, that they are not far away, that they are close, that they are present. The name changed into Hermano Bienvenido Acasa. And now, even if it is for political reasons, as part of a political strategy, when you arrive in the San Salvador airport, in the Romero airport, you find big, big letters, hashtag, diaspora, SB. It can be a brand, it can be a lemma part of a political effort, but it's a change. And I think it's an expression that something is changing for many reasons. But it's a change that has no going back. I hope the change will be for better, in the case of El Salvador. And I think the diasporas will be in big letters in all of our countries for the right reasons, probably, hopefully, in the future. So thank you to all of you. Thank you. Thank you, Jose Luis. Yeah, I want to thank all of our panelists, and especially Jose Luis, for the excellent moderation that you've done, we're a few minutes over time. There is a reception upstairs. I want to invite everyone to join us for some snacks upstairs. In his seminal book, The Study of History, by Arnold Toynbee, one of the best books about kind of the flow of civilization across the world, one of the, he has a big, big section on the cruci de culturas and how cultures influence each other by parts of their population moving, coming back. There's always this flow of our cultures. We in the United States, of course, are a country of many diasporas, and we're most appreciative of that. The question here, and I hope we've opened this conversation, is how can those diasporas now help to strengthen democracy and development in their home countries? And it is a huge challenge. And I appreciate all the comments that have been offered today on that. And I hope we can now begin this conversation and look for ways to strengthen it so that these powerful constituencies and intelligent and hardworking individuals in the United States, but from countries that are still really struggling, can have a positive impact on their home country. So I hope we've started that conversation and look forward to continuing it. Thank you very much.