quoting note17pg…kzrnI've just received a grant of $25,000 USD (in Bitcoin) to work alongside the Human Rights Foundation educating political dissidents around how to use BTC. I'm very humbled and excited.
Rather than focus on me for this post though, I want to take you on a journey regarding one of the stories I've witnessed at the Oslo Freedom Forum that has had the most impact on me.
In Oslo 2022, I watched a woman take the stage and talk about her activist husband who had been abducted and imprisoned in Nicaragua, leaving their daughter fatherless, as they had no contact with him at all.
I also met a wonderful woman learning about Bitcoin wallets for the first time, as a way to fundraise and get money into countries where dissident bank accounts would be shut down.
A year later I returned to Oslo and learned two things.
1. The woman I spoke with/coached and the woman onstage were the same person. Her name is Berta Maradiaga.
2. Due to the efforts of the HRF her husband Felix had been freed and returned to them for the first time in 3 years. They even showed a video of his daughter's tearful first reunion.
I encourage you to watch all 3 videos here. It is a harrowing story and it emotionally broke me watching it play out in real time. I got to spend a bunch of time with Berta recently at Bitcoin Park in Nashville, and she continues to learn about BTC and how it can be used to further their cause. She is wonderful.
Grab your tissues.
Felix In Oslo 2019 (Before being imprisoned)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KtoWHNLw-o
Berta in Oslo 2022 (Pleading for help to release her husband)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AicUo9hVlI
Felix Returning To Oslo 2023 (after his release and reunion)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUnDCR5mgLg
John on Nostr: Your the best man for this huge task Ben, congratulations and success ahead ...
Your the best man for this huge task Ben, congratulations and success ahead