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El Hogar Ministries eNewsletter
Special Edition - Update on Political Situation
July 13, 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 13, 2009 |
Sunday was a pretty quiet day in Tegucigalpa. There was a demonstration in support of Zelaya held in the downtown area, but it drew only about 300 participants. The curfew has now been lifted, which will be a relief for restaurants, etc. We were able to have our first service for the English speaking congregation in three weeks. (All four of us!) Because of the uncertainty of travel, the boys from the Institute did not come to church in the morning.
Today demonstrations continue, and, from my apartment, I can hear one taking place at the teachers' college. The leaders of the movement supporting Zelaya have vowed not to let up their activities until Zelaya is restored to office. The teachers' union is meeting today to consider whether or not to resume classes. I finally got out for my dreamed-of ice cream cone (chocolate chocolate chip) , but found as we left that the soldiers had cordoned off the block, and had to wait for them to open the fence they had put up across the road.
At El Hogar Claudia held the mothers' meeting which had been canceled the week before, and explained our new approach to discipline. She is trying to institute a "logical consequences" approach with the children. (For instance, one boy who was found playing with a box of matches had to put up posters in each room warning of fire dangers.) Weekends are the times when children can go home for a short visit, or the relatives can come by El Hogar and visit there. It is always nice to see the children with their parent, or grandparent, or brothers and sisters.
I had a chance to talk with some embassy workers, who, although being appropriately discreet, indicated that there are people working behind the scenes to try to bring all of this to a peaceful conclusion. Honduran politics have been corrupt for a long time, and, as in the US, both sides have an investment in misrepresenting the other. But as of now, both sides seem willing to continue the process being led by Oscar Arias of Costa Rica. We are all hoping that with patience, Honduras can get through this present crisis as soon as possible.
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| 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.
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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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