President Refutes Discrimination Against Nicas
Outgoing Costa Rican president, Abel Pacheco, assured a group of demonstrators, mostly Nicaraguans, outside Casa Presidencial (Presidential House) yesterday that in his country there is no discrimination against immigrants.

"Our Nicaraguan brother have nothing to fear. We are incapable of acting against any one group of immigrants. We have always respected those who come to exchange swear for bread (sic)", said president Pacheco at his weekly press conference yesterday afternoon.

Between 500.000 and 1.000.000 Nicaraguans work and live in Costa Rica, according to unofficial government sources.

The peacefull protest yesterday was to ask president Pacheco for worthy homes in the face of the many 'desalogos' - removal - of precaristas (squatters) from municipal lands, who many feel is an action against their human rights.

A large number of Nicaraguan immigrants live in slums created on edges of neighbourhoods, mostly on municipal lands, building wood and tin shacks in areas like Pavas, La Carpio and Desamparados. Most say they cannot afford to rent a home and many landlords will not rent to them even if they could afford it.

The president made clear that Costa Rica is country of rights and "respect for the law", adding that those persons who don't count with the proper requirements to be in Costa Rica, cannot stay, referring to new immigration legislation that comes into effect August 8.

The new immigration law would sanction businesses that employ undocumented workers, make the "coyotaje" - the movement of illegals - a crime and also sanction anyone who gives shelter to an illegal unless it is for huminatarian purposes.

"To say that we discrimate or not treal well our Nicaraguan brothers is not true, we willingly help our brothers in their difficult situation and here are the numbers", said president Pacheco.

In the matter of Health, the president indicated that between 2002 and 2005 the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social (CCSS) attended to 680.000 cases of foreigners and hospitalized 113.248 at a cost of some us$40 million dollars.

Pacheco added that last year alone, 1.552 families with the head of the family being a foreigner, received "bonos de vivienda" (housing bonds) with an investment of more than us$8 million dollars.

Official data indicates that there some 600.000 foreigners living in Costa Rica, of which some 400.000 are Nicaraguans. Unofficially the estimate of Nicaraguans living and working in Costa Rica is really more like 800.000.