Unique Voices: Felix Maradiaga

At the Common Ground Summit, we take pride in bringing diverse voices and perspectives together for meaningful conversations. This year, as we focus on the importance of place, we are grateful to be joined by Felix Maradiaga - a 2024 Nobel Peace Prize nominee whose career in human rights and democracy building has been anchored in various aspects of place, belonging and the challenges that come to those who are denied them. We hope you can join Felix and many other amazing voices at this year’s summit. 

Home can mean any number of things to any number of people. For Felix Maradiaga it is both a longing and a cause. A connection to a struggle for a place lost, and the finding of community and hope outside of his place of his birth. 

Born and raised in Nicaragua, Felix Maradiaga has spent his career in public service, public policy, and social entrepreneurship. As a leader in human rights advocacy, public sector reform,  non-violent resistance, and community engagement, he has sought throughout his career to promote human rights, reaffirm democratic principles, and help his country and its people recover from the ravages of war. 

Through it all, the ideas of home, place, and belonging have been central to his work. Whether in the commitment to democracy and human rights in his home country or in his efforts to help former soldiers peacefully disarm and successfully return to their communities. 

However, his relationship to the idea of home and belonging would radically change in 2018 when, during protests against the regime of Daniel Ortega, he would find himself facing criminal charges and a series of personal smears. In 2021, when he announced his intention to run for president, he was arrested and sent to a maximum security prison where his connections to home and his sense of belonging were severed and weaponized against him. 

In an interview with Freedom House, after his 2023 release, Maradiaga spoke of the means by which he was stripped of connection, not only to his family, but to others in the prison and to his faith.

"Inside my cell at the maximum-security prison, I had no access to reading or writing materials. I didn't even have a Bible, despite repeatedly requesting one. The guards strictly followed their orders not to engage with us, and we were prohibited from communicating with other inmates. The interrogations were grueling and took place every day. We never had any certainty about when we could get in touch with our relatives, sometimes waiting as long as three months for a brief interaction with them.”

His connection to home and a sense of belonging would be further tested when, in February 2023 after 21 months in prison he, along with 221 political prisoners were deported to the United States, had their assets seized, and were stripped of their Nicaraguan citizenship, leaving them stateless. 

But for all of these efforts to sever his ties and connections with his homeland, Mr. Maradiaga has persisted, leaning on his faith, his family, and his commitment to improving the lives of others. This has allowed him to remain connected to his country and its people and continue the important work of shaping a world in which we all have our place and in which we can all belong.