|
|
|
El Hogar Ministries eNewsletter
Special Edition - Update on Political Situation
August 25, 2009 |
|
|
|
| Introduction |
|
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 | |
 |
|
|
| August 25, 2009 |
It has been almost two months now since Mel Zelaya was bundled out of his house and taken out of the country, and the situation is still not resolved. Some of the early fears, such as a civil war breaking out, or an invasion by foreign troops, are no longer an issue. In many ways life is proceeding in a normal pattern again, especially outside of Tegucigalpa. There are regular demonstrations, but the core group still advocating for Zelaya's return is not very large, and there has been enough public outcry over the vandalism and violence of some of the earlier marches that the demonstrations have toned down considerably. After two months, they are taking on a pattern. The participants are mostly teachers and some union members, who gather around 10am and march someplace and then disperse around 3pm. It is usually possible to find out where they are going and avoid those places. On the other hand, world pressure is still intense. All the European countries have withdrawn their ambassadors, and several South American countries have done the same. Much foreign aid has been frozen, and loans not granted. Honduran ambassadors in other countries are no longer recognized, so there is a sense of isolation. These pressures are not as immediately visible, but will have a long term effect.
Meanwhile, lots of conversations are taking place. Last week a human rights delegation from the Organization of American States came and had hearings in Honduras. Since the OAS has been very clear in its refusal to recognize the current government, expectations were not high for a fair hearing. Still, the initial report was better than hoped for here. They did document instances of brutality and indiscriminate arrests by both police and military personnel, but discounted the claims by Zelaya that there were scores of deaths and hundreds of injuries and thousands of people held in jails. They also noted the instances of vandalism and crowd violence, and the withholding of education from students.
Yesterday another OAS delegation arrived. It is composed of foreign ministers from 7 different countries. They are here hoping to present the case for ratifying the agreement proposed by Arias, but also, more importantly, to listen. They are meeting with religious and business leaders, representatives from the armed forces and the current government, union officials, teachers, and even the candidates for the next election. I think this is a crucial step. The general feeling here is that countries jumped to conclusions about what had happened here without any real understanding of the situation. Having this opportunity for Hondurans to tell their side of the story is crucial if there is to be any agreement that has "buy in" from the people here.
Once again, how this will all play out is still a mystery. Next week marks the official beginning of the campaign period for the next government. Elections are still scheduled for November, with the new president due to take office the end of January. Most people are hoping that having orderly and fair elections will ultimately resolve this whole issue.
The paper today had an article outlining some of the challenges for the next government. It mentions, among other things, that, despite promises from many different governments to address the issue of poverty, over 50% of households still exist on less than $1 a day, and 73% of the population is below the poverty level. The murder rate increased 25% last year, and currently in Honduras there are 373 murders each month, or an average of 12 a day. The index of violent death in Honduras is 48/100,000, as compared to the average in Latin America of 7/100,000. The economy is in a shambles, with foreign reserves being reduced by a third in the last eight months. These are daunting problems, and the current political crisis has put them all on the back burner.
Meanwhile, El Hogar Projects are still moving forward. This is anniversary week at the Institute, and it is being marked by special activities. Yesterday there was a Eucharist to give thanks for what God has done there. Friday, there will be a picnic at a local park.
Each day there will be a soccer game, a special presentation, or some other activity to make the week memorable.
Balbino and Wilman have just returned from a conference given by ERD. They will be implementing new ideas they learned from the ERD staff and the other participants.
El Hogar celebrated Lempira Day last week. It is a holiday devoted to reminding Hondurans of their indigenous heritage. Each grade was assigned a different tribe, and built a shelter, prepared food, had children dress up, and gave a brief presentation of the customs, religion, and way of life of that tribe.
Please continue to remember and pray for us.
|
| 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.
|
| Past Articles |
| To read past articles, please visit our website at: www.elhogar.org. | |
|
|
Sincerely,
Rev. Rich Kunz
Executive Director, Honduras | |
|
