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26 Apr 2006 |
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Daily Edition: San José, Costa Rica, April 26, 2006
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North American and Canadian
Indigenous Leaders
Meet With
Costa Rican Indigenous Groups
Costa Rica's indigenous people must work to keep their culture alive as they stand up and defend their rights to adequate health care, education and opportunities in today's society -– that was the message 15 indigenous leaders from all over North America conveyed this week during a visit to Costa Rica to meet with indigenous communities and advise them on how to accomplish these feats.
(Click for more)
Shantytown Eviction Sparks Protest
As the process to evict families from the La Candela shantytown, or precario, west of San José, continued this week, hundreds turned out for a march to Casa Presidencial on the other side of the capital to ask President Abel Pacheco to stop such evictions from taking place.
(Click for more)
Week of World Action Calls for
Equal Opportunities in Education
In celebration of Week of World Action, several events are being held this week to address improvements to Costa Rica 's educational system, according to a statement from International Children's Defense Costa Rica (DNI-Costa Rica).
(Click for more)
Technical Schools Receive
¢1.7 Billion from Training Institute
As established by law, Costa Rica 's technical schools will receive part of the National Training Institute's (INA) surplus at a ceremony today at the INA branch in La Uruca, the northwestern district of San José, according to a statement from the institute.
(Click for more)
April 26
Free Concert
Chamber music, 7 p.m., University of Costa Rica (UCR) School of Music, San Pedro, room 107.
8th Architecture Biennial
National and international architectural projects, today through Saturday, Costa Rican Architects and Engineers Association, Curridabat, east of San José. Info: 202-3900, ext. 4016.
Secretaries' Day
The Costa Rica Country Club is celebrating secretaries with a great fiesta, including a welcoming cocktail, buffet lunch, and live music by Son de Tikizia Group, 1-6 p.m., Escazú, west of San José. Info: 208-5010.
Edited By Amanda Roberson
Tico Times Staff
aroberson@ticotimes.net
North American and Canadian Indigenous
Leaders
Meet With Costa Rican Indigenous Groups
By Amanda Roberson
Tico Times Staff
aroberson@ticotimes.net
Costa Rica's indigenous people must work to keep their culture alive as they stand up and defend their rights to adequate health care, education and opportunities in today's society -– that was the message 15 indigenous leaders from all over North America conveyed this week during a visit to Costa Rica to meet with indigenous communities and advise them on how to accomplish these feats.
North American and Central American indigenous people face similar struggles, said Lynda Prince, Chief of the Carrier Sekani First Nations. (The Carrier Sekani, like many North American indigenous groups today, refer to themselves as “First Nations” rather than “Indians,” as they were incorrectly named by settlers who thought they were in India upon arriving to the Americas.)
Prince and other North American indigenous leaders visited the Bribrí, one of Costa Rica 's eight indigenous groups, this week in the southern Caribbean Talamanca area and the Huetar, at the Quitirrisí reserve in Puriscal, southwest of San José.
As Costa Rica 's indigenous youth move away from indigenous reserves in search of opportunities and assimilate into urban culture, they are often ashamed of their culture, Prince said. Groups must find ways to take pride in their traditions and keep them alive.
Demanding equal rights and opportunities is also crucial, Prince said.
“There is great injustice here in terms of health care and education for indigenous people. The conditions many indigenous live in are shameful for the 21st century,” Prince said.
To work toward these goals, First Nations of North America collaborated on a project being carried out by the Foundation for the Social and Cultural Development of Costa Rican Indigenous Ethnicities (FUNDEICO) to build an indigenous cultural center and lodge in Puriscal. First Nations bought land to house the center, which plans to offer vocational training, expositions on indigenous culture and a place for indigenous students to live while attending universities in San José.
See this Friday's print or pdf edition of The Tico Times for more on this story.
Shantytown Eviction Sparks Protest
By Katherine Stanley With ACAN-EFE Reports
Tico Times Staff
kstanley@ticotimes.net
As the process to evict families from the La Candela shantytown, or precario, west of San José, continued this week, hundreds turned out for a march to Casa Presidencial on the other side of the capital to ask President Abel Pacheco to stop such evictions from taking place.
Officials from the Mixed Institute for Social Aid (IMAS) are conducting interviews with La Candela families to determine government aid to help them find housing once they're evicted from the property, which belongs to private, Mexico-based bank Banex.
At the protest, the crowd, made up mostly of Nicaraguan immigrants, held signs reading “Ticos and Nicas are brothers,” “We children have the right to educate ourselves,” and “We're not asking for handouts, just time.”
Gustavo Gatica, a representative from the Social Ministry of the Catholic Church, told ACAN-EFE at the march that evictions from shantytowns have affected more than 600 families on four different properties. He said the La Candela evictions would leave 900 families without homes; residents told The Tico Times last week as many as 1,200 families live on the property (TT, April 21).
Gatica, like the residents who spoke with The Tico Times, said the government should wait until the school year ends in December to evict the families to prevent children from missing school as their parents find new houses.
Juan Carlos Laclé, assistant director of social development for IMAS, told The Tico Times yesterday afternoon that the institute is behind in the interview process but should finish by the end of the week. He said he had not yet received information about the march.
At the press conference following his weekly Cabinet meeting yesterday, Pacheco, asked to respond to the marchers' pleas, read a list of statistics showing the amount the government spends on health, education and other services for Nicaraguan immigrants.
“With great pleasure, with great pleasure we help them,” he said.
Week of World Action Calls for
Equal Opportunities in Education
In celebration of Week of World Action, several events are being held this week to address improvements to Costa Rica 's educational system, according to a statement from International Children's Defense Costa Rica (DNI-Costa Rica).
The week was inaugurated Monday with a forum entitled “for the right to a quality, inclusive education” with the participation of Child Welfare Minister Rosalía Gil and Virginia Murillo, director of the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for Central America.
The forum provided “a space for reflection about the state of education in Costa Rica ” and participants discussed the quality, infrastructure and access to education in Costa Rica, according to the statement.
Yesterday, a fair in San José 's Culture Plaza entitled “A Transformative Education for a New Country” provided information to the public about education, and another forum is planned today to discuss the Education Ministry's “Education for All” program.
-Tico Times
Technical Schools Receive
¢1.7 Billion from Training Institute
As established by law, Costa Rica 's technical schools will receive part of the National Training Institute's (INA) surplus at a ceremony today at the INA branch in La Uruca, the northwestern district of San José, according to a statement from the institute.
This year, schools will receive more than ¢1.7 billion ($3.3 million) to go toward improving infrastructure, repairing machinery and acquiring new equipment.
-Tico Times