Honduras and My Country

Deformed

A couple days ago, I learned of the horrors in a Honduras prison. A fire broke out, which was started by an inmate. This resulted in over 300 inmates killed - inmates burned alive in prison cells they were trapped in. The inmates were mere suspects in the first place, and had not been convicted, but were incarcerated anyway. The fire department were not let in the prison until 30 minutes after arrival. They could not locate keys to free the inmates.

Family members of the inmates rushed the prison fence at the word of the fire. Droves of people pushed on the fence, begging for their loved ones. Then, the military and police fired warning shots, and used tear gas against them.

The only glimmer of hope I can see coming from this atrocity of "disposable" human beings is to shed a light on what is happening in Honduras. In 2009, a coup removed the democratically-elected Zelaya government and installed Pofirio Lobo. Then, the Lobo government had "elections" managed by the same perpetrators as of the coup, which were boycotted by all major international observers - except for U.S. interests.

The judicial system does not function now in Honduras. Corruption is rampant, opposition members have been disappeared or killed, hundreds have been killed by the state, and 13 journalists have been killed.

Unfortunately, in October, President Obama praised Lobo during his visit to the White House for a "restoration of democratic practices." This is unacceptable, and my fellow Americans need to be aware of what is being done in their name. South America has been a prime example of the U.S. putting its interests behind murderous regimes for decades.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/27/opinion/in-honduras-a-mess-helped-by-the-us.html?_r=1

Lady_Alison

My parents are Honduran, I sympathize...thank you for posting this.

Dakini

So sorry, Lada_Alison, read it and weep:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/27/opinion/in-honduras-a-mess-helped-by-the-us.html

I remember Honduras when it was a beautiful and very placed place, the people all very kind and genuine. San Pedro Sula, mentioned in the article, also was very pleasant, placid, and full of the nicest people. It's gut-wrenching to read how much it's changed, what's going on there.

This may help members understand what our member StoicBuddhistAlex is going through, in neighboring El Salvador.

Lady_Alison

Would you say that it is unsafe for tourists there. I have no daily there but husband I have been interested is spending a month there.

I'm going to have to show him the article, I doubt he's going to want to go now.

Lady_Alison

Not daily....family ...damn swipe.

Dakini

I wouldn't go there, Lady, if for no other reason--it would be too heartbreaking. You should have seen StoicBuddhistAlex's first post, about children going to school and mothers crossing the street to buy groceries ending up in the crossfire of gang warfare in his town. This isn't the time to go, unless you could leapfrog over the country, and get a flight into the Bay Islands. And even they suffered during the Contra war, I don't know what it's like there now. (Love that laid-back Garifuna culture, not to mention the snorkeling! )

Best to do some thorough online research.

Lady_Alison

Thanks for letting me know @dakini...I'm going to have the talk with him tonight.

Deformed

My parents are Honduran, I sympathize...thank you for posting this.

you're welcome, and thanks for the reply. The last couple of years, I have been reading and learning more about the recent history of US foreign policy in South America from various human rights groups and journalists, which has concerned me. It's amazing how U.S. mass media virtually ignores their accounts, in preference for State Dept PR.

This particular situation really bothered me.

Deformed

Here is a video on the recent fire and an interview with the author of the NY Times article.

Dakini

@Deformed Have you read "Bitter Fruit"? It's a classic. An expose of a coup in Guatemala in the '50's engineered by the US in order to protect United Fruit's landholdings. Based on gov't docs obtained under the Freedom of Information Act. The operation was so successful, it was used as a mode for the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba, which failed miserably. The ultimate results of installing a military regime in Guatemala was genocide in the 1980's, supported by arms and helicopters donated by the US (Reagan, mostly). Another little detail the US media neglected to mention.