Xenia Barahona, the sister of the Suyen Barahona, the president of the political party UNAMOS who now has spent 219 days in jail and isolation, wrote this piece providing background on her sister, her illegal detention and her impact on their family.
Suyen is full of hope, we want her freedom
By Xenia Barahona in Confidencial, January 16, 2022
In the new year her words of encouragement were, “My Mom is named Esperanza [hope]. I am full of her. Let us continue united. Courage, justice and liberty.”
A drone flew over the house. Afterwards dozens of anti-riot police and special forces showed up. They broke in violently, with their weapons of war loaded, accompanied by dogs. And they took her away. They arbitrarily detained our sister Suyen Barahona, today a political prisoner along with more than 165 Nicaraguans unjustly imprisoned for exercising their right to think freely.
Suyen has a contagious laugh. She is a lover of life and is fiercely hopeful. She feels a deep love for her country and is consistent with her principles of solidarity and justice.
As a little girl Suyen was quiet and observant, but also independent. Maybe for growing up with older, overprotective brothers and sisters, and being the youngest for a long time, she learned to defend herself and establish her positions from an early age. During her time in the Centro America school she made the slogan “to love and serve” her own and went to the La Mascota Children´s Hospital to play with the children and teach people in the El Recreo neighborhood in Managua to read and write. In those activities she met her dear friend Ana Margarita Vijil. Together they have fought for the country that they love so much.
She has had a special interest in Nicaraguan youth having opportunities. She would not skimp on time to read an essay and provide suggestions to some young person who was looking for a scholarship for some course that might help them achieve their aspirations. I remember that on more than one occasion she said to us, “it is hard to be a young person today. They only need a little support.” We have encountered several young people, unknown to us, who have said to us that Suyen had helped them to believe in themselves and to raise their voices.
Suyen, named that way owing to the Asian origins of the family, means “precious jewel”.
She strongly believes in empowering women and has worked so they might be independent and achieve their dreams. In 2013 she supported a group of women entrepreneurs through trainings on business administration. With great enthusiasm and admiration, she shared with all of us the creativity and ingenuity of all those women.
Her little nieces talk about how their aunt has been an example for them, who always has taught them to be strong young girls and to support other women. Her oldest niece recounts:
“My aunt Suyen is joyful, empowered, brave, sympathetic, resilient, friendly, funny. She has always taught us that we should be superpowerful girls and we should demonstrate the strength, courage and empowerment of girls and women. She has encouraged us to participate in activities in the service of others. Thanks to her I began to visit the home for the elderly. She would say that you had to try new things, and that is why my sister also got involved in theatre classes. She always left an impression wherever she went, and her name is inscribed on the hearts of those who meet her.”
For us, her family, her determination and tenacity were more than evident when she became a mother. After an emergency cesarean she gave birth to her little miracle. Her baby, born at 32 weeks of gestation, had to stay in the hospital for a month. With her fresh scar and without blinking an eye she would go there daily, up to three times a day, to be with him to treat him and take care of him. There she got to know Grace, a small premature baby who her mother was unable to breast feed. Without hesitation she shared her maternal milk with her. That is how she faces life. In spite of adversity, she continues forward, with an unbreakable determination, encouraging and sharing with whoever needs it, always with a smile.
It has been the same with her activism. She worked arduously for the defense of the environment, putting her studies and knowledge at the service of the country. When she told us that she wanted to get involved in the political arena, in the face of our surprise she said to us, “Well yes. Tell me, how then can change be brought about in a peaceful manner?” Several years before 2018 she would be seen in a small group, at stoplights, with their signs, demanding citizen rights, free and transparent elections.
After April 2018 with her eyes full of tears, she would talk to us about the pain of the mothers who had lost their sons, the families of the political prisoners in the jails. With her firm conviction she continued civic protests, showing solidarity with journalists, activists, feminists and demanding the freedom of political prisoners. When we would ask her whether she was not afraid, she would respond, “It is important to control it and continue forward in spite of the fear.” She has been an example of never giving in, of solidarity and love. “I want my son and the young people of Nicaragua to be able to resolve things without violence. You have to create a culture of tolerance, of participation,” she would say.
She is our precious jewel. From jail, after constant interrogations, and more than seven months of not being able to have her here with us, she continues in resistance and with her spirit of solidarity. “I am concerned about the elderly. I insist that it is unjust, and they cannot be treated that way,” she has shared with us.
In the New Year in addition to telling us how much she loves us, her words of encouragement were, “My Mom is named Esperanza [Hope]. I am full of her. Let us continue united. Courage, justice and liberty.”
With her commitment she has wanted to contribute to breaking this cycle of violence and to build a Nicaragua based on respect for human rights, democratic principles, inclusion, and justice. On taking on the presidency of UNAMOS and defending the rights of all, she has had to face persecution and relentless harassment, arbitrary detention, isolation, solitary confinement…but she did not shrink from the times in which she lives. She simply has dealt with it with courage, integrity and dignity.
The isolation in which she is found violates everyone´s human rights. It is cruel and inhumane. We demand to be able to exercise our right to visit her weekly. Above all, we want her freedom, immediate and unconditional, and we know that Suyen, above all, wants the freedom of all the political prisoners.