|
|
|
El Hogar Ministries eNewsletter
Special Edition - Update on Political Situation
July 12, 2009 |
|
|
|
Introduction
|
|
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. | |
 |
|
|
| July 12, 2009 |
There were two significant demonstrations in Tegucigalpa yesterday, both peaceful. The supporters of Zelaya marched to the airport to hold a memorial for the young man shot and killed in the earlier demonstration. He has become a symbol of resistance for those who are pressing for Zelaya's return. At about the same time, there was an interdenominational gathering In Villa Olimipia to pray for peace for Honduras. This was organized by those who feel the present government is legitimate. The size and intensity of the demonstrations have been diminishing in the last few days. With talks being scheduled, and nothing scheduled to happen over the weekend, there is less urgency. Yet, Zelaya has announced his intent to return next week, so there is still an underlying sense of tension.
I convinced Barbra to take advantage of this little lull to get out of the city, and go to Valley of Angels for the afternoon. Except for the usual traffic problems, and an extra roadblock on the way, we had no problem getting there, but it seemed more crowded than we had anticipated. It turned out that we arrived as a demonstration was winding down. There is some irony here, in that for two weeks we have avoided being at such demonstrations, and now, in an attempt to relax and get away, we landed up in the middle of one. This was a demonstration in support of the present government. Lately these have taken the form of celebrations of democracy in Honduras. Although I was quite leery of being in the vicinity, when we got to the central square the air was quite festive. There was a marimba band playing, and a few of the attendees were dancing. The actual demonstration had ended and the participants were having their coffee or sitting in the restaurants around the square. The children had balloons and flags, and lots of folks were still carrying hand made posters. There were four police officers circulating through the crowd, taking time to talk with the children. The members of the Roman church were selling treats from in front of the church. We sat there taking it all in. It was a relaxed and hopeful gathering.
In talking with some of the shop owners, they said how difficult this has been for them. Until yesterday, they have had virtually no customers. Few mission groups are in the country right now, and the folks from the city have been reluctant to go that far. Those that I talked to have no idea how the situation will be resolved, but are hoping for the best.
For those who have been following his case, Cristian came through his surgery successfully. He will be in the hospital this week. He is not supposed to eat anything solid for a few days, so he is on IV's. While he is there, other tests are being done on his overall health. I talked to him on the phone, and he said he was not in pain and sounded cheerful.
Thanks again for all your prayers and for remembering us.
|
| 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!
|
| Past Articles |
| To read past articles, please visit our website at: www.elhogar.org. | |
|
|
Sincerely,
Rev. Rich Kunz
Executive Director, Honduras | |
|
