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El Hogar Ministries eNewsletter
Special Edition - Update on Political Situation
August 17, 2009 |
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| Introduction |
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We are continuing to send updates from Rich Kunz as new information becomes available.
Thank you for your concern for El Hogar and Honduras.
Liz Kinchen
Executive Director in NA | |
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| August 17, 2009 |
Since the outburst of violence last week, with the burning of a bus and a fast food restaurant, things have gotten much quieter. Yes, during the middle of the night someone tried to burn down the offices of one of the newspapers that has been most critical of Zelaya by lobbing some Molotov cocktails into the lobby. But generally, on the street during the day, things have been more peaceful.
I think Hondurans have been so upset and outraged that this kind of political violence could take place in their country, that there has been a reaction against the demonstrators. The supporters of Zelaya have gone to great pains to try to distance themselves from the violence (even though it was clearly done by their group), and now they are demonstrating without their faces covered for the first time.
Last week there were estimates of up to 10,000 demonstrators in the capital. The latest marches have drawn only about 1000.
This week an international human rights organization has come to study the situation here in Honduras. The supporters of Zelaya have said they would have forceful demonstrations during this time to drive home their concerns. We will see. As I understand it, this commission will be looking at both "sides".
Sadly, I think there has been violence against the demonstrators by both the police and the military. I believe that the demonstrators were hoping to provoke a violent response that could be characterized as oppression. Therefore, they were willing to torch a bus and several cars and break windows and do other acts of vandalism. But ultimately this worked against them. There is more tolerance now toward the actions of police and military, because people perceived the situation to be getting out of hand, and resented the destruction and intimidation. But this is far from a police state. For example, the police followed some of the more violent demonstrators onto their campus, and found a stash of Molotov cocktails there, which they confiscated. The courts have ruled that they entered the campus without a proper warrant, and therefore the Molotov cocktails may not be used as evidence.
Behind the scenes a lot of talking is going on. Last week a group went to D.C. to meet with Insulza, head of the Organization of American States. They announced that talks had been very positive, and another group is heading to Washington today. The OAS is still putting together a delegation to come listen to the concerns of people in the business and religious communities here, in order to move toward a peaceful and negotiated resolution. I also heard about a smaller gathering, pulled together by a mediator, of people from all possible political approaches here. Apparently the first two hours were very tense, with each person stating his/her viewpoint in the most passionate terms possible. By the end of the day, however, they were all hugging and expressing affection. "We are all Hondurans, and we all love our country. Our children go to school together. We have worked together for years. We need to find a way to come together to resolve this crisis." This is a good sign.
One thing I have learned over the last few weeks is that I never know what will happen next. That is still true. I think that daily demonstrations will continue, but get the sense that, for now, they have lost some of their momentum. I think the momentum will probably be more and more toward some negotiated solution.
In the meantime, El Hogar is doing what it usually does. The boys are still thrilled about Honduras' win over Costa Rica. Over the weekend some of the moms came to El Hogar to get their weekly lessons in how to read and write. Balbino and Wilman are now at a conference run by ERD that puts together all those in Latin America doing projects for development. The first couple of computers are installed at the Institute. I spent a significant portion of last week filling out forms and applications, not really my favorite part of this job. God has been very good to us in the midst of this crisis, and we continue to move forward.
Thanks once again for your prayers and support. It means a lot to know we are part of a larger community of love.
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August 13, 2009
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The summary version of what is below is this; the political situation is still not resolved, and there have been more instances of violence in the last few days, but El Hogar is still plugging along.
Balbino and Wilman (our outreach worker for the agricultural school) are preparing to attend a conference sponsored by ERD (Episcopal Relief and Development) in the Dominican Republic. This will give them a chance to meet and exchange information with other people in Latin America who are working on projects to enhance the lives of the poor. It will also put them into direct contact with the wonderful folks who work at ERD like Abigail Nelson and Karla Avila.
Balbino and Wilman will be presenting the work of the agricultural school to the group gathered there. There has been a lot of filling out of forms and organizing in order to prepare for this meeting. Meanwhile, the work of completing the update of the wiring for the school is nearing completion, being done beautifully by two graduates from the technical institute.
It has been a relatively quiet week of classes at El Hogar. Claudia and Raul were able to finally get a few days off, which they well deserved. H1N1 has become a concern in Honduras, and we are taking steps to prevent any spread on our campus. So far, we are blessed in that none of our children has evidenced symptoms. We are hoping to keep it that way!
At the Institute the students are working hard as they near the end of the school year. For those in their third year, this means they soon will be going off to do internships arranged for them with businesses around the country. It also means taking their final exams, which will determine whether or not they can graduate.
We were all saddened at hearing of the death of Earl Crawford, from Ohio. Earl and his wife have been very good friends of El Hogar, and were among those who hosted our boys when they visited Ohio. Earl also donated and managed to ship a pipe threading machine for the use of the Institute. Please keep his family in your prayers.
When I drove out to the farm yesterday I passed a new kind of demonstration. Outside one of the schools, a large group of parents and of children dressed in their school uniforms had gathered. They were holding signs up to the passing traffic that said, "We want our education. Please let us have classes."
The teachers have been at the heart of the demonstrations in support of the return of Zelaya. Most public schools have been closed for six weeks, and it is looking more and more as if the children will lose the entire year, since they will not be able to take (or pass) their final exams. Those who were looking forward to graduation are particularly concerned. May of the teachers are quite upset about the strike and would like to continue normal classes, but they have received threats, and those who have tried to hold classes have often been harassed, as have the students who have tried to attend. There are multiple instances of teachers meeting in private homes in order to try to give their students a chance to finish the school year. One of our graduates, Carlos, tells us that they need to meet secretly, and cannot wear their school uniforms, for fear of being discovered. Many of the school buildings are being used to house out of town demonstrators, or to provide food for them. In light of all this, the simple fact that at El Hogar Projects we are finishing the school year on time without having missed any classes is a huge achievement.
Although for a while it looked like things were settling into a more normal routine, the last few days have brought more turmoil. Thousands of demonstrators from around the country have converged on both Tegucigalpa (the bigger group) and San Pedro Sula. I am sure that many of these protesters are true fans of Zelaya, or simply believe that the democratic order has been disrupted, and are sincere about their protests. Unfortunately, theirs is not the predominant voice. There is a much smaller but more radical group that is turning the "peaceful" protests into something else entirely.
My apartment looks out onto the Teachers' College, which is where most of the protests are organized. The other afternoon I saw clouds of thick black smoke blowing past my window. I initially thought tires were being burned, but the clouds were much bigger than usual. The protestors, after blocking the major street outside the college, attacked a bus at random, and threw a Molotov cocktail into it while it was still full of passengers. Panicked parents were handing their infants out the windows to people who gathered to help. Fortunately, no one was seriously injured, but the bus was burned completely. At about the same time, demonstrators converged on Popeye's. The costumers inside were startled to suddenly see a large group of young men, all with their faces covered with red bandannas, shattering the windows with large rocks. The woman who worked at the checkout counter rushed to help parents who were trying to get their children out of the indoor play area and out of the store. (As she did this, she watched the demonstrator raid the cash register.) Others customers huddled temporarily in the rest rooms. Meanwhile, another cocktail was thrown into the play area, and the entire restaurant was burned. All the customers escaped, but some were nursing injuries. At another gathering yesterday, the vice-president of the congress was attacked physically. Zelaya, who was in Brazil the other day, has made no comment to distance himself from these actions, or to call on his followers to be peaceful.
I have lived in Honduras for five years now, and have come to appreciate the Honduran people for their gentleness and generosity and graciousness. The instances above are not in any way typical of the Hondurans that I know. In fact, I think that this kind of violent action is very counterproductive. As I talk to people about the political situation, what I hear is that this kind of extreme action makes it much harder to consider the return of Zelaya.They feel that if he is able to return, those carrying out these violent demonstrations will feel empowered, and be ready to return to tactics of intimidation if Zelaya calls upon them to do so. I think it signals some hard days ahead. Whether or not Zelaya returns, there is now a hard-core group, full of anger, not really focused on any cause in particular, who are willing to intimidate and destroy in order to have their influence felt. Many people in Honduras are calling for careful dialogue in order to resolve the complex situation in the country. Having folks that are dedicated instead to disrupting things is not a help in any way.
Still, having said all this, it is remarkable that most Hondurans are simply going about their daily responsibilities. The demonstrators, although quite vocal, are a small minority.
There was welcome relief from all of this yesterday evening. The Honduran soccer team rolled over the team from Costa Rica in a game held at the stadium in San Pedro Sula. This puts Honduras into third place out of the six teams from this region competing for a chance to play in the World Cup in 2010. And to have it be a 4-0 victory over the team in first place was especially sweet! Just for perspective's sake - although there are large demonstrations going on in the city, the front page of all the papers was devoted instead to the results of the soccer game. It was much-needed good news for the country.
Thank you for your continuing prayers and support! Please keep praying for a just and peaceful resolution of the crisis here, and for the ongoing lives of the children and young people who are in our care.
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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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