The importance of freedom fighting
By Isabela Obon, New Gen Freedom Fighter
Imagine waking up tomorrow and being told you can't speak your language, can't practice your beliefs, and can't make choices about your own life. What would you do? Stay silent, or fight for your freedom. My name is Isabel Obón from, and today I would like to share something I don’t think is spoken about enough: the importance of freedom fighting.
What even is freedom fighting? Why is it important? Why do we need to talk about it? Freedom fighting, as the dictionary says, its “standing up against unfair control or injustice to gain basic rights and independence, Freedom fighters are people who work peacefully or sometimes by fighting to make sure people can live with fairness, dignity, and freedom.”
About 67% of all countries are currently living under a corrupt government. That is 120 countries out of the 180 in the world. 19 of them are in America. One of those 19 is our next door country, Nicaragua. A country adjacent to Costa Rica, Costa Rica being a country without army, peace, and the ability to vote for a government. Within just a few miles, and the crossing of a border, it all changes. They live in silence, in injustice. People in Nicaragua haven't been able to vote for a new president in over 18 years, all because of stolen votes. This is the unfairness sadly many countries around the world suffer. Corrupt governments have increased, people have started to be silenced, choices we are given, they aren't able to make.
If we continue to go south, we will get to Venezuela, a beautiful country that is painfully under a corrupt government right now. It is said to be an estimate of total arrests since July 2024 of around 1700 to 1800 people, people who have been sent unjustly for trying to fight against corruption. Right now in 2025, there are still said to be around 853 to 1000 people still inside various prisons. They are inside cruel places like the Helicoide. A mysterious building in the center of the capital, inside, people are tortured, electrocuted, beaten, people go through inhumane things. What was initially going to be a shopping mall turned into one of the biggest detention centers in Venezuela.
Victor Navarro is a survivor of the Helicoide. He was sent 4 to 5 months in the Hlicoide, he was targeted for being a student activist and critic of the regime. After suffering in the Helicoide, he made a team of former prisoners, techs, human rights allies, and more, to create a VR. Its purpose is to inform people about what is happening inside, how people are tortured, and it includes spoken testimonies of survivors. He also goes around the world speaking up for the justice of all the people in Venezuela, and all the people who are going through similar situations. He is one of the many amazing people who are fighting for the cause, for freedom, and for their rights.
Freedom fighting is not just something that happens far away in history books, or only in countries we see on the news. It is happening right now, and reminds us how fragile freedom can be. We in Costa Rica are lucky to live in peace, but that doesn't mean we should ignore those who are silenced just a border away, or across the world. Every voice raised against injustice matters, every act of courage makes a difference, and every freedom fighter helps inspire us to never take our rights for granted. Thank you.