OPINIONS & EDITORIAL |
OPINIONS & EDITORIAL |
Monday, July 31, 2000 Online Edition 31 |
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Jorge
(George) A. Berry: a corporal and a gentleman
Honduran-born
Jorge wants America's youth to be "all that they can be"
Note the Honduran flag hanging from the rear-view mirror of his new Ford Mustang. (Photo by W.E. Gutman.) By W. E. GUTMAN PALMDALE,
Calif. -- What's a nice Honduran young man from the lush Atlantida shores
doing in the sun-parched desolation of California's high desert country? "Reinforcing
the foundations that America gave me by helping young men and women make
positive changes in their lives." Meet Cpl.
George A. Berry -- also known as Jorge Alberto Reyes -- army recruiter and
champion of patriotic values. Courteous and
quick-witted, the 22-year-old Berry was born in La Ceiba and raised in
Roatan. He came to the United States with his mother when he was
five. "She
wanted a better life and greater opportunities for me.
We have been blessed with both." A graduate of
Highland High School in Palmdale, a city about 70 miles north of Los
Angeles, Berry joined the U.S. Army and took his basic training at Fort
Jackson, SC, where he specialized in the handling and maintenance of heavy
transport equipment. He was
later stationed at Fort Story in Virginia Beach, VA. In August of
1999, Berry was among 200 soldiers hand picked to take part in an
imaginative U.S. Army program designed to bolster declining enlistment
numbers. He was sent back home to Palmdale to recruit -- an assignment
he tackles with equal doses of energy and conviction. He works six days a week, studies for the sergeant's exam and
finds time to visit schools, shopping malls and parks -- "wherever
young people congregate." Berry, who owns
an apartment and drives a brand new Mustang, is convinced that the Army is
the ideal destination for smart, ambitious and committed young people. "Some of
them have nowhere else to turn to. Bad
press and recent conflicts around the globe have given Army life less than a
spit-and-polish image. My job
-- by my own example -- is to show these youngsters what they can do for
themselves and for their country." Berry is not
sure he will reenlist. "It's
an option, and I will give it serious consideration."
Meanwhile, he plans to go to college to study radio-TV broadcasting. HAZY MEMORIES Cpl. Berry is
not yet a U.S. citizen. He
flips his wallet open and shows me his alien registration card.
"I'm a legal resident but I'm working on my naturalization
‑‑ a formality no doubt, as he considers himself an American. "America
gave me more than I had the right to expect."
But Jorge (he re‑christened himself George when schoolmates
could not pronounce his name) also waxes nostalgic about a country he hardly
knows. The only links to his
original homeland are the hazy memories of a trip taken 11 years ago to
visit his grandparents, the Andersons.
His biological father, Cokey Garcia, lives in Boston.
His brother, Luther Garcia, is a radio announcer in San Pedro Sula.
He hasn't seen either in quite some time. Berry, who,
much to his embarrassment, speaks no Spanish, is planning a trip to Honduras
next year. "I yearn
to know more about my origins, my heritage." "What's
the first thing you'll want to do when you arrive," I ask him. Jorge, smiles
wistfully. I can see stars in
his eyes.
Tonite's
Toast: Here's
to Silencia, if only I had a penny... When we think of getting eaten alive,
most of us associate it with either a tiger, a tiger shark or a memorable
shag; but really -- even for those who have lived through the experience --
rarely do sand flies ever come to
mind. And this is interesting, in and of
itself, because to be attacked by these little fiends is to become a main
course. By the time you spot
that first telltale red spot on your back or neck or your legs, you are
already part of the history books, under the heading, "Entrees."
You still have time to get back in the water -- and that'll stop the
onslaught -- but it's actually too late; and it will tell for days. Skin-so-Soft by Avon is really the
best precaution. I've tried
just about all the other repellents and products that hype their
effectiveness at combating the nefarious nanobeasts.
Trust me, they do not work with Honduran sandflies, no-see-ums
hodientes. These have a
pedigree that goes back to 1868, and before. An endearing account of sandflies in
my country -- the first as far as I am able to surmise -- comes from Charles
Swett, of Warren County, Mississippi, who in that year wrote in his diary:
"January 8th -- ...The wind entirely died away at 8 o'clock this
evening, and before ten changed to the north-west, causing an invasion of
our premises by such a force of sand flies as to render opposition futile, and we were punished to a
degree that it is impossible for us to make known, but will ever be
remembered... "Suffice it to say for the
present day that, they gave no notice of their approach, came in immense
force, and each individual armed with what seemed to us to be a red-hot
needle." The next day, while licking his
wounds, he states: "January 9th -- This morning the wind is blowing
from the opposite direction, sand flies are all gone, and we will endeavor
to forget the miseries of the past night." I think that his report while passing
through these lands -- even if dated -- is accurate and eloquently couched.
Later, in a description of local Reptiles and Insects, he continues: "We did not see, during our stay
in Spanish Honduras, a single snake -- though they are said to be numerous
[particularly in and around the government offices].
There are some bottle-flies, but no so many as in British Honduras
[Belize], and in certain localities sand flies are very numerous and
annoying.
MOST MD'S WAGES NOT EXORBITANT Dear HTW: It is often rare that a doctor of
chiropractic would endorse a doctor of medicine, but I have to take issue
with a recent article on the atrocity alluded to of higher doctors' fees.
I have worked 18 months in Honduras in several doctor's offices
outside the major cities. These
doctors work for as low as Lps. 60 per consulta,
and often accept less as patients can afford.
One fine lady doctor in Olancho area gets Lps. 60 and delivers most
of the babies in that small town. The exorbitant fees mentioned are
certainly for those doctors in the two main centers where they may charge
middle and upper class folk higher than normal fees.
For the work involved, and an average lifestyle, I would say that as
I see it most doctors are indeed struggling, and their recent quest for
higher fees is not out of greed as indicated. I only wish the congressmen might
have some feeling if empathy exists in their souls for a drop in their
wages, and an averaging out of many professionals working very long, hard
hours. Dr. Robert Funk UNBELIEVABLE FIGURES Dear Editor: In the July 15 issue, a sidebar in
the article about violence toward youth mentions that Honduras suffers 45 to
50 violent deaths for every 1,000 people.
If this annual rate is true, between 90 percent and 100 percent of
all residents alive today will be dead from violence within 20 years!
I suppose the good news is that we don't need to worry about our
cholesterol levels anymore! I'll bet the real figure is 45 to 50
per 100,000 people. The July 3 Newsweek mentions that the homicide rate in Rio de
Janeiro is 59 per 100,000; I can't believe we are 100 times more dangerous
than Rio. I wanted to show this article to
people from the U.S., and now I can't!
Please use calculators as well as pens when you write! Eric Timar EDITOR'S NOTE: Whoops... Mr. Timar is
correct. The rate is 45 to 50
violent deaths per 100,000 people, and a country with 10 violent deaths per
100,000 people is categorized as a "dangerous environment" by WHO.
Honduras This Week apologizes for the mistake. RELIGIOUS HEGEMONY Dear HTW: The other day I had the opportunity
to take home two young ladies, who work for our family company in San Pedro
Sula. These women hold
unskilled positions as cleaning workers for office buildings and,
consequently, get paid very low wages.
Approximately US$ 100 to $ 150 per month, depending on how much
overtime they put in. Both these ladies are literate,
having only finished elementary school.
Both speak clearly and present their thoughts rather well, although
with a vernacular not as florid as one may find in other strata of society. Conversing with them about mundane
concerns, the younger woman told me that she was sad because she had not
gotten the job she had hoped for; she is about two months pregnant and this
type of work is too physically demanding for a woman in her condition.
She went ahead and mentioned how desperately she needed to work to
support her two young children. She
did not make any allusion, nor did I ask, of having a husband, who can help
her raise these children in a fairly healthy environment.
I suppose she does have a husband, and I say this from mere
speculation and observation of her demeanor; a fervent and obedient
religious person to whom religious rules are to be followed without asking
nary a question. The congregation she attends, a
Protestant branch of the Judeo-Christian Faith, precludes her, though
indirectly, from accepting a job that requires night work.
She must attend church every evening and on Sunday too.
There has to be some type of arrangement to accommodate these
situations. If worshippers are
not able to meet their needs in the material or secular world, how can they
begin to be fulfilled spiritually? Do
the clergy really know how precarious their lives are financially and how
badly some of them need to work? Worse
yet, do they really care? I
strongly disagree with their leaders and their decision to allow this to
continue. As I mentioned before, the young lady
is pregnant with her third child. Not
knowing her reaction, I asked her why she continues to have more children
when just having two presents a huge burden for her.
That these children deserved the best environment that she and her
mate can provide for them, for when children have love, shelter and
education, among other things, they grow up stronger physically and
mentally. They have a better
chance succeeding in life. But most appalling to me was her
answer! Her religious beliefs
taught her to have as many offspring as God shall send.
I know that she knows that having too many children is a burden for
her and that the opposite would undoubtedly result in a better quality of
life for all of her family. But
she insists in following her beliefs. If
she is such a good follower, perhaps she must be instilled with the
"right choice." Some how we must persuade those
religions that advocate this practice to change, to evolve.
Nature has taught us that those species unable to change perish.
And that is exactly the role of sex and reproduction: to have
offspring better fit to perpetuate the species through evolved individuals
who will carry those "good" traits to the next generation. Nature has her own way to maintain the correct balance, She
knows that an increase in numbers of any given species shall bring their own
demise, and eventually that of others.
It behooves us as a species to follow nature's law. God is Nature, and therefore, Nature is God. Let us all be under Her hegemony. Alan Funes-Díaz CHEERS TO HONDUTEL'S SALE Dear HTW: The editorial "Modernize!"
in the July 8 edition threw an unexpected and in my view undeserved bucket
of cold water on the upcoming privatization of Hondutel.
The editorial brings up a number of criticisms:
That the process has been very slow, that the issue has not been
discussed sufficiently in the media, that the deal is somehow being forced
on Honduras against our best national interests by the World Bank and the
International Monetary Fund, that somehow the privatization will benefit
some political and economic elites in Honduras and that the bidding process
has been purposely kept out of the public eye. In addition, the editorial states
that "there are few buyers for Hondutel," deducing from this that
HTW believes "we should seek more time to study the sale and concession
of the company." The
editorial closes by insinuating that the privatization may make a few people
in Honduras richer and happier but may not serve the nation's best
interests. To the above I would point out the
following: There are currently
three major international heavy hitter telecoms' vying in
the final bidding process: Telefónica de España, France Telecom and
the Mexican Telmex. All three
are major international players with the proven financial capabilities to
undertake the restructuring of Hondutel. Has the process been slow?
Of course, after all this is Honduras and a privatization of this
magnitude for a nation like Honduras is a tremendous undertaking.
Has the issue of privatization been fully hashed out in the media?
I would venture to say yes, there has been quite a bit of coverage
actually, more than enough for lay people such as myself to arrive at an
informed opinion one way or another. Has
the deal been forced on Honduras by international banks?
That I cannot intelligently comment on, but suffice it to say that
the trend toward privatization is a global phenomenon; phone companies,
water companies, airports, port facilities are been privatized left and
right with pressure from international banking institutions having nothing
to do with this global trend. Will
privatization benefit a few political and economic elites as the editorial
states? First off, all these
years Hondutel has been managed (and very poorly at that) by a small group
of Honduran elites, the fact that Hondutel will now have a majority share
holder who also just happens to be a major international telecom company
seems to bode well for the eventual improvement of Hondutel.
In my view, things at Hondutel cannot get any worse, they can only
improve. Should we be seeking to stall the
sale and give all sides more time? I
really don't see the rationale why this could even be considered.
All systems are go at this time and the winning telecom is set to be
announced on July 31. Will the
privatization (or capitalization as the press here like to call it) benefit
a small elite or will it serve the nations best interest?
To me this is a non-issue. Today,
Honduras boasts one of the most inefficient, antiquated, insufficient
telephone systems in Latin America (there are only some 200,000 fixed lines
serving a population of 6 million). Moreover, there are only 90,000 cell
phone subscribers, according to Celtel, the privately held cell phone
operator, which for the time being has a monopoly on the cellular market.
And let's not even mention how expensive telephone service is. Ever made a call to the U.S. lately? My monthly phone, fax and Internet bill combined often looks
like the salary check of a typical middle-class worker! Will the sale of Hondutel serve the interests of Honduras?
Of course it will. Has Hondutel served Honduras well up to now? Hardly. There is only one way to go from here
and that is up. On the evening of July 31, I will lift my cold Port Royal
beer at Tunkul, our local watering hole here in Copán Ruinas, and toast the
sale of Hondutel. Cheers! Howard Rosenzweig
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Negative
effects of privatization Unless appropriate actions are taken,
privatization and globalization could negatively affect Honduras in the
agricultural industry and the national production of goods, among other
things. Massive international policies
control the impoverished Third World governments.
By giving up control of state-run industries, control over the
economic policies of the country is also lost.
If a country looses control over economic policies, it will not be
able to maintain its domestic production at an optimal level nor create
gains by exporting goods. Privatization will not allow the
government to enter the internal policies of the decentralized companies,
causing the loss of political power.
But what makes privatization so attractive are the taxes that must
be paid to the government by these companies for the expansion of other
programs. Honduras is obviously a country
without control. When a
simple question is asked, such as "How many people died during
Hurricane Mitch?", this Editor could only respond, "We don't
know, we have no statistics on this or other subjects." Is it therefore logical for Honduras
to follow the measures imposed by industrialized nations?
The answer is best given in a Honduran proverb, "Whoever pays
for the music gets to choose the tunes."
This is perfectly acceptable if those who impose the measures
understand the circumstances in which we live, but an international
concept is extremely difficult to apply in Honduras. Privatization and globalization
benefits the economies of rich countries but weakens those of the poor.
Yet this statement is not completely true because in rich countries
95 percent of their habitants live modestly, having to work two jobs to
maintain their standard of living. Their
air-conditioned and carpeted houses are a gold cage that cannot even be
enjoyed. Socialization is not a valid answer, and is one of the most criticized methods of an economy. There must be a global economic atmosphere, and it is necessary for our own peace of mind that our neighbors have food and shelter. Another economic outburst like the one that currently exists may end various initiatives, shattering the fragile peace that we have today. Peace does not only mean the absence of war, but also the absence of suffering.
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Monday, July 24, 2000 Online Edition 30 |
Misunderstanding Foreign
Minister Roberto Flores Bermudez this week expressed that Honduras is
unequivocally against the use of force for resolving conflicts in Central
America. He assured that
Honduras has peaceful intentions, hereby expressing the thoughts and
feelings of every Honduran. He
rejected statements of the Salvadoran press that Honduras was on the brink
of war with El Salvador. Meanwhile,
the Foreign Minister of El Salvador replied that his country had never
considered Honduras to be at the point of war and it had been a
misunderstanding of the press. The borders of
Central America have never been clear cut and have been the cause for heated
diplomatic relations among the countries.
The outlet for venting these problems is the public domain, and the
media has been the intermediary for getting messages across from one side to
the other. We have always
thought that the Central American Parliament or PARLACEN should have a
special court to deal with these kinds of problems.
Border controversies should be handled with objectiveness to appease
both sides without any obstacles or feelings of resentment. This would be less costly and time consuming than taking them
to international tribunals. The fly in the
ointment here is the intense campaign that the President of Guatemala has
mounted to eliminate PARLACEN by declaring it incompetent.
He wishes to substitute it by creating a parallel organization with
more authority. What is lacking
is an increased presence of the all Central American governments and the
incorporation of Costa Rica into PARLACEN. Central America
is not complex, but various interests have us fooling around.
The most important goal is to maintain peace, but one must take
drastic decisions in order to achieve the goal of one army, a national
parliament that convenes with a larger Central American parliament,
increased justice and less nationalism.
Then we will move onward. Returning to
the words of Bermudez, we believe that he should never have replied to the
alleged statements, or his words should have been "we will not lend
ourselves to another battle with our brothers" or "we will never
bloody the homeland of Morazan" -- Francisco Moraran was the president
of the United Provinces of Central America from 1830-1838. For all social
sectors of these Third World countries, it is to our benefit to speak of
working together in the hope for a better future. Today more than
ever, we feel love for our neighbors in all sectors as we are all part of
the same family. We are willing
to work together and accept that we need each other, despite the arrogance,
antipathy, and dislike that a couple of our public officials may cause. The
climate theory of expatriate relocations By MELANIE WETZEL There are 20
questions that I don't like to be asked, particularly by strangers or taxi
drivers. Probably the one that
takes the cake, though, is "Why do you live in Honduras?" That's because it is often asked in the same tone of voice
as, "Are you wearing those shoes with that skirt?"
It's a rhetorical question, isn't it? Then if the
asker seems to be a decent person and sincerely looking for an answer, I
have to give a good reason. I
usually have to stop and think, which might give the impression that I have
to come up with a lie. It's
just that I can't say the first thing that pops into my head, because I have
to seem deep and interesting in a culturally elite, expat way. In the spirit of
disclosure, I'm going to admit it now -- the first thing that always pops
into my head at that question is "The weather." I walk out my
door in Tegucigalpa and think, "Wow, what a nice day," almost
every day. All those critics of
my fair city can look at the data and weep.
It's always 85 in Tegucigalpa. Sometimes
it might get rainy. Some days
may be a little hotter. Capitalinos know
when the temperature rises or falls. That
happens to be one of my top 20 favorite questions from taxi drivers:
"Hot today, isn't it?"
Then we can talk about the weather, which will no doubt be
miraculously mild, and pretend to be under the most pressing physical
hardship today. "It's so
hot you just want to go home and take a nap," is often muttered by 10
or 12 people on a sweltering 90 degree day. Then if it the
temperature drops (to 75 degrees) and a little rain starts falling, we all
promptly get sick and blame it on the weather. Now, I play
along in this little drama because I like to talk about the weather.
Plus these little weather changes only come along about twice a year.
Really, though, I know what severe weather is, and does not include
anything in the 50-90 degree range. The entire country of Honduras can offer some slight temperature
variations. It gets pretty hot
in Choluteca. Way up in Valle
de Angeles and El Hatillo it can get quite brisk, sometimes (55 degrees!
Bring a sweater.). It
just won't ever snow, though. Of course I know what severe weather is, I'm from the United States.
There is so much foul weather in the United States that it makes me
shudder just thinking about it. So
that brings us back to a new version of the original question:
"Why would you live in Chicago, Kansas City, Detroit, New York
or any of those cities where the weather actually tries to kill you at least
20 times a year?" I always find it curious that Tegucigalpa, the capital of a small
country, lucked into this great weather and many great cities bake in
sweltering heat or maintain giant fleets of machinery to clear blizzards off
the streets. Here, we just yawn
and stretch. I wonder if the
residents of Michigan would ever consider invading Honduras in a desperate
attempt to not have to pour boiling water over the car door locks 100
mornings a year. If they came with their snow plows, I'm afraid they could rout us.
Tonite's Toast: Here's to Julio Galindo,
and his vision, may he have the patience to see it through. I've
been mulling over some of the recent difficulties encountered by hotels and
visitors in Roatan, in view of the government's latest "amazing
disgrace." I guess this means I now form part of that select cadre of
Hondurans that Erling Duus calls "world class deplorers." But,
all pining asides, let's consider this for a minute.
Costa Rica -- next door -- receives a million plus visitors a year,
and yet they have just about the worst highways in Central America.
Still, they overcome this limitation with excellent airport services
and creative marketing schemes that highlight the achievements of a
well-developed tourism cluster geared toward eco-travel. Unlike
us, they have sat down to plan things together.
Their private sector meets constantly with public representatives
from all branches concerned (and the key word here is
"concerned"). Together they identify those key factors necessary for things
to work without delays. The
Costa Rican government knows its clientele, both inside and outside the
country. Along with the players in the private sector, it has
decided that less-than-optimum highways are a nuisance, but can be marketed
as "quaint and adventuresome," whereas no airport is just no good
for business, anyway you cut it. They
are not folly perfectionists and are far from being prey to any romantic
traps. Having drawn their
conclusions, they waste no time in getting to work -- 24 hours a day for
those tasks that just won't wait -- and people keep on coming back or
telling their friends about it. Despite
their volubility, I tend to think that the ticos
are an admirable people and ought to serve as an example for the rest of us.
They boast the oldest democracy in Central America.
Well, I'm convinced that we catrachos
are equally admirable and even more resilient.
Perhaps we could come to terms with being the "second oldest
democracy" and make that our point of departure.
I'll bet we could sort it out, since nothing prevents us from
exercising an austere and sober judgement when the situation calls for
choosing representatives, now and in the future. In
all fairness, one has got to hand it to the government folks in charge of
tourism in Honduras: they are doing their job well.
I'm not so sure about those self-promoting bureaucrats at
Soptravi, though. I mean, collapsing baileys and closed airports aren't exactly
the kind of stuff we want visitors to write home about. It
is perhaps only a matter of peripheral importance that apparently not much
has changed in this lee shore of ours since -- in an entry to his 1868
travel log of Honduras -- Charles Swett of Mississippi spoke of a very
important virtue necessary for survival hereabouts: "...
being pleasantly located, and a delightful breeze blowing from the
north-west, must exercise patience, our stock of which we did not find
excessive, as requisition has to be made in that direction very frequently,
for very large quantities, to be delivered in the very best order, and
immediately." Well
how about that! Trouble is,
patience is an over-rated virtue, whereas love means never having to say
you're sorry.
SORRY TO SEE DUUS GO Dear
HTW: I
am sorry to hear that Earning Duus Christensen, The Prairie Populist, has
left, especially since he finally wrote something that I agree with (the
stuff about the damage that the Reagan Administration did to Central
America). Although
I rarely agreed with him, I enjoyed reading his articles.
He is good at expressing his opinion, he gets right to the point (he
doesn't go on and on ad nauseam like some other writers), and he has a lot
of guts to express opinions that are likely to bring criticism. I
won't, however, miss the descriptions of his strolls around Tegucigalpa: a
young girl relieving herself in public, several articles about people
spitting, his complaining about vendors who are just trying to make a
living, his meeting a pretty young girl/god incarnate. Erling
Duus Christensen was a mystery man. I
always enjoyed trying to figure him out.
Why did he write what he did? What
was his motivation? What makes
him tick? But after he referred
to Ronald Reagan as a fascist, after saying that he might vote for Pat
Buchanan, I got a headache and decided to give up trying to figure him out.
That's too much of an enigma for me to contemplate. So
to Erling Duus Christensen, The Prairie Populist, whoever you are, I'll miss
reading your articles. I'm sure
a lot of other people will miss you too. Ralph Nelson JUDICIAL REFORMS HEARTENING Dear
HTW: While
it may be too early for those of us who watch the political side of Honduras
to take heart, the still slim possibility that a clean breeze may sweep
through the Supreme Court and, hopefully, the entire judicial system, is
most welcome. A country cannot
purport to be a democracy unless the electorate can truly "throw the
rascals out." Politically
appointed judges are not, nor will they ever be, beholden to the people, but
to their patron. There is too
little incentive to dispense true justice and too much temptation to line
one's own robes while the opportunity lasts.
There may well be judges here and there who manage to rise above the
corrupt norm, but their numbers can only be few and the very structure and
history of the institution itself makes them suspect and guilty by
association. May
the winds of change intensify and the power structure of Honduras find it
within themselves to move the country toward the democracy it pretends to
be. Don Rocks Erling Duus EDITOR'S NOTE: Before leaving Honduras, Erling Duus -- The Prairie Populist --
responded to three letters published in the July 8 and 15 editions of
Honduras This Week: Thanks
to Groothousen, Wilson, and Barry for their commentaries.
I will respond briefly to each. Mr.
Groothousen is very much mistaken if he supposes that it is ever my purpose
to convert readers to Christianity, or anything else, except to more
rational and humane opinions, and more critical thinking.
There is no question that Ronald Reagan has a place in history. The question is, what place?
Whether or not it is a place of great esteem will be determined by
historical judgements, long after the phenomenon that dominated his era are
over and rational judgement replaces emotionalism and vested interest.
Personally, I think that his presidency will, in the long view, be
adjudged a disaster. He was the subject of a naive and shallow ideology that he
pursued with total blindness to facts and without consideration for the
results. Read David Stockman's
"The Triumph of Politics." Mr.
Wilson, I owe nobody an apology. There
is nothing racist about mentioning that Mr. Rosenthal is a Jewish politician
in an overwhelmingly Catholic country, especially if that fact might explain
dissent from a majority opinion. Mr.
Wilson is "personally" insulted when someone writes an opinion
contrary to his persuasion. That
is his privilege of course; people have a right to be insulted whenever they
like. I will not debate with
Mr. Wilson whether Texas or Saudi Arabia are the more barbaric.
It is bad enough to have to mention Texas in the same breath with
Saudi Arabia. I used to live in
Texas, and happen to love that state. I
figure that gives me a particular right to my opinion, though I do not
really need to justify it to Mr. Wilson. In
your understandable rage and grief over the murder of your brother, Mr.
Wilson, it has come to seem to you that you qualify to play God.
This is an illusion, and a dangerous one.
The penalty I would prescribe for cold-blooded killers is life
imprisonment. I would say that
it was a great loss that Adolf Hitler did not get to sit around in a cell
for the rest of his life contemplating his crimes.
The same for the thugs who murdered your brothers.
I would agree with you that it is an outrage that they and lots of
other murderers roam free in Honduras.
Unfortunately, there is little else in your letter with which I can
agree. I
am so glad that Ms. Barry is still on the watch.
I was afraid that she might miss my further thoughts on spitting.
I am so glad that she agrees with me about the deplorable nature of
spitting. Our major difference
appears to be that despite her stated dislike for the practice, she does not
really think it is very important. I
do. I note that public health
is not rated on her list of national problems.
Does she know that tuberculosis is on the rise again in Honduras and
all over the world? Does she
know how it is spread? Also, I
walk the streets of Tegucigalpa every day.
Ms. Barry, I take it, does not, and I guess that she never has. As
to whether or not Ms. Barry's response is characteristically Honduran, I
will repeat my belief that it is. I
have formed my opinions in part from numerous discussions with Hondurans.
Ms. Barry says that I should not suppose myself capable of
understanding the Honduran mentality. But
she is in no position to evaluate my experience of Honduras, or the kinds of
insights I have gained from talking with thoughtful Hondurans. Therefore, she simply resorts to taking a rhetorical and
moralistic cheap shot, as if that were a sure way to clinch an argument.
I think that she is kind of a poster child for the mentality I decry,
a walking audition for the part. Of
course, she is more skilled than most in deflecting criticism. It
is a fact that nearly all Hondurans think their country has great problems,
but very few believe that anything can be done about them, and all too few
of them are involved in doing anything to solve them.
And what is also a fact is that any time there is an attempt by
private organizations or government to modify how things are done, there is
enormous resistance. Honduras
is choking to death on its bad habits and traditions.
People who do try to bring change are quickly castigated with the
kinds of adjectives employed by Ms. Barry, or worse. I
do not pretend, Ms. Barry, that by writing an article or two I will be able
to change anything, but nevertheless, by mentioning the unmentionable I do
at least make it an issue. People
who do have the capacity to create some change may sometimes read HTW.
Instead of your tiresome and petty whining about how I choose to make
my point, maybe you should invest your indignation and offended
righteousness in communications with the Ministry of Health.
Why don't you try to do some good?
Further, you are obviously an intelligent and articulate person.
So why don't you favor HTW with an article or two offering your
insights? Then we could all
learn from your own indubitably superior understandings. Erling Duus Christensen NO APOLOGY OWED Dear
HTW: There
is definitely no apology necessary because Mr. Wilson unwillingly proved Mr.
Duus' article right. The
loss of Mr. Wilson's brother is a tragedy, but this should not lead to such
hair-raising statements as, "Yes, there have been innocent people
executed, but the 'majority' deserved their fate!" Mr.
Wilson deserves Gov. Bush as president. What
would he say if his brother had not been gunned down in Olancho by a hit man
but instead legally murdered in his so free country, by the state of Texas,
and had been part of the minority, the innocent grilled ones? I
believe that nothing could be worse to a human being than to be innocent,
years on death row and finally murdered by his government.
I would rather prefer the hit man. Also,
I believe that it is better to let 100 guilty people free than to kill one
innocent person. Thank
you, Mr. Duus and please continue. We
all see, from Mr. Wilson's letter, how important your articles are. Gottfried von Bree ROTTEN PHONE SERVICE Dear
HTW: There
has been a lot of talk lately about the possible sale of Hondutel.
I say get on with it, do us all a favor and move us into the 21st
century. Lord knows one has a
better chance of getting struck by lightning than of getting through to
one's dear mother in La Esperanza. The
other day I was unable to reach her after speed dialing for 45 minutes due
to the dreaded "lineas cruzadas."
In other words, I got through to Choluteca, El Paraiso and La Ceiba,
even though I was dialing La Esperanza. This
is by no means an isolated case. My
sisters and I have just about given up calling as we get through only about
one percent of the time. This
is unacceptable by anyone's measure. Are
we not cut from the same cloth as the Guatemalans, Salvadorans and Costa
Ricans? What is it that makes
our governments incapable of handling the basic elements of our
infrastructure while other Central
American countries do so successfully?
Who knows. That's the
$64,000 question. It
is truly depressing to see decade after decade pass without us making any
progress while the rest of Central America moves forward.
Even when we complete grandiose projects such as the "El
Cajon" dam, which was supposed to generate so much electricity that the
surplus would be sold to other countries, we find ourselves with constant
shortages. It
is common knowledge that Honduras is one of the poorest, most underdeveloped
countries in the world. Mitch
made things worse by putting us back another 10 years or so.
However, It is also common knowledge that good communications are
essential to the development of any nation, especially now that we live in
the information age. Having
access to the Web allows us to access the world no matter how remote an area
we may be in. Let's
pray the people in charge make the right decisions which will benefit the
country and stop with this silly nationalism which has gotten us nowhere.
If Hondurans are incapable of providing us with basic telephone
service, than I say let someone else try.
What have we got to lose? Carlos Rosa Mejia |
Reality
TV Honduran style Notes
from the not-ready-for-prime-time storybook Television is the undisputed opiate of the masses.
Morbid curiosity, a weakness for melodrama, a craving for heady
rushes of adrenaline as cars fly off bridges and explode in mid-air,
a lust for smut -- all can be appeased with a few deep tokes
of matinee and prime-time programming. Predictably, the "high" is short‑lived.
To prevent mercurial viewers, most of whom have the intellect of
shoe leather and the attention span of a gnat, from lapsing into
cataleptic states, networks regularly come up with new formulas.
The latest trend is to serve a heaping spoonful of vicarious
"reality" and turn audiences into salivating voyeurs. With "Survivor," tube boobs were treated to the antics of 16
volunteers stranded on a snake-infested, rat-hopping island
off the coast of Borneo. The
reward for enduring torrential rains, mosquitoes, spiders, poisonous
serpents, bats, an unspeakable diet of giant grubs and rodents, and for
tolerating each other's bulimic egos and eccentricities: One cool million
dollars for the lone survivor who doesn't flee in horror or isn't paddled
off the fetid sandbar. Then came the British version of reality TV with "The 1900s
House," in which a "veddy propah" London family
demonstrates that the obligatory five-o'clock-tea ritual,
closed-mouthed kissing and the missionary position are in no way
compromised by the absence of electricity, television, microwave ovens,
pop-up toasters or Lady Thatcher. Then, after weeks of relentless promotion, another unveiling: "Big
Brother." For the next
three months, five nights a week, 10 masochistic exhibitionist horny
idiots share a small two-bedroom apartment built on a studio lot and
rigged with 28 cameras and 60 microphones, all for the privilege of
arousing the erotomania of a growing horde of peeping-toms and other
deviants. Which got me thinking: Honduras could be the perfect test-bed for a
new series of reality-based programming.
After all, many people already live 10 to a room without plumbing
or running water (but with the mandatory television set wired to purloin
electric current from overhead power lines).
Many others inhabit snake‑infested, rat-hopping regions
teeming with mosquitoes, flies and giant spiders. It also dawned on me that Big Brother has found a way to stupefy and
benumb Hondurans by subjecting them to daily doses of sappy novellas, reruns of vapid American serials, culturally
irrelevant cartoons, sanitized newscasts and a barrage of soporific
government newspeak. I contacted a friend, a noted Honduran TV producer, and told him I had
come up with new programming ideas. He
asked me to jot them down. I
visited with him at his office the next day.
These are the themes I proposed: "Government
Office." Cameras sweep the halls,
offices and anterooms of the National Congress so that the "queridos
conciudadanos" can watch their public servants at work.
Viewers observe an elite utterly disconnected from the people they
rule and exploit as they bicker and backbite while jockeying for positions
of higher authority and power. They
witness the passage of secret legislation designed to further empower the
plutocrats while homeless children perish at the hands of state agents.
They marvel at the magic of foreign relations as deals are made to
parcel off the nation's timberland to Japanese lumber interests and sell
tracts of coastline real estate to foreign speculators. Cameras follow legislators as they prepare for junkets to Switzerland and
the Cayman Islands with diplomatic pouches filled with payola money. The final episode celebrates the sudden insight that no one
is really governing Honduras -- only profiting from it -- thus forever dashing popular hopes of emancipation and social
justice. "Radio Station Studio
Survivor Test." One hundred indigenous and black tribal chieftains are locked up in an
anechoic chamber and forced to listen to the complete repertoire of sham
promises by successive generations of Honduran presidents to improve the
lot and restore the dignity of Honduras' minorities. Ear-plugs are not allowed.
Anyone caught snickering, yawning or napping is forced to return
the next day for more of the same. "Septimo
Comando." Dozens of somnolent
Neanderthal-like creatures wearing police uniforms are observed
loitering (and taking a swig of guaro),
picking their noses (and taking a swig of guaro),
sharpening pencils (and taking a swig of guaro),
playing with rubber bands, tampering with forensic evidence, beating up
and molesting street children, falsifying arrest records (and taking a
swig of guaro). "Newsroom."
Videocams sweep the editorial offices of the nation's leading
newspapers as reporters are either threatened not to file stories
implicating the high and mighty - or paid under the table to
soft-pedal the truth. Publications
that fill their pages with news of consistent dullness, conciliatory
editorials and politically correct (but deceitful) tourism promotional
pieces are eligible for the prestigious Inter-American Press
Association award. "The Drug
Busters." Cameramen bombed out of
their heads on Jamaican Gold follow drug enforcement operatives through
Ocotepeque and Copan on a bribe‑money recovery sortie.
Satisfied with the results of the mission, the lead agent issues an
official statement (promptly reprised by the U.S. Justice Department)
assuring the world that the "War on Drugs" is being won while
tons of cocaine flood the ghettoes of America.
In on the deal, high‑ranking municipal employees and several
respectable Copan and Ocotepeque families split $10 million in unmarked
bills and are given carte My friend the producer peruses the list with a mixture of amazement and
horror, and exclaims: "Gutman, you're crazy. Do
you want to get us both killed? Besides,
who needs reality? We've got
more than we can use. What we
need are fairy tales, morality plays.
Something simple, issues that common folk can relate to." "I've got just the thing you want," I said, thumbing through my
notes. "How about, "'Who Wants to Kidnap a Millionaire'?" "Nah." "'A Day in the Life of a Maquilladora'?" "Forget it." "'Waiting on Line to Cash a Check'?" "NO!" "'Garbage: the Untapped Resource'?" "You must be joking." "'Potholes Past and Present'?" "Stop it!" "What about 'A Very Brief Tour of Honduras' Model Prison
System'?" Ramon taps his forehead, suggesting that I must have lost my marbles. Maybe. But, ah, what tantalizing truths does folly hold.
|
Monday, July 17, 2000 Online Edition 29 |
Bad
attitude The nation's unions have made all kinds of threats if the private sector
and the government do not comply with their demands for higher wages. The government has agreed to dialogue, at the same time trying to force
the private sector to cave in to the workers' demands.
But the 300,000 entrepreneurs making up the private sector have not
accepted the union's requests to avoid further devaluation of the lempira
and because the country's economy is in a precarious situation due to its
external debt, the aftermath of Hurricane Mitch and globalization. On July 6, the president of the Honduran Council for Private Enterprise (COHEP),
Dr. Julieth Handal, said the business sector cannot give an across-the-board
raise in wages because recent studies have demonstrated that production
costs have risen by 20 percent. She
also pointed out that sales have dropped 40 percent. Meanwhile, the unions have given a one week deadline for compliance to
their demands. This is the
atmosphere in the nation where a collapse in production is expected,
accompanied by road blocks and other violent methods that the workers are
always willing to use. Honduran labor laws favor, in good measure, the worker.
The lawsuits that businesses have won at the Labor Ministry have been
few. Violence only creates more violence and this is the goal set by the
nation's workers, who have become estranged from the national and
international economy and obey only their own interests. There are many businesses that are on the brink of closing due to this
chaotic climate. Also, many
were cheated by a couple of banks and "financieras" or financial
institutions, which has affected thousands of Hondurans who rely on high
interest rates to generate living income. The attitude of the working sector is not up to standard with the
country. In other countries,
when a worker cannot get by on his or her salary, he or she works double
shifts or makes efforts in other directions, like going to school or
starting a business. Here, everyone wants to work less and get enough money to be on holiday
permanently.
Tonite's
toast:
Here's
to Kerouac, and to Leo; both on the road now. I think it was Janis Joplin who once used the lyrics "Freedom's just
another word for 'got nothing left to lose.'"
Well, if you ask me, freedom's chartering a sailboat at an exotic
island, and taking her out for some serious cove hunting. There are literally hundreds of charter companies scattered about the
many popular sailing destinations in the world.
Some folks actually start their own charter company with a flotilla
consisting exclusively of one old sloop, right after they see the first
maintenance bill for their boat. But
seriously, based on what I've read and seen, I'd have to say that there are
at least 10 serious outfits covering the preferential spots -- like the
Caribbean and the Mediterranean -- out of which two English companies stand
out as the largest in the business. Mostly, these companies have buy/lease agreements with boat-owners.
The boats are kept and maintained by the charter company, at any
given company base, and in an arrangement similar to a time-share, the boats
are rented out to customers by the week for revenues. These revenues allow the boat-owner to defray some of the
purchasing cost of one of these expensive babies, as well as all the
maintenance fees for a set period of time.
In the meantime, the boat-owner has access to a week-per-year's
sailing at any of the company's bases throughout the world. After the pre-set period, the boat-owner may take his boat
with him or enter into a new deal with the company.
Arrangements vary, but generally that's how it works.
The rentals can include a skipper and cook, a stocked galley or just
the boat itself, in which case it is called a "bare-boat" charter. My only experience at bare-boating took place in the British Virgin
Islands back in 1996. Together
with three other couples, we took out a beautiful Beneteau Oceanis 440 and
sailed it around BVI for an unforgettable week. The company that served us was so good that they made us all promise to
bring the boat back in one piece. After
the initial chart briefing and boat checkout, we set our main and headed out
of the harbor, close-hauled into the wind.
Our destination would have been Norman Island, about eight nautical
miles to the east of our starting point, had we not received news of a
hurricane in the vicinity, which was moving in our direction.
Instead, as the barometer took a dive, we headed back into a cove in
Tortola, and brought our boat alongside others in expectancy of the storm. Gulliver in Lilliput didn't have as many lines tying him down
as did our vessel that evening. Fortunately for us the storm veered away, and the next day blue skies and
fine sailing weather greeted us. We
immediately picked up where we had left off and began visiting the different
isles in the archipelago. By
the way, you can buy vacation insurance in case you get tied down all week
on account of weather. I'd have to say that the limestone formations at The Baths vied with
Foxy's Bar for number one highlight of that trip.
The former is a beach on Virgin Gorda, known as "nature's
Stonehenge by the sea." It
is truly amazing in beauty and I won't ruin it with an attempt at
description. The latter is a restaurant on Jost Van Dyke, the northernmost island of
the group. It is well known in
alternative circles for serving up anything "on the menu."
Our sedate bunch ordered lobster, though, and it was very good
indeed. That evening, had
Ti Jean actually been there in the flesh -- for he was certainly
there in spirit, I am certain that some of us would have found ourselves
counting the stars while floating on our backs out in the water, all night
long, muttering something about long strange trips. Iguanas
I have known By
DON PEARLY Have you ever looked directly into an iguanas eyes?
Chances are you have not, but take it from me you are missing
something wonderful. When they
are being sort of held against their will, they act differently than when
they feel free to go. I guess
we all do, don't we. Willie, one of our Managers at Bayman Bay Club, is another animal lover. Hardly a day goes by you don't see him moving around with a
different iguana clinging to his T-shirt or with a boa on its way back to
the wilder part of the resort. He
has built an entire city for temporarily orphaned sea turtles and now and
again you will see him with a beat up bird in his hands.
He is my kind of guy in this department, and although he loves
different creatures than I do, I respect his choices.
I am the furry or feathered kind of guy and he favors more slippery
things. One time an employee came to me to report an iguana in trouble.
He showed me one high in a mango tree and when I finally saw where he
was pointing, I asked how he knew it was in trouble. He said the staff had watched it in the same position for two
weeks now and that was not normal. We happened to have a professional tree surgeon aboard and he rigged up a
Bosons chair and pulled himself up to the spot.
Sure enough, there was a young male iguana literally tied to a branch
with monofilament fishing line. Apparently
it had blown into the tree during Mitch and somehow this creature had
managed to get so entangled that it was unable to move. Our tree climber, Ollie looked the situation over and decided all he
could do would be to cut certain strings and try to catch the iguana before
it jumped. We all knew he did not really want to catch it, being as how
he was dangling some 50 feet above the ground and did not know what kind of
mood the little guy would be in. To be sure, we covered all the bases.
Willie led the ground rescue team and stood at the foot of the tree.
A snip snip here and a snip snip there and off he took right through
the leaves into space. For some
unknown reason, iguanas think they can puff up their stomachs and throats
and fly. It is not at all true
but I guess the bloating acts as an air-bag when reality hits them and they
bounce off the ground. Willie
was there to catch it after the very first bounce and brought him up to the
30 some guests watching the rescue efforts. The iguana had deep lacerations, some of which were bleeding from the
recent movement. Several of the
observers were medical people and jumped right in with "people"
type remedies. Sterile water
was used to flush the wounds. Hydrogen
peroxide, alcohol and mercurochrome were applied and one of the nurses took
over and held the little guy on her lap for about two hours. Efforts were made to feed and water it, but the iguana was just happy to
be held and made no moves for the goodies.
They gave it some water via a syringe into his mouth and it had no
choice but to swallow the water, but the iguana was not too comfy with this
method. This was when I first
looked into an Iguana's eyes. Very
deep and very intelligent and somehow all-knowing. After a couple of hours, the lady put it down in the moss beneath our
grand mango tree in the plaza courtyard and we all backed off.
Nothing happened for a long time and people wondered off one at a
time to do other things. After
another hour or so, he moved a bit and when that worked, the iguana started
up the tree. A successful
rescue in the jungle that you may someday see on Cops or Wild Kingdom. There is one day of the year that the strangest ritual occurs:
The day of the swimming iguanas.
Fortunately, I was on the main pier when it happened or I might well
have missed it completely. No
fanfare, no warning whistles just a herd of Iguanas slipping into the ocean
for a swim. They stayed sort of
together yet apart, meaning it was not a mating thing, and they all headed
back about the same time. The
entire process must have lasted for five minutes or so and then it was over
as quickly as it began. One little guy got disoriented, so guess who fished him out of the deep
end and brought him to shore? Yep,
"Wild-Willie." This
ritual might happen more times than we know, but no one seems to catch them
more than once a year. Don Pearly is the General Manager of the Bayman Bay Club on the island of Guanaja. His e-mail is <bayman@caribe.hn>.
|
KUDOS
FOR DUUS Dear
HTW: We have always enjoyed HTW during the six months we are in Honduras.
The articles of your "Prairie Populist" Erling Duus are
very much to our liking. But the one about state-sponsored murder is simply great!
Why do such a minority of U.S. citizens know what's going on,
having CNN and knowing little about the reality? Reminds me about Russian citizens during the Cold War.
The description of Gov. Bush is perfect. The article should be published in the Washington Post. Congratulations to this writer/journalist. Gottfried
von Bree APOLOGY
OWED Dear
HTW: What does Mr. Erling Duus C. propose as punishment for the multiple
murderers and thugs who infest the department of Olancho?
My brother, George Wilson, a brilliant geologist and mining
engineer, was ambushed and brutally murdered by a hired hit man, a sicario,
who after firing two rounds from his AK‑47 and wounding my brother
who fell, stood on my brother's chest and fired a round through his left
eye killing him instantly. This
killer has over a dozen murders for hire to his "credit."
Does this unspeakable b***** deserve to live?
Not by a long shot. The only cure for this thug and his kind is death by whatever means the
state uses and that death would be too merciful and quick. Why does Mr. Duus bring a racist theme into this question by calling Mr.
Rosenthal the "Jewish Rosenthal?"
He must have forgotten the Spanish Inquisition, a Catholic
"thing" that drove hundreds of Jews to exile. And furthermore, what does he know about capital punishment in the USA? Yes, there have been innocent people executed but the
majority deserved their fate. Who
gave him the right to call Texas a barbaric state?
Does he forget the beheading of 60 people so far in Saudi Arabia?
Is that form of capital punishment more humane than electrocution
or lethal injection? As for
that "innocent" Gary Graham, Mr. Duus never read his "rap
sheet." He had killed
before and got away with it and was a professional criminal.
You, sir, seem to favor the criminal and not the victim. As for me, I would gladly "pull the switch" on the swine that
killed my brother and have no compunctions about so doing.
Are these able to be redeemed?
Not in a million years. The death penalty should be imposed for treason, murder for hire,
premeditated murder, the murder of a law officer, and murder committed
during a robbery. Would Mr. Duus spare Adolf Hitler, Josef Stalin, Jack the Ripper,
Bluebeard, and other infamous killers?
Would you mollycoddle these arch fiends?
The thugs who roam Olancho killing innocent people belong in the
same class as the above and deserve the maximum penalty, death. I take it as a personal insult for your ignorance in defaming President
Ronald Reagan and George Bush. The
Federal Government of the United States does not have any say in what any
of the 50 states do in the way of penal servitude or capital punishment.
You are ignorant of the facts in this case. The Federal Government can impose the death penalty for
treason, murder of the president and other high-ranking government
officials, for narcotraffickers engaged in murder, and for other crimes
such as mutiny and the like. One more thing, were it not for President Reagan, the Russians or their
running dog Fidel Castro, would be stepping on you at this very moment,
for he put an end to the Cold War. The
same for George Bush who stopped that bully Saddem Hussein from gobbling
up little Kuwait. You owe us an apology and an apology to the "Jewish Rosenthal." Shame on you. A.
Wilson Dear
Editor: I disagree with Mr. Duus' article "Politics and the death penalty. Clarence Darrow said, "With my last breath I will
probably try to draw another but my intellect tells me that life is a
serious burden that no thinking human being would willingly inflict upon
another." His most
famous trial was the Leopold-Loeb case where he gave his Curtains of Night
Appeal. Earl Stanley Gardner, the writer and former lawyer, started the Court of
Last Resort to review cases of prisoners who claimed innocence.
His most famous one was a prisoner identical in looks with the
actual criminal. Some
prisoners were innocent. My stand is this: All serial killers should be given the death penalty. All cases of torture and murder of children should be
executed. An excellent
analysis of these criminals is given in the book, "Journey into
darkness" by John Douglas, mainly chapter 13: Crime and punishment. After I turn my fourth cheek for another "smite," I lose my
patience. I await Mr. Duus'
response. John
P. Buser TACA
FIASCO Dear
HTW: For months we looked forward to a diving vacation in Roatan.
We booked a Sunday, 06/18/00, direct (2-hour) TACA flight from
Miami to Roatan to lessen chances of baggage loss and eliminate the hassle
of changing planes. I had the
booking agent confirm our flight on Friday, after I saw an Internet
article saying that TACA wasn't flying big planes to Roatan due to runway
repair. We were assured by TACA that everything was okay and they
would get us to Roatan. After a five-hour drive, we arrived at Miami at 9 a.m. Sunday.
When we checked in at the counter, they said our flight was
canceled and we had to "wait."
The agents just stood around while the lines got longer and longer
at the counters (at one point there were over 100 people in line and we
were first). They wouldn't
work on rerouting us or sending us via American, which was leaving at 11. Finally, at 11:15 a.m., I went to the TACA management office
and asked for help. After
much ado, a rep said the best he could do was to fly us to San Salvador,
El Salvador at 4 p.m., then San Pedro Sula and then La Ceiba.
We would stay over in La Ceiba and fly to Roatan the next day.
We spent the entire day and night going to two countries and three
airports. We had no clothes
for the overnight stay and arrived in La Ceiba after 10 p.m. that night. We got to Roatan the next day (without our clothes or dive equipment). Our luggage did not arrive at Roatan until Wednesday,
although both bags were tagged PRIORITY.
We had the additional expense of buying clothes to wear ($180) and
renting scuba gear ($50 for each of us for 3 days = $300).
We also had to drive to the airport three times looking for luggage
(we were staying in East End, 45 minutes from the airport).
We also paid $150 for Sunday night at a resort that was not used
and not refundable. These
expenses, $630, do not include the inconvenience, late baggage, a day of
lost pay for me because I had to take it off ($200+) and the day of
vacation my husband had to take from his job on Monday because we didn't
arrive home until 6 a.m. that morning. On the return trip, we had to go to the airport on two different days
because they would not re‑route us until Saturday.
Then, they said all the flights from San Pedro Sula to Miami were
filled. We were at the airport on Sunday (6/25/00) at 6:30 a.m. for
an 8:30 flight to San Pedro Sula. Then,
we were routed to San Salvador (even further from Miami).
We arrived there at 12:30 p.m, and were scheduled for the 6 p.m.
flight to Miami. The flight
was late and we didn't get to Miami until around midnight and then had to
drive home to St. Petersburg. This entire fiasco could have been avoided.
TACA knew they weren't going to fly big planes into Roatan and
should have planned for it. Upon
check-in, they should have had tickets waiting with our flights confirmed.
Why didn't they fly everyone into La Ceiba on a large plane and
then switch to smaller planes for the trip to the island. The same thing should have been done on the return flight. In the future, I will use TACA only as a last resort.
I'm glad Honduras has opened the skies to other airlines. I hope TACA gets lots of competition. Maybe they will treat passengers better. We would like full reimbursement for all extra expenses ($830) and a
refund on our horrible flights ($1,000) and compensation for the late
luggage. TACA also broke my
$300 dive mask, which had custom eyeglass prescription lenses.
I would like this replaced. Marcia
Quinn |
Monday, July 10, 2000 Online Edition 28 |
Modernize! There has not been a real investigation about this transcendental
decision that was actually made due to pressure from the World Bank and
International Monetary Fund. Is this decision to privatize the telephone company apt politically and is it
in favor of national interests? The projected profile for the bidding process or sale of Hondutel has
been based on the least amount of publicity possible. Then, there is also the concept that potential Honduran buyers must be
eliminated from the process because they do not have access to the necessary
state-of-the-art technology. It is necessary that whichever company buying Hondutel increases the
ratio of telephones to inhabitants to at least 10 per 100.The winning company must also install pay phones and reduce the cost
of rural calls, among other things. We thought that ATT was one of the main bidders, but that has not been
the case. One of the most
insistent candidates is a Guatemalan company with Mexican capital, which
brings to mind the privatization of Guatel, the Guatemalan phone company, in
which there was a group of Honduran entrepreneurs who bought it with
Salvadoran partners only to sell it later to the aforementioned Mexican
company. In general, there are few buyers for Hondutel, which we believe should
seek more time to study the sale and concession of the company. The only issue here is national interests. This
is not a case or transaction to make a few people richer or happier. The future of the
nation is at stake with our telecommunications on the bidding table.
Special to Honduras This Week The rash of public and media questions presently being raised about the
fundamental reliability and trustworthiness of the Honduras Corte Suprema de
Justicia, prompts hopes that perhaps, at long last, a judicial reformation
may be under serious consideration. In a sincere effort to place this problem in a frame of reference
understandable by everyone who shares the concern for this crucial and
ongoing dilemma, this article will first examine the roots of the existing
problem, and then propose some concrete steps to provide Honduras with a
supreme legal tribunal that can eventually earn -- and deserve -- the respect of both Honduras citizens and outside observers alike. The Supreme Court, in whatever nation you find it, is by definition the
highest legal authority in that jurisdiction. No other entity, public or private, is above or beyond its
all‑inclusive purview. Any nation that claims to be "a nation of laws" has no choice but to
look to its Supreme Court for the "last word" on issues of
whatever kind; whether conflicts between individuals in interest, conflicts
between commercial entities and the governing authority, internecine
conflicts between the various departments of government, or conflicts
between Honduras and other sovereign powers. A "nation of laws" can not exist without a supreme authority,
with an uninterruptedly ongoing mandate to invoke, interpret, apply and
refine the meanings and applications of the laws of the land. This is the awesome and unique responsibility of the Supreme Court of
Justice -- in Honduras, as elsewhere. In order to meet these
obligations, the competence, honesty and even-handedness of the court
and each of its sitting judges must meet the highest standards of morality,
national loyalty and professional rectitude. As has been said about "the Queen's virtue", "It is
not enough that it be above reproach, it must be above question." So it is with a Supreme Court, if it is to fulfill the expectations
its citizens -- and the community of nations -‑ are entitled to
demand of it: The Corte Suprema
de Justicia must not just be above suspicion and accusation -- it must
be free of the merest blemish of political partisanship or favoritism
between litigating interests. It must stand as the paradigm of what is fair, right and legal. The organic law must be
considered sacrosanct, above and beyond dilution by any other consideration
or inducement. Indeed, a
"sacred" charge that can only be discharged by a complete
aloofness to every other interest, whether personal, partisan, financial or familial. In
turn, a Supreme
Court Justice must stand as a tower of judicial virtue. He must be untouched and untouchable by any consideration
except his sworn duty to consider diligently, weigh honestly, and judge
fairly. Not just the integrity and
the reputation of the Court depends on this kind of functional
circumspection, but the fate of the nation that the Court serves is equally
at risk. The Supreme Court is
the first line of defense, and the basic barometer of a nation's inherent morality. Unless
the Supreme
Court is the very model of judicial probity, every other institution of
government suffers under the far-reaching cloud of juridical
suspicion, cast by the court's incompetence or functional shortcomings. So where does this leave the Honduras Supreme Court? Let's begin by examining the appointment process. The
nine individuals who comprise the highest legal authority in
Honduras are all political appointments. The president of the court and the eight sitting justices are
selected and appointed for their past political favors, political loyalty,
and perceived partisan dependability -- as viewed through the
appraising eyes of their various political benefactors. Structuring a political administration is directly based on pragmatic
considerations, involving such things as accrued obligations, political
strength, partisan loyalty, and personal reliability. These characteristics may suffice, as long as we are talking about
administrative functionaries like tax-collectors and chief's of
police, but when it comes to supreme court judges, the requirements must go
to an altogether different level of obligation and faithfulness. Selection of a potential judge must be made on the basis of his or her
legal competence, experience, judicial temperament, coupled with an
impeccable personal record, and no associations with "known and
notorious" criminals. Nothing less will meet the lofty requirements of the highest legal body in the land. This brings us to the matter of financial considerations. Not to put too fine a point on it, in Honduras, a potential supreme court
justice needs to be asked if he can afford to take the job, before it is
offered to him. Yes! This may be the most important question of all, in interviewing a
potential court justice. LOW SALARIES Allow me to explain. Public servants are not well-paid in
Honduras. In truth, they are paid very poorly. The presidente, himself, only receives Lps. 70,000 a month, which comes
out to some US$5,000 per month. A unionized garbage collector in the United States probably makes more than
that. The presidente of the Corte Suprema de Justicia draws a monthly paycheck
of Lps. 17,000, or about US$1,197.00 per month. The supreme court justices get Lps. 12,000.00 per month, or about
US$845.00 per month. This is
not only shameful, it's dangerous! When we consider that the issues coming before the supreme court are
almost invariably important matters, involving millions or billions of
lempiras and/or U.S. dollars to the litigants, the susceptibility of a judge
to bow to bribery has to be one of the highest priorities. In short, a judge who is drawing an "official" salary of
US $845.00 per month, and who can collect 10- or 50- or a hundred
times that amount by changing a single vote, is going to be hard pressed to
forego the bribe, and stay honest. Anyone who chooses to ignore this reality is deluding himself and endangering the
judicial system. People are not angels! Morality is a hard road for a judge on an inadequate salary. Penurious salaries are not the only inducements to dishonesty confronting
a Honduras Supreme Court judge. Supreme court judges, like all elected officials
-- and lots of
appointed ones -- in Honduras, are covered under an
"immunity" codicil in the Honduras Constitution. This immunity blanket makes all public servants, including supreme
court justices, totally untouchable and unanswerable to any Honduras law -- either civil or
criminal. This is to say that, even if a supreme court justice is caught red-handed
accepting a bribe, he is safe from arrest and prosecution for his crime. Indeed, his legal immunity makes him a "licensed criminal,"
and this impunity status applies to everything -- up to and including
capital murder! Finally, there is another important incentive to criminal wrongdoing on
the part of a Supreme Court Justice, in the terms of his appointment. National
elections in Honduras are scheduled every four years, which
means that following each election, the halls of government are subjected to
a thoroughgoing house-cleaning. This
includes middle-strata administrative functionaries, like secretaries,
administrative assistants and such. It also includes the judges of the Corte Suprema de
Justicia! True! The presidente of the corte and all the sitting justices come and go at the whim of the
incumbent political administration. Once in a while a particular individual might obtain a hold-over
appointment from the other incoming political administration, but these
events are much too rare to constitute anything beyond remarkable political
aberrations. So where does this leave Honduran justice, when juridical push gets down
to shove? The answer is too
obvious to be missed. The
highest court in the land is peopled by political appointees that are almost
certainly limited to a four‑year term of duty. During this time they will be entitled to draw salaries that are
quite inadequate to provide a family with the usual necessities of a
middle‑class existence. Taken all together, the functional and economic realities are that,
except for the illicit enrichment of bribes, propinas,
mordidas, and related favors that
bring extra income, even a marginally qualified individual probably couldn't
afford to accept an appointment to the Honduras Supreme Court! He or she would fare better in a private law practice, or engaged in
some aspect of routine commercial activity. Bottom line: A Honduras Supreme Court justice has four years in which to
attain his own financial security. Obviously,
most of them do. But to
accomplish this, the official salary must be a small part of his total
income. The illicit enrichment is what provides a comfortable house,
an automobile, a bank account and sends the kids of good schools offshore. Certainly a sad commentary, but true beyond any factual challenge. So, what's the answer? If Honduras is serious about cleaning up the snake-pit which is the
universal appraisal of Honduras jurisprudence, the renovation has to begin
at the very top of the judicial pyramid. It must begin within the Corte Suprema de
Justicia. Instead of political appointments and fixed terms for the justices, each
potential appointee should be required to undergo a meticulous examination
and evaluation by a highly qualified board of judicial examiners. That board should be totally uninterested in political party
affiliations, political clout or related influence. The examiners should direct their attention exclusively to
such things as professional competence, judicial temperament, personal
history and acquired reputation. Appointment to the court should be a presidential prerogative, but based
on the recommendation of the board of judicial examiners, and subject to
concurrence and ratification by the national chamber of deputies. Once appointed and confirmed, the appointment should be for the life and
good conduct of the individual judge. Only
subject to removal and termination for cause -- or by the voluntary
resignation of the individual. The final consideration in cleaning up the Honduras court system must
begin by authorizing a very large salary increase for the president of the
court and all court justices. Only
by paying these guardians of judicial rectitude adequate salaries can they
be effectively removed from the temptations or necessity for indulging graft
and participating in other corrupt practices. This is the only practical manner in which the court be put beyond
the reach of those who will continue trying to buy their decisions from
quasi-impoverished and politically obligated justices. Other steps will have to be undertaken, also, reaching throughout the
entire judicial structure. These
measures will involve such considerations as oversight, judicial review,
improved procedures and upgrading the archaic rules of practice. But this should come later.
For
now, as the imperative first step, the Corte Suprema de Justicia must be
reorganized and renovated, to offer an obviously "New Court" to
both Honduras and the rest of the world. Anything less than a total judicial house-cleaning will not
suffice. The Honduras court system has languished for too long under
the handicaps of politization, corruption, administrative neglect and sheer
judicial incompetence, to benefit from an This should be at the very top of the national agenda. |
U.S.
citizens abroad
encouraged to register to vote
On November 7, U.S. citizens will be
electing a new president, vice president, 33 U.S. senators, the entire
House of Representatives and 13 state governors.
There will also be thousands of other state and local elections. Election laws differ from state to
state, but most require that absentee ballot requests be received at least
30 days before the general election.
Please allow sufficient transit time to mail the ballots to your
home state. U.S. citizens residing overseas are
encouraged to register and vote. To register to vote and receive an
absentee ballot: * You or a friend may pick up a
registration form at the U.S. Embassy in Tegucigalpa or from the Consular
Agent in San Pedro Sula. Please
inform us from which state you will be voting. * You may request a registration form
from your state of residence's electoral commission. For more information and links to
state sites, check these websites: <http://www.fvap.ncr.gov> and
<http://www.y2vote.org> The
Prairie Populist says goodbye
A newspaper columnist enjoys a special kind of relationship with his
readers, though he usually never meets them or hears from them. But nevertheless, it can be a meaningful
relationship. All of the writing is predicated on the assumption of that dynamic. My purpose has never been to demand that everyone agree with me; I am
not certain that I always agree with me. I rather feel that it is my responsibility to write with enough style
and thrust so that people will be caused to think. If, dear reader, that objective has been accomplished, then we have kept
the faith with each other, and served each other well.
A friend passed on to me a copy of "The Quiet Revolution"
written by Erling Duus of HTW. It's
hard to believe that the diatribe "End of school year
reflections," HTW, June 17 was written by the same person. First, I acknowledge that I always read the Prairie Populist first
when HTW arrives. Not remembering much about the time when John Negroponte was ambassador
15 years ago leaves me ignorant, although I was exposed to that period of
Honduran history. Ronald Reagan along with Gorbachev and Pope John Paul II are considered
the most important persons who changed history during the last century. Their
places in history are already achieved. Also, if I'd been employed by the American School because they paid
better than the private university, bad mouthing the school is not showing
much appreciation for the job. In the final analysis, if we are Christians and Erling Duus claims to be
one, our words and deeds should reflect those beliefs. "End of school year reflections" will not make many
converts to Christianity.
Uh-oh, here we go again! It
appears that Mr. Christensen and I are going to lock horns one more time
over the subject of spitting. I
am not sure that I want to go there again, but unfortunately, it seems that
Mr. Christensen has thrown down a gauntlet and I cannot resist picking it
up! So here goes: Mr. Christensen, I continue to stress that I am in complete
agreement with you over the deplorable habit of spitting that some Hondurans
are afflicted with. I offer you
no excuses or apologies for this except to say that it is a lamentable lack
of education and the unfortunate product of ignorance that is prevalent
among certain people. Notice that I do not say it is prevalent among Honduran people
only. I am sure that you are aware that spitting is found worldwide and I
can say beyond the shadow of any doubt that spitting can even be seen on the
hallowed streets of the United States, to a lesser extent of course. I have no quarrel with you in denouncing this unhygienic habit, what I do
take issue with is the manner in which you chose to express your beliefs in
your initial spitting article. Whether intentional or not, there was an unmistakable tone of derision and contempt
throughout the article combined with a certain judgmental attitude and that
is what riled me. I can take a
joke along with most people but I do not take kindly to anyone looking down
on other people and pretending to be better than they are. In your initial response to my letter, you lamented the fact that
"Hondurans" cannot take criticism. I beg to differ with you. I think that it is an innate human quality to resent any criticism or
observation that is not presented in a constructive manner. Most people, regardless of color or nationality, will react
negatively to negative criticism accompanied with derision and a
"holier-than-thou" attitude. Had a Honduran journalist written that self-same article
directed at Americans, I am sure there would have been an even greater
uproar because of the unfortunate choice of words. It seems to me that you enjoy stirring up controversy and appear to
deliberately poke fun at those whom you consider to be beneath you. You seem to be an educated man with a keen
wit. Why not utilize that intelligence and wit on more productive subjects? There
are many, many
social ills that affect this beautiful country and I would rank spitting way
down there on my priority list. In a country where poverty, unemployment, hunger, lack of education, crime,
pollution, deforestation and innumerable other problems are a daily fact of
life for a significant portion of the population, I think your journalistic
talents could be put to better use than writing biting articles on the evils
of spitting! Most of us who read your articles already know that spitting is
unhygienic and gross; and the people who seem to engage in this annoying
habit most likely don't read your articles and even if they did, couldn't
care less. That is the unvarnished truth. Ignorance and poverty go hand in hand and all the witty, biting
articles you choose to write on spitting or similar subjects will have no
impact on those who need it most. So please, spare us any more such witticisms on similar subjects and
instead entertain and inform us on matters of more consequence and social
import. If you simply cannot resist addressing similar topics in the
future, then I respectfully ask you to please do so but omit the derision. I cannot close this letter without commenting on what you say about my
reaction being "characteristically Honduran". Do not flatter yourself into thinking that you can possibly
understand the Honduran psyche. In order for you to be able to do so, you would first have to climb down off
your pedestal and be embraced by the people you have chosen to live among. You
will never be able to accomplish this with derision and
superiority.
|
Monday, July 3, 2000 Online Edition 27 |
La
Ceiba native Cpl. George Berry, U.S. Army, is showing America's youth
"what they can do for themselves and for their country." 
