OPINIONS & EDITORIAL

The human resource

Human resources are wasted in our country. The majority of foreign scholarships received in Honduras are directed to the training of public sector employees. Moreover, many scholarships received from foreign governments or organizations wind up in the trash bin due to authorities who fail to see the value in these educational opportunities, but see only the obligations such as work continuity and other clauses stipulated by the donating country.

The great paradox of the situation is that the public sector often looks to the human resources of the private sector to fill important executive level positions. Even though the public sector receives more opportunities to train its personnel abroad, it is the private sector that takes better advantage of existing opportunities to train their employees and management and then promote their incorporation into the public sector.

The salary of a worker is greatly influenced by the amount of training he or she has received. In many Asian countries during the 1960s, the average yearly income was less than $800 per capita. Today it is nearly $24,000 due in large part to an educational system that is linked to national development.

But in collective bargaining between employees and employers, it is rare to see educational clauses in benefit of the employees and management, indicating mutual disinterest. In the Civil Service Law, there is no obligatory training clauses. The civil sector as well as the private sector have failed to commit themselves to the training of employees as a way of securing economic progress for the company as well as the nation.

In economically advanced countries such as the United States and Germany, the term "licensed" is magical: it means a responsible worker with technical knowledge to realize the duties designated by the "license." In Honduras, the only license a worker can get is a driver's license, and if you have friends or a little money you don't even have to take the test to get it. Even medical licenses have a limited value. Many unlicensed "skin care consultants" with little or no training, perform more operations than qualified surgeons.

The sad part is that there is capability in the Honduran work force. A few weeks ago a maquila manager commented that "the Honduran worker makes our job easier because they learn well and fast."

But, along with serious difficulties in the educational system at every level, Honduras has very few technical schools to meet the needs of technological development that are required in today's world.

Today's job market demands workers with a broader base of knowledge, capable of understanding changing production processes, locating problems and finding solutions.

Economic growth is a direct result of technological revolutions, which makes technical knowledge the most important factor in the development of a sustainable economic base, more important than natural resources and even more important than economic capital.

We must take advantage of our "capital humano," the human resource.

LA CEIBA ARTICLE CAUSES STIR

Dear Editor:

Keep up the good work. I am from La Ceiba and is with great sadness that I read the article on La Ceiba [by W. E. Gutman]. I wonder what can we do to help this once beautiful city. Most of us, here in the States always have our cities in our heart, we still love our country. Is there anything positive going on in La Ceiba?

Edna Sierra
laceiba@swbell.net

Dear Editor:

As an occasional visitor to the friendly and quaint city of La Ceiba, Honduras, I am personally both outraged and offended by the remarks submitted by W.E.Gutman. It appears that although Mr. Gutman appears to express himself very graphically he certainly doesn't know "jack" about the real La Ceiba. It is disappointing that some "well-written" gringo from the northeast U.S. runs down to La Ceiba and then writes an article of this type and then, more unbelievably, manages to bamboozle the editor of this fine publication into printing it.

It appears rather obvious that Mr. Gutman spent the time researching the facts for his article in the sleaze joints and among the whores. As in any city the size of La Ceiba, there are some problems, however, obviously Mr. Gutman neglected to take the opportunity to visit the rainforest on the road to Yaruca (10 km from downtown) or the University (8 km from downtown), or for that matter any of the dozens of other attractions at hand in or near the city.

It is people like this journalist who stem the growth of Honduras. I am both an investor and property owner in Honduras and more so a believer in the future of this fine country.

Samuel C. Streep
La Ceiba, Altántida

The Vice Ministers of Foreign Relations and the military leaders of Central America have approved a new agreement that would give the governments of the isthmus more leverage in their fight against drug trafficking and money laundering. The proposal will be submitted for the approval of the region's presidents at the upcoming summit in Panama. It will no doubt be approved.

Under the new legislation, the financial sector would be required to report all suspicious transactions to national authorities. They would also have to report customers who possess funds of doubtful or dubious origin. In addition, the proposal would give the nations of Central America greater power to investigate suspicious cases.

This is an excellent step toward a better Central America. It is no secret that more than one drug trafficker has chosen the beautiful beaches and blooming banks of the isthmus for their shady financial transactions. This is due in part to the strategic position of the region, but also to an unfortunate availability of Central Americans willing to corroborate in these crooked dealings for piece of the action of their own.

The banks of Central America have grown tremendously in recent years. This is due mostly to a new energy among the region's businesses, people who are working hard to dig the isthmus out of its tumultuous past. But it is also partly attributable to the arrival of drug smugglers and money launderers. What the new law would do is give the government more power to keep the region's financial system clean and full of legitimate funds, seeding out narcotrafficker dollars.

Catch a falling star

"Children are like stars... They are lost in the flesh of the night; but they can be found because they shine.... It is when they become the blackness that we cannot see them, that they cease to be children, that they are lost..."

Guillermo Yuscaran -- Son of Esquipulas, Points of Light

BY W. E. GUTMAN

LA CEIBA -- Chusito's star is larger than life but its radiance is fading. He doubts he will be reborn from its embers. For him, life is one too many. "Things could be worse," he has been quoted to say with apocalyptic intensity. "Life could be forever." Inexplicable in someone so young, Chusito's fatalism is finely tuned, deeply felt. He has seen the dark side, endured the vulgarity of survival, faced the demons. He is 13.

CHUSITO'S WORLD

By day Chusito's world is the carbon copy of a hundred Caribbean ports: Sweltering heat, sparse touches of grace and opulence on a canvas of squalor and misery, unkempt beaches, scum-covered canals in which float the cadavers of indifference -- trash, human waste, broken down appliances -- grubby side streets lined with sleazy bars where locals sip warm beer and

tourists engage garishly painted harlots, darkened pool halls where drug deals are made, fast-sex bordellos from which issue loathsome grunts and foul exhalations.

This city of 300,000 has grown, like mold, beyond its manageable limits and continues to spread without a plan, without a vision. Everywhere there is a look of fatigue. Like a once-pretty woman, it is now compromised by the elements, ravaged by neglect, apathy. Many buildings are cracked, teetering on the brink of collapse. A few eventually crumble in heaps of worn brick and mortar, raising storms of acrid dust in their final agony.

An incessant stream of Diesel-fueled vehicles emit lung-crunching fumes and produce a dissonance of intolerable pitch that assault the ear, grind nerves. Dodging each other, rumbling motorcycles, Lilliputian taxis and overloaded carts pulled by gaunt horses jockey for prime space on crowded, unregulated thoroughfares. The frenetic pace only enhances the feeling of weariness, the exhaustion that such momentum creates. It's a city driven by reflex, surviving on hidden reserves of

energy akin to frenzy.

It is also a city that begs to be loved, for its people have

endearing traits, but it often elicits impatience, annoyance, revulsion. Small parks where young lovers meet to steal tender kisses are littered -- an affront to romance. Benches are encrusted with generations of baked-in bird guano. Loitering aimlessly, spitting dejectedly, old men wait for the passage of time, as if time were a destination rather than a conveyance. A

pervasive smell of decay, excrement and death wafts on the wings of intermittent ocean breezes. I think of Hieronymus Bosch. But this is no Garden of Earthly Delights.

A DEADLY COMMERCE

This is Honduras' third largest city. Most travellers pass through on their way to the open spaces and cooling zephyrs of the Bay Islands. At night, after the sun's copper disk has set the sea on fire, La Ceiba turns into a den of depravity of Gomorran dimensions. No lust, however vile, remains unquenched for long. Here, demand feeds supply, dishonor drives profit. Human flesh is the commodity of choice and purveyors abound.

Chusito should know. Abandoned by his parents when he was six, addicted to Resistol, he succumbed to the vile commerce, to survive, to grant himself the fleeting illusion of a compassionate embrace, the coolness of an ocasional shower, the inviting refuge of a bed, to cheat reality and make believe that love, like crumbs, can be salvaged and refashioned into a perfect loaf. There is no shame or degradation when hunger beckons and

hopelessness warps all reason. But Chusito is paying the ultimate price for clinging so passionately to life. He is dying. He has AIDS.

CHEMISTRY OF PROMISCUITY

According to ODECO, an energetic grassroots organization active in the Garifuna community, "AIDS is a meaningless acronym. People just don't believe that AIDS exists. Not only are facts disregarded, there is an appalling lack of awareness about basic bodily functions, about the chemistry of promiscuity."

Of nearly 10,000 cases of AIDS nationwide, a number ODECO and other groups believe is grossly under-reported, there are 500 confirmed cases in La Ceiba -- all sexually acquired. "Sadly, we have only identified those who are close to death. We have no way of detecting primary infections, no mechanism for reaching HIV-positive vectors and deterring them from infecting others." ODECO, which carries out vigorous educational programs

has also since embarked on an aggressive radio and TV campaign. "It's an uphill strugle and, like Sisyphus, we're forever climbing but we never reach the top."

The Centro de Orientacion y Capacitacion en SIDA, a group dedicated to rehabilitating prostitutes, agrees. "We work with about 400 'street-professionals.' Most come from San Pedro Sula and other adjoining districts. They come for a few weeks and disappear. Most are hard-core addicts -- marijuana, heroin, crack cocaine. Breaking the dynamics between drug use and prostitution, sexual promiscuity and sexually trasmitted diseases is a formidable challenge. We exist out of moral concern for the

community. This is an unwinable war; victories are few."

Representatives of Casa del Niño, where I first learned about Chusito, mince no words. "La Ceiba is the hub for child prostitution. Tourists, possibly members of a loose organized crime confereration, regularly come to Honduras to exploit minors. While there is no open child prostitution per se, networks exist that supply children to pedophiles. The center is near the Parthenon Beach Hotel. Many of the girls are well under 16. There is a street for boys, too... Carnivals and other events attract large numbers of visitors who exercise great stealth, pay cash and command the silence of their accomplices."

According to Casa del Niño, there are about 50 homeless children in La Ceiba, an overly conservative estimate by their own accounting. "We've really no way of knowing. Most are between 10 and 16. Most are boys. Illiteracy, irresponsible paternity are all at work. Some families have not a gram of conscience when it comes to procreation. Use of Resistol

among them is universal. It's sold freely in the Centro Commercial. Pimps and sex tourists often pay the children with cans of the deadly shoe glue. It's a case of turpitude further debased by criminal indifference...."

DUTY DISHONORED

In the private clinic where he is cared for, Chusito drifts between excruciating awareness and merciful stupor. Eternal night awaits. He will soon be free. Outside, mumbling incoherently, a madwoman, bedragled, froth caking the corners of her mouth, exchanges stones and insults with vagrants who taunt her. Hoping to squeeze the last traces of pity from a parade of

self-absorbed passers-by, a cripple flaunts his horrible disfigurements. Crying with studied constancy and resonance, a beggar exposes a newborn at her naked left breast.

Feral dogs, traumatized by hunger, rejection and loneliness, respond to a friendly whistle or the offer of a caress with passing glances filled with sadness, fear. Head low, tail tucked between their legs, they have surrendered to forces heretofore unimagined, now braved with stoic resignation. They do not have the energy to bark.

In the distance, standing legs wide apart for maxium balance in the shade of a big old tree, a policeman stares catatonically in the void to stay cool, conserve energy, perhaps to guard against the incongruity that surrounds them.

On the street corner, near the Colonial Hotel where I spent the night, a man beckons. "Anything you want, man. Dope. Girls. Young kids. Name your pleasure." I describe him to a DIC agent but the agent stares at me blankly and waves me off. It's nearly lunch time. In the noonday heat even duty takes a siesta.

A Connecticut-based journalist, W. E. Gutman is a regular contributor to Honduras This Week.

Honduras and Nicaragua: Working together for the common good

At the initiative of Nicaraguan President Arnoldo Aleman, Nicaragua and Honduras have signed an agreement to create an interoceanic corridor linking Puerto Corinto on Nicaragua's Pacific coast with Puerto Cortes on the Honduran Caribbean. The latter of the two ports is the largest and best equipped in Central America. The corridor would create a sort of overland version of the Panama Canal, allowing cargo to cross between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans quickly and inexpensively along a strip of modern highway.

A bilateral committee has been named to find financing for the project, to carry out its feasibility studies and to write a plan of action for customs and immigration services at the border. But although the project is just beginning, its end results are already evident: reduced transport costs, large tax revenues, the creation of new markets, new jobs, a faster shipping system and open borders.

The plan is also a sign of the peace and cooperation that has pervaded the Central American region since the end of the Cold War. The isthmus has made tremendous advances to overcome the bad image it suffered in decades past. And the courtesy and understanding exhibited by the governments of Honduras and Nicaragua serve as an example of the role good faith will play in building a strong future for the region.

Central America, like the European Union and the other economic blocks emerging in the New World Order, has recognized that unity -- not separation -- is the key to the future.

Another sign of the new Central America is Nicaragua's recent willingness to cooperate in the matter of the Honduran fishermen seized by the Nicaraguan navy for allegedly fishing in Nicaraguan waters. Rather than allow the matter to escalate, both parties met civilly at the negotiating table and Nicaragua had the good faith to release not only the fishermen, but also their boats and to reimburse them for they fines that had been charged.

Often it's not about doing more business; it's about having more friends in business. The isolation of Central America during the cold years taught us an excellent lesson. And it is a lesson we've learned well and are putting to good use.

ONLINE READERS' FORUM

ANOTHER ABORTION RIGHTS STORY

Dear Editor:

I was intrigued when I saw the women's health issue front page story in the June 9 issue of HTW. I was disappointed when I realized it was another abortion rights story and that the "code words" had found their way to Honduras. The term "abortion" is a hard pill to swallow, "health issue" has been used in the United States for years now to make the fact more palatable and easier to discuss in "civilized" conversation.

Honduras has often been criticized for being behind most of the world in development. I suggest that there are some real advantages to being "behind," primarily the opportunity exists to learn from the mistakes of the rest of the world. Don't miss the opportunity.

When abortion was legalized in the United States, the cry was to relieve mothers from the shame of rape and incest and to provide a course of action for the poor who could not afford to give a child a "quality" life. Without even discussing the initial reasons, I would like all of Honduras to look toward the not yet end results of legalized abortion in the United States.

We have gone from first trimester to second to partial birth abortions where the difference between fetus and baby amounts to location (doctor's office) and time (two minutes). Currently in the United States, I am aware of two "mothers" who face criminal charges, possibly murder charges, for crimes of time and location. Both mothers killed their babies upon birth (allegedly), both mothers would have had no problems with the law if they had gone to a doctor's office a few minutes earlier and had the pregnancy "terminated" legally. How, then, can a society levy the charge of murder on a mother who kills a newborn when the crime is being late for an appointment? How can a society hold the double standard that a life is precious at 12:02 but worthless at 12:00?

The point, even if poorly made, is that when we begin to legislate the value of human life we will with out doubt find ourselves placing no value on life. When does human life begin? The world is split on this issue, and probably will be forever. When such an important question exists in any other field of human thought the wise answer has always been, "when in doubt err on the side of humanity". Even if the abortion activists are correct, how will God judge them for having the arrogance to pretend to know what only God knows?

James Davis
guard@connecti.com
San Antonio, TX

GREAT WOMEN IN HONDURAS

Dear Editor:

Magnifico! Sitting here at our computer in Texas we were moved to tears by the story of the two children, Jimmy Montoya who died of malnutrition in Hospital San Felipe, and the sweet little girl of eleven who was lost to advanced cancer in the Materna Infantil Hospital. Having just returned from a medical mission to Ojo de Agua and the people of Villa de San Francisco I can personally attest to the fact that much more caring would be very helpful.

Thank you for such a touching and important story. Although the name of Mary brings to mind another person of long ago who was instrumental in bringing a Savior to the world, I am sure a good many people will have no trouble remembering Mary Flores. There are a lot of great women in Honduras and our group has had the privilege of seeing them at work in villages like Villa de San Francisco and Ojo de Aqua.

Carroll Shelton, DDS
New Braunfels, Texas

MURDER OF CHILDREN MUST STOP

Dear Editor:

First, I want to commend you for a truly one of kind newspaper. Often times when in Honduras, I wanted to be able to find a newspaper that I could relate to and that was in English. Keep up the good work.

My reason for writing is that I am truly disgusted with Honduran authorities for the brutal killings and torture of kids in detention centers in San Pedro Sula, such as "El Carmen." When is this going to stop.

I myself, as a concerned citizen, am asking that this situation be investigated by your newspaper and brought to the light of citizens in Honduras. Could you just imagine if these would have been your children or grandchildren, if applicable. And even so, this is no way to treat these children. Even though they might have been brought up in horrible conditions they have to be given a chance.

Why couldn't the perpetrators have just caught them and questioned them or brought back to the detention centers? Why the brutality with them? What an injustice. To know that in some way officials are supposed to be providing to the citizens some protection and especially to children, well I guess that they are not.

Please, I ask that you do something to investigate these doings. It's unjustifiable what is being done.

Always think that whatever you do for the children in Honduras, you are not only doing it for them but for the children of the world. Always remember that they too have rights and should be respected.

Karla Coello
New York

HAPPY TO RECEIVE HTW

Dear Editor:

I must tell you how happy I am to have received Honduras This Week, because I live here in Canada but my heart is still there! As a Honduran and anxious to know a little bit about my country, this way is great! I have lived here for more than 25 years, I have received letters from my family, but writing has its limitations, and of course no news or knowledge of events in there. Take care and my best regards from here.

Sandy Morris
devans@intergate.bc.ca

Moonies

Last Thursday, the General Immigration Department summoned members of the Reverend Soon Myung Moon religious sect to explain the reasons behind their stay in Honduras. Many Hondurans believe the sect members are here for reasons other than enjoying the country's beautiful beaches and rain forests. They're wary of the group's accumulation of wealth and fear one of its ulterior motives may be political manipulation.

Followers of the Reverend Moon -- members of the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity, also called the Unification Church -- have set out to invade Honduras, taking advantage of the weakness of our social bases, poverty and illiteracy to recruit members. Although the media estimate that some 500 "Moonies" have arrived in Honduras recently, the number could be as many as 1,000. Most of them are of Asian origin.

A native of Korea, Moon teaches that when he was 15 years old Jesus Christ came to him in a vision and told him it was up to him to complete the work Christ himself had begun on earth before his untimely crucifixion. The Moonie missionaries that have become a common sight in Honduras are primarily here to recruit members and to promote the institution of marriage. They say the only way to reach salvation is by creating perfect marriages.

But others say Moon's true motive is power, both economic and political, and that his movement should be stopped, both in Honduras and around the world.

The power of Reverend Moon has been enough to recruit a sizeable number of followers around the world and to generate ample financial resources. A few months ago here at Honduras This Week, we were offered an all expenses paid trip to South America by the sect. What they couldn't offer us was a signed statement relieving us of any future commitment to the sect on the part of our reporters and editorialists had we accepted the invitation.

If the arrival of the Unification Church to Honduras as achieved one thing, it has been the rare ability to unite the nation's majority churches -- the Catholics, the Protestants and the Evangelicals -- into a single stance: to get the Moonies out. Mainstream churches across the countries are advising their members to avoid the sect at all costs.

Those who are wary of Reverend Moon and his movement might do well to investigate the sect at its source. The sect is headquartered in the United States, as are Moon's fortunes. An investigation of the Reverend's wealth might be a good place to start when it comes to making sure this ambitious sect does not perturb our society.