World Poets Slam Walls, Bigotry Against Muslims, Refugees

During an international festival in Nicaragua, at least 91 poets from 50 countries around the world rejected discrimination against immigrants and Muslims as well as the construction of walls along borders in Europe and the United States to stop the flow of refugees.

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"We condemn any form of discrimination against migrants, refugees and Muslims that is taking place in various countries of the world," the poets said, in the closing statement of the 13th International Poetry Festival of Granada, which was held Nicaragua.

The statement, which was read by Spanish poet Yolanda Castaño also slammed the "construction of walls at borders," labeling the practice "demeaning for human dignity" and "inefficient."

The poets also celebrated the recent Colombia peace accord which ended the decades-long conflict between the government and the leftist FARC guerrilla army.

The statement also warned against coups in the region and called for democracy to be respected. The environment, women’s rights and protection of the continent's natural resources was also part of the poets’ resolution.

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They also reiterated their call to the United Nations cultural agency to designate the Nicaraguan city Granada, where the festival is annually held, as a World Heritage Site “because of its architecture, as well as historical, social and cultural importance,” EFE news agency reported.

Their next meeting will be held in February 2018 and honor late Central American poets Fernando Silva of Nicaragua and Roberto Sosa of Honduras.

The International Poetry Festival of Granada is the most prestigious in Central America and one of the most important in Latin America, attracting more than 40,000 tourists as well as poets from all over the world over its week-long program.