On the outside wall of Costa Rica’s National Assembly I found this phrase:
“Refugees are like you or me, with just one difference: they have been forced to flee from their country in order to save their lives.”
According to ACNUR, the United Nations’ Agency on Refugees, around 12,500 refugees have been granted asylum in Costa Rica. Estimates show that there are perhaps another 8,000 who are seeking asylum, but haven’t finished the process yet. That’s the second-highest total in Latin America. Because Costa Rica has a stable political system, relatively low crime rate, educated populace, and a strong network of social programs, in addition to having Spanish as an official language, the country is an attractive country for Colombians, Cubans, Haitians, and others to start over.
