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El Hogar Ministries eNewsletter
Special Edition - Update on Political Situation
July 11, 2009 |
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Introduction
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This Special Edition of our eNewsletter is for delivering updates on the current political situation in Honduras, in the hopes of keeping you informed about Honduras and how the current crisis unfolds and impacts El Hogar.
To save on length of these emails, we are now sending only the most recent two articles written by Rev. Rich Kunz. These and and all the previous articles can be found on www.elhogar.org.
Note: if you are tired of receiving these updates and you opt-out of this service via the Unsubscribe option below, you will be opting out of all future eNewsletters unless you re-signup. If you don't want to read these but would like future eNewsletters, which we send about once per quarter, then it is better to just delete these. | |
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| July 11, 2009 |
It has been two weeks since the country braced for possible violence the day before an illegal referendum was to be held. Instead, the President was arrested and taken out of the country. The time since then has been full of conflict and drama, and the situation is still not resolved.
Yesterday the delegations from the two sides met, and talked for hours, and apparently came to no agreement. It sounds as if everyone is still in the "I want to state the rightness of my case" stage. Both sides did agree to continue to meet at a place and time designated by Arias, but neither place nor time has been chosen yet.
The road leading out of the city toward the north was blocked for several hours yesterday by supporters of Zelaya, who have vowed to continue to disrupt things until he is restored to power. That is the road that leads to St. Mary's Technical Institute. Ephrain, who drives our teachers out there each day, had to take an alternate route that follows an unfinished highway and then descends through one of the worst neighborhoods of the city. It took him over an hour to get to the Institute, so classes were a bit late. But everyone arrived safely.
I believe demonstrations have been scheduled today for both sides, but I also feel as if this is a day for everyone to take a deep breath. It should be clear by early next week if there is true investment in these talks. For now, we have the gift of a weekend without any obvious confrontation. In my experience, people are taking advantage of the "normalcy" .
My friends in the embassy tell me the official position of the US government is still that they have no contact with this present government. The embassy is still advising US citizens to postpone travel to Honduras. It is advising those of us who live here to limit ourselves to day trips and to be aware of possible road blockages.
We are looking at a relatively normal weekend at the three El Hogar sites, but without venturing outside the grounds, and without any volunteers. At all three sites, BTW, jobs we were hoping would be done by volunteers are piling up, so we are hoping that this situation stabilizes soon. We have work to get done!
We feel blessed and protected so far. Thank you for all your prayers!
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| July 10, 2009 |
Attention yesterday was focused on Costa Rica, where talks between the parties began. Arias met first with Zelaya, and afterwards with Micheletti. Neither of the Presidents are willing to meet with one another at this time. Zelaya continues to say that he is there only to listen to his usurpers explain how he will return. Micheletti says he is in agreement that Zelaya should return to Honduras, but directly to the judge to answer for his crimes. Clearly Arias has his work cut out for him.
Both men were asked to appoint delegations of four people to carry on talks, and those groups are meeting today. There is no word on their progress so far. The good thing is that talks are happening at all.
Meanwhile, Zelaya's supporters have vowed to continue to disrupt commerce until he is restored to full power. The Teachers' Union has also vowed not to return to classes until he returns. Yesterday they blocked the main road going to the south of the city for several hours.
Chavez, in his usual understated way, is calling for Hondurans to take to the streets to demand Zelaya's return. In his most recent speech, he claims that the talks in Costa Rica are a sham, and are a scheme foisted on Honduras by the US, and especially by Obama, a "little black man who knows nothing about Honduras." He says the US will pay for this.
Most people are using the opening provided by these talks to go back to their regular routines. The crisis is on everyone's mind, however. There is anxiety about what will happen if the talks fail, and no one seems to have a good picture of what a successful outcome would look like. Or if they do, the different outcomes are mutually exclusive. The embassy staff here have orders to have no contact with the present government. People are hopeful, but there is also a sense that the fragile peace could fall apart any day.
At El Hogar we are continuing to care for all our kids. Today, Cristian is having his final surgery. Classes continue. Daisy, who has been our receptionist and secretary, is leaving to work in a new business out of her home, so we are having a farewell party for her this afternoon. Martha, our new secretary, is fitting in well. (And she speaks some English, which will help when folks phone in.) At the farm, repairs are continuing to the electrical system. There has been so much rain that some of the planting has had to be delayed. That has also delayed work on the septic system.
Please keep us in your prayers. I think this crisis has had an effect on all of us. Maybe not overtly, but it leaves us with a sense of emotional exhaustion.
We will all be glad when it is resolved.
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| Past Articles |
| To read past articles, please visit our website at: www.elhogar.org. | |
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Sincerely,
Rev. Rich Kunz
Executive Director, Honduras | |
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