Where are we heading?

Maduro’s period in administration is already beginning to end. He has few memorable accomplishments to his name and the populace largely rejects him.

Interference in internal businesses by international financial organizations has been huge and the future of our nation is completely uncertain.

Little has been said of Honduran lobbyists and their management in procuring benefits for this country.
This either works, or it does not exist, or it is hidden by our authorities. What is certain is that we are beginning to suffer from isolation, which we must work on to improve with determination.

We have spoken with various civil servants of the present administration and it does not look like we are directing our efforts in ways that will generate economic recuperation.

The only thing that is certain is that we are never going to fully recuperate economically as we would have to analyze a status that we have never possessed.

The tendency of the present government is towards stimulating commerce rather than industry; either one will not let us reach the heights that we desire in regards to economic development.

Economic development has not improved in any way because as soon as we increase the production of something more people are born, which further depresses the economy.

The lack of planning in this country is our fault due to remarkable errors of judgment. Our loans are tied up and the agreements that we make are becoming the gravestone of our country’s economic potential.

The most integral part of Honduran life – human energy – is on the decline. Our food, clothing, standard of living...

The partisan support that the country has seen at other times is now history. Where there is change there is also an atmosphere of tolerance.

National Congress has diverted its role and now dedicates itself to the analysis and creation of important rules and regulations.

Our progress is never complete as small-minded people continue covering the same issues within a country that needs to grow. The people call for a change in leadership in order to find the underlying cause of things and seek solutions to the country’s problems.

 

TWISTED FATE

Dear HTW:

I was reading a Honduras, daily Spanish-language newspaper headlines and one stated “American kills wife and throws parts of her body in suitcase out of car on a street of Tegucigalpa. Then I read the next headline and it states “Murdered American found buried in his house,” and I said to myself, “What a twist of fate for both of these fellow United States citizens in a foreign country and not related.” What I found most disturbing and mind-boggling was the family’s immediate reaction wanting justice and revenge, and the abrupt conclusion of the police classifying the U.S. citizen that killed his wife as a serial killer. And statements alluding that strangulation is the preferred method of his white race.

Must I remind the police and the Honduran population that Honduras is one the most violent country’s in the western hemisphere with one of the highest violent death rates (homicides) per capita of any other country, maybe only second to Colombia which is in war.

Is not Honduras the country where frequently the bodies of murdered Honduran citizens are thrown out of cars, not to mention the satanic eating of human organs which has occurred frequently including in one case in Tegucigalpa in which someone ate the heart of the murdered victim? Should we U.S. citizens then classify Honduras a country of psychopaths and serial killers whose preferred method of killing is shooting people to death, with the mutilation and satanic rituals of human organs. I am not saying that the husband who killed his wife is some angel, if he indeed did it, he should get the maximum punishment of the law. But let me remind you that over 30 Americans that have been murdered in Honduras and the majority if not all cases have not been resolved, and the only crime that these U.S. citizens committed was to be in Honduran territory.

The other thing that disturbed me was the immediate conclusion of portraying all Americans on the Internet as psychopaths with a hidden past and criminal backgrounds hiding behind secret email. This was all due to the fact that the wife the American murdered got to know her husband on the Internet. The majority of these women that go to these web sites are looking for economic gain only, and are basically using the U.S. citizens for financial gain and a way to reach the U.S. and obtain the American dream. Most will say anything to lure the Americans to them.

They also hide shady pasts behind secret emails and their only intention is to lure the American and later dump him when she drains his bank account or reaches the U.S.

So should U.S. citizen classify all Honduran ladies as looking for Americans on the Internet as money-hungry, manipulating extortionists and con-artists, American beware for your wallets and maybe your life.

Luis Hernandez
Via Internet

Editor´s note: HTW did not report on the murdered event in the manner described in Mr. Hernandez´s letter or in anyway characterize Mr. Gole´s personality.
 

Child exploitation – the myths revealed

By SARAH DAVIES

TEGUCIGALPA — The sexual exploitation of children is by no means new to Honduras. Yet it remains a taboo and unspoken about subject: An invisible problem that is currently spiraling out of control.

The first world congress against the commercial exploitation of children, held in Stockholm in 1996, helped to gather significant international support against the sexual exploitation of children and was successful in placing this widespread and growing social problem on the global political agenda. It was established during this congress that all countries should have an action plan to help tackle this ever-increasing problem.

Since the tightening of laws and prosecution in South East Asia, Central America has fast become one of the world’s top sex tourism destinations. Despite this, though, Honduras is the last country to formulate and implement effective legislation to help combat this issue.

It is still not a public crime to have sexual intercourse with children between the ages of twelve to eighteen years. There is no national legislation for child pornography, and no collation of national figures for sexual violence and incestuous child abuse. With crimes reported regarding the sexual abuse of a minor, when they actually do end in prosecution, the penalty in Honduras is still less severe than the penalty for car theft.

Maria Artiles, of Save the Children UK, has been working with ECPAT (End Child Prostitution in Asian Tourism) to formulate and implement an effective legislation to help combat the growth of child exploitation in Honduras. “The magnitude of the problem here is being ignored,” said Maria, “whilst sexual tourism is growing in popularity the sexual abuse of children is dominated by local people.” Foreigners, though, do exasperate the problem. They pay more for the services of young people and a number of factors have increased the popularity of the trade. Since Hurricane Mitch unemployment within the country increased dramatically and the country, in general, has turned to tourism as a major source of income. This has made it easier for young people, both boys and girls, to be attracted into the trade. With potential earnings from foreign tourists of up to $100-200 per hour, as an under-eighteen year old, sexual services lead not to just a method of survival but also often provide a gateway into the consumer market.

With a concentration on the encouragement of tourism within Central America, laws regarding migration and visas have been relaxed in terms of travel for nationals between the Central American countries. This makes it possible for girls to follow the main tourist attractions and festivals around the region, following the tourists as they travel.

The instability of the international tourist market is evened by the thriving internal market for the sexual abuse of the young. Maria points out that it is the very institutions that should be supporting the young who fail them and lead them into the industry. Honduras has exceptionally high rates of familial sexual abuse of children, with incest being commonplace throughout most of the country. Children who escape this environment often fall victim to the profession as their only resource of survival. Regardless, though, of whether the child remains within the family, studies have shown that once this disrespect for the sexual self has been encouraged, there is little to prevent children from then continuing outside the family environment.

The police also often fail the young in two main ways. They are often uneducated in the problems of these children. They have no means to support or help them and are not trained in recognizing their needs. Not only is there a lack of official support but policemen themselves are renowned perpetrators of child exploitation.

The third main support group that these children often turn to is ‘friendship groups’. Often, though, the youths are part of groups or gangs fully integrated within the business, adding to a further influence, and pressure, to remain within these ‘sex circles’.

Save the Children are working on these factors, firstly through the implementation of legislation, supported by the work of the Women’s Movement, to tighten restrictions and increase the punishment in cases of incestuous rape and sexual abuse within the family. Secondly Save the Children have been involved in the retraining of police officers and have now devised a permanent program that could be incorporated into the police schools. The authorities are currently looking into this.

The main issue though is why it is becoming increasingly popular for adults, and despite the myths, this includes both men and women, to seek sexual solace with small children. Figures from around the world show that the average age of the victims of child exploitation is rapidly decreasing, whilst the rates of teenage pregnancy and the numbers of young people affected by sexually transmitted diseases, in both the developed and developing world, are constantly rising. Not only are our children being forced into sexual awareness at a younger age, but also adults are increasingly investing in and encouraging this industry. The current global outbreak in child pornography serves to evidence this. Have we reached a state where the breakdown of human relationships is so extensive that ‘consumer sex’ and the ideological ‘passivity’ of the young has become easier than the investment in real and equal relationships?

This culture of disposable and consumable sex cannot be allowed to be encouraged. Whether child prostitution is the result of an escape from poverty or a path into the consumerist world, Honduras must make a stand to protect the youth of future generations. Our children are an investment in the future and should be treated as such. We cannot allow Honduras to become an advertisement for the child exploitation industry.

 

End restrictions on travel to Cuba, Congressman urges

How to hurt Castro

By JEFF FLAKE

WASHINGTON -- The long prison terms handed to nearly 80 Cuban dissidents and the summary execution of three hijackers of a Cuban ferry have led to calls for a new get-tough policy with the Castro regime. Which raises the question: short of calling in the Marines, what would constitute a get-tough policy with Cuba?

We've not had normal diplomatic relations for decades. We've had an economic embargo against the island for more than 40 years. It is illegal for Americans to travel to Cuba without express permission from Washington.

Where do we go from here? The options the Bush administration is considering -- ending all flights to Cuba and cutting off family remittances -- would respond to Fidel Castro's latest outrages by penalizing American citizens and Cuban families whose livelihood depends on help from relatives abroad.

The implicit assumption of United States policy on travel to Cuba is that Americans are not intelligent enough to know what constitutes a "good" visit to Cuba as opposed to a "bad" one. License applications to travel to Cuba must be approved by both the Treasury Department and the State Department. And though the administration says it encourages humanitarian aid, Americans who want to make donations to churches in Cuba are required to get two separate federal licenses, one from Treasury and one from Commerce.

To be sure, lifting the ban is not without its risks. Some American travelers will go to Cuba and buy the Cuban government canard about the three "successes" of the Cuban revolution -- education, health care and science. But far more Americans will notice the Cuban revolution's three most obvious failures -- breakfast, lunch and dinner.

A genuine get-tough policy with Cuba would export something Americans know a little about: freedom. Let's get rid of travel license applications altogether. Recently, Oswaldo Paya, Cuba's leading democracy activist, repeated his opposition to the United States embargo and issued an invitation. "We appeal to all foreigners who come to our country as tourists to show solidarity, to take part in demonstrations," he said. "To support the opening up of Cuba."

We should heed this advice and end the American policy of Soviet-style travel controls. All Americans should be free to go to Cuba without government interference. Cuban officials would then have to determine which are the "good" visits and which are the "bad" ones, which Americans are sunbathers and which are pro-democracy demonstrators.

Cuba would be flooded with American visitors -- and American ideas. For Fidel Castro, that would be the toughest policy of all.
(Jeff Flake, Republican of Arizona, is a member of the House International Relations Committee.)
 

U.S. responds to rising illegal immigration with tougher laws

By W. E. GUTMAN

LOS ANGELES — In an effort to curb a soaring rate of illegal immigration and to stem a rising tide of crime, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled on April 28 that even legal immigrants convicted of felonies may be jailed to ensure they do not flee or commit new crimes while awaiting deportation hearings.

The 5-4 decision, written by Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, applies to noncitizens who have already served their sentences. Nearly 100,000 such people have been ordered jailed without bail since the law allowing such detentions took effect in 1996. Most are Latin Americans. Of these, 85 percent are from Mexico.

Thousands of legal permanent residents are now out on bail while they await deportation or try to evade it. This process can take months or years. Federal appeal courts covering California and a dozen other states had been granting bail in some cases, despite the 1996 edict, and most of the bailed felons could be returned to jail under the Supreme Court ruling.

The ruling is considered a victory for the Bush administration, which also claims the right to jail immigrants and others possibly linked to terrorism, and to halt deportation hearing indefinitely.

“Congress, justifiably concerned that deportable criminal aliens who are not detained continue to engage in crime and fail to appear for their removal hearings in large numbers, may require that [certain] persons be detained,” Justice Rehnquist wrote in his decision.

Illegal immigration, now at an all-time high, has fueled a nationwide debate and ignited passions on both side of the fence. As the war in Iraq is winding down, serious unresolved problems face the nation.

The federal budget deficit is at a record high. Most states, especially California, are facing their most severe budgetary crisis in decades, as school and jails overflow with undocumented aliens. Large numbers of U.S.-born and legal resident workers continue to lose their jobs.

These stark facts, and a palpable wave of rancor sweeping the U.S., are at the root of new statutes being quietly introduced in state legislatures across the country advocating immigration policies that would immediately reduce the number of social service users and save jobs.

HR 946, a bill that would cut legal immigration from one million a year to 300,000, and take swift action to seal the borders and deport illegal immigrants, is currently stalled in Congress. Conversely, SB 60, a bill passed by the California State Senate Transportation Committee on April 1, would grant driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants. Advocates of the bill, argue that illegal immigrants will continue to drive with or without a license.
“Are they saying that we should give our house keys to burglars because they will trespass anyway,” quips Yeh Ling, executive director of Diversity Alliance for a Sustainable America.

Recently, U.S. Senator Jon Kyl (R-Arizona) warned: “It’s hard to imagine terrorists not trying to come in through our borders.”

The cost of porous borders transcends national security. American taxpayers spend about $2 billion a year just incarcerating lawbreaking illegal aliens. Hospitals in many states are filing bankruptcy, as they can no longer afford to provide illegal immigrants with free emergency health care. The annual cost of educating the children of illegal aliens is also in the billions of dollars.

“Is it responsible, let alone fair, to cut programs and services which adversely impact legal immigrants and U.S.-born Americans,” asks Ling, “while we continue to pay for the high cost of services for illegal immigrants?”

As the debate heats up, the exodus north across the Rio Grande continues unhindered, with Congress blaming the Immigration and Naturalization Service with “wholesale failure” to respond to rising crime among immigrants.
 

IN DEFENSE OF DOGS

Dear HTW:

The mayor of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Miguel Rodrigo Pastor, the municipal secretary Pavel Espinal and the head of Animal Control Roberto Lagos, according to the dailies El Heraldo and La Tribuna in an act of complete disregard for human and animal rights have begun the torturing and killing of family pets with painful and inhumane injections of strychnine in several breeds of dogs like pit bulls, bull terriers, Stafforeshire terriers, Brazilian filas and Argentine dogos after promising a grace period of another month to prepare a more reasonable and just law for dealing with truly aggressive dogs and their irresponsible owners.

Pastor, Pavel and Lagos decided to start killing all dogs of the above-mentioned breeds if people had not moved them out of Tegucigalpa in the 45-day period as Pastor and Pavel ordered on March 15th in their first municipal ordinance for aggressive dogs.
Already several innocent dogs of these arbitrarily and unscientifically chosen groups of canines have been humanely put to sleep by professional veterinarians, taken to police or military outposts to be shot or otherwise eliminated (poisoned or bludgeoned), and still others have been set free to starve to death, die of thirst or be hit by cars on the outskirts of the capital when the desperate owners had no relatives willing to accept their outlawed pets.

Also innocent dogs of these chosen breeds that belong to responsible owners and have never left their yards or hurt anyone are being threatened with an unjust and cruel murder to satisfy some unknown agenda of these elected city officials.

Without listening to or reading information on TV, radio, email and regular mail from national, regional, and international veterinary and animal rights groups, and humane societies as well as from concerned citizens from around the world, Pastor and Pavel are using or pretend to use people with no professional training to do their dirty work.
Here in Honduras, people like Norma Milla, the president of the Honduran Association Friends of the Animals and members of this group like Dr. Nadienhka Casco, Elena Carias, Karla Duarte and others have talked on radio with well-known professionals like my much admired ex-student Dr. Mario Rivera and on TV and had meetings with Pastor, Pavel and Lagos but apparently these people in their need for power and possible political pull listen to no one.

I hope all the people who know how much we depend on dogs for their unconditional love, company and protection as well as for locating lost people, cadavers, bombs, cancers and illegal drugs; for saving people from avalanches, collapsed or burning buildings, from drowning; and for leading blind people and people with Parkinson’s disease and being the ears for deaf people and the hands for many severely handicapped people will speak out or write directly to these despicable and reproachable individuals who should never have been elected to their current jobs and hopefully will never be elected to any other jobs.

I think the municipality is giving the lethal injection or lethal bait to the wrong “animals.” Also Pavel Espinal says nine of every ten citizens of Honduras support this dog-killing ordinance, where did he get this data?


Sherry (Pilar) Thorn
Member
Honduran Association Friends of the Animals

 

WHY DIDN’T THE THIEVING WORKERS PROTEST?

We all know that Honduran workers claim to not accept thieves within their ranks and yet they have themselves declared that there are various thieves and uninvited guests amongst them. Though it is a right to join a workers syndicate, it does not seem that honor and respect for the law are requisites. It was the first right of the corrupt to be able to line up on May 1, as workers in the theft and embezzlement industry.

The sad truth is that the saintly thieves did not march patriotically against the government and its supporters. Indeed they could have carried banners declaring, “Exalt the downtrodden! We want more corruption!” On May 1, the blessed thieving and corrupt ‘workers’ should have marched so that the union of the sacred inquisition may have forgiven them. Unfortunately their members were forced to seek refuge at the beaches of Coyolito, Cortes, Miami, and the other escapes from infernal heat throughout the world.

It is as though the scandals of this country don’t even last as long as Semana Santa and it seems that the trees of Olancho seek a place to put down their roots only to face the chainsaw of the executioner. The truth is that there is no political movement to dismantle the bands of thieves and charlatans that form the gang of doubtful gentlemen that are in charge of at least a quarter of the world’s governments. These parasites are always fooling around on the peripheral of public administration thanks to their sixth sense that shows them the way.

The darlings of these ranks fall in known offices when their curriculums are analyzed, they reveal the histories of the sort of men who couldn’t pass the first year of the University of Mexico and yet, are still presented with a doctorate in sciences. There is something missing in the office of Civil Services and that is an investigation of the staff contracted by the State. After that we need to get the story on who is trying to gain the trust of the party employers.
 

A social fund for the Honduran workers

The National Association of Industry (ANDI) and its president, Fito Facusse, have proposed the creation of a worker’s benefit fund for the country’s workers. Such a fund would replace the pension fund of the Honduran Institute of Social Security, which would disappear on account of its endless irregularities. It would probably keep all its accumulated capital and interest, but it is possible that this capital will be transferred to the new fund.

The statement came at the time when the government’s workers and the private sector were negotiating a new minimum wage. A fund of this kind would indeed support savings, a much needed resource for the country’s development, while benefiting the Honduran worker in their dream of financing a dignified retirement..

Many years ago, El Banco de Los Trabajadores gathered workers and sold them shares on almost obligatory terms. The project ended up being a total fiasco, as the bank is now owned by only a few people. In other words, workers already have two failures hanging over their heads. A fund of this nature would be a real victory.

There is a continuously growing manual labor market in Honduras, and as Jaime Rosenthal said during a speech offered to the ANDI members, a greater effort must be made every day to convince investors to establish maquilas (industrial tax free zones designed to encourage investment and job creation).

ANDI’s proposal provides a different option to Honduran workers: partners in national development through investment in savings funds, which are the best and safest vehicle of a large scale investment project.

Workers should not wait for anybody to hold their hand, they should be their own independent entity. The fewer favors they owe, the more credible they become. They have all the potential to become a valid option to govern and direct the nation’s interests, as has been demonstrated by President Luis Inasio Lula from Brazil. Likewise, Honduran workers should show that they are a force to be reckoned with, not exploited.

Without a doubt, Honduras lives under the most violent economic empire. An economy that has relied upon the misdirected, poorly thought out, and shameless moves of corrupt leaders acting in their own interest has resulted in one of the poorest and most backwards economy’s on the globe. The heads of this empire have no morals, they are more corrupt than Satan himself, they have found the most immoral, systematic ways to make money at the cost of the less fortunate.

The several attempts undertaken by the current government to bring about change have failed. The Honduran economy is vulnerable enough to domination by the economic powers that be without its own leaders cannibalizing the nations meager chances of resilience in order to line their own pockets. We insist on thinking that our future currency should be based on the gold standard but…. Who knows what our punishment might be? The most powerful social classes of the country should support their best ally, in order to ensure a more certain future for all.

 

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS LIVE IN FEAR

Dear HTW:

The downside to Howard Rosenzweig’s apologia of illegal immigrants in the U.S. merits review. Illegal immigrants cower in fear of exposure, arrest and deportation. Many are helped across the border by “coyotes” who mercilessly fleece them of their meager savings and deliver them into the hands of unscrupulous labor “contractors” who consign them to quasi-slavery at low-wage jobs where they are exploited and often abused.

Howard is right. The United State is a vast and rich country and illegal Latino immigrants pose no serious threat to the economy. But their numbers, increasing exponentially as traffic through America’s very porous borders indicates, have engendered attitudes of antipathy that are hard to dissipate among those who view this exodus as an invasion. Other factors that reinforce hostility include the explosive growth of Hispanic families — Anglos are now a minority in California — their inability or unwillingness to integrate into American society and the brazenness with which they lay claim to Spanish-language education, free hospitalization and welfare. Last but not least, as statistics suggests, illegal immigrants continue to commit a disproportionate number of serious urban crimes.

While it is arrogant, if not grossly unjust, to paint all illegal immigrants with the same wide brushstroke, it is important to consider how they are being perceived by mainstream America and why these perceptions endure.

W. E. Gutman
Los Angeles, California
 

COMMUNITY AND WORLD HERITAGE SITE ENDANGERED

Dear HTW:

In January 2003, an airport in Copan Ruinas commenced operations. This airport, which belongs to a private corporation, began a shuttle service to and from Guatemala, for the specific purpose of bringing tourists to the ruins and the colonial village of Copan. The development proceeded without any public knowledge, participation, or consent.

On February 17th, at 9:40 a.m., an overloaded passenger plane took off from Copan Ruinas, after repeatedly being told not to do so by airport personnel. The pilot’s impatience and lack of regard for the gross maximum take-off weight of the aircraft resulted in a near accident in Barrio Monte Fresco.

Working in my garden at the time, I stood in horror as the pilot tried to gain enough altitude to miss my home, the homes of my neighbors, and the mountainside beyond. It took two more passes before the plane was able to gain the altitude necessary to travel on to Guatemala.

Immediately after that incident, I complained to the Municipality of Copan Ruinas, both by telephone and by email. Copies of the email were sent to various ministries within the Honduran government, to the newspapers El Tiempo and La Prensa, the Aeronautic Board, Jungle Flying (operator of the aircraft) and several large tour companies in Honduras.

The result is that, to date, not one of the recipients of my letter has responded, and flights continue in the same manner as before.

Many questions need to be answered by the partners in this corporation, who have a vested interest in this enterprise, and the powers that be:

Who are the members of the airport corporation?

What responsibilities do they have to the public and the community of Copan Ruinas?

Do the partners of the corporation have the qualifications and experience to operate an airport?

Which national, municipal, or other authority issued a license for the operation of this airport?

In addition, in 1980 UNESCO designated Copan Ruinas as a World Heritage Site, because of the impressive carvings, stelae, and the 3,450 structures, which have been identified only within the 24-kilometer radius surrounding the principal group. These ruins are increasingly threatened with destruction by the traditional causes of decay, but also by changing social and economic conditions, which aggravate the situation... one of which is most certainly the airport. These flights have been consistently skimming the perimeter of the Mayan ruins, to give the passengers a birds-eye view of the Central Plaza. This is a protected site. So, who is in control here?

Annette Marie Butler
Via Internet
 

CAN A 1995 NISSAN PICK-UP ENTER THE HONDURAN BORDER?

Dear HTW:
I own a home in El Chimbo, Honduras and also live in Utah.

Can you please help me? Can I drive a 1995 Nissan pick-up through the Honduran border into Honduras?

My friend tells me that his lawyer friend in Tegucigalpa told him he could not bring a 1995 truck into Honduras because it is more than seven years old. Can you tell me what the present vehicle law states?

Gracias,
Larry D. Larson
Via Internet


Dear Larry:
Sorry, but that’s what the law says! You cannot bring into Honduras, with the purpose of registering here, a car seven years or older; which of course includes your 1995 pick-up.

Thanks for writing,

RUBEN D. ZEPEDA G