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Monday, July 26, 1999 Online Edition 167

Overhaul of educational system necessary, says Flores

By BLANCA MORENO

TEGUCIGALPA -- President Flores called on educational leaders, teachers and parents to unite efforts and to revise and modernize the educational system during the National Pedagogical Congress held this week in the capital.

The president's appeal comes after decades of institutional chaos in which teachers have literally spent years in strikes and demonstrations, parents choose not to send their children to unsafe and unproductive schools, and where supposedly professional graduates show gross errors in grammar and spelling, among other problems.

The objective of the two-day Congress, organized by the Education Ministry and the Federation of Teachers' Organizations, was to analyze the educational situation, to propose solutions for deficiencies, and to create a better system that offers real education that contributes to the progress of the nation.

Two hundred and ten participants from the 18 departments deliberated on a proposal for a new structure that would encompass all aspects of the system.

President Flores said that for many years society, through many channels, has been asking for a total revision of the educational system. Partial studies have been made as well as isolated proposals and discontinued efforts in the search for the ideal education for Hondurans.

Meanwhile, the population grows at the fastest rate in the Americas, the majority being people younger than 25 years of age. At the same time, the education budget has risen to historic figures without showing results in a world dominated by science, speed and excellence.

"The essentials are missing," said Flores. "We have not been capable of reuniting those who work within the system, who touch, breathe and live in it and have been the objects and subjects of change"...to know their opinions.

He suggested that parents and university professors contribute their own experiences, knowledge and thoughts about the issues at hand to see what changes can be made, especially in elementary and secondary school levels, where formation begins.

Education Minister Ramon Calix Figueroa said "this congress, in a relevant and timely manner, should reflect on the roles of society, government, the municipality and the family as a whole, as well as resources, responsibilities and accountability..."

During rebuilding, Chiquita strives for eco-friendly bananas

By WENDY GRIFFIN

Twice in the last three years Honduran television viewers have seen people from La Lima, Cortes wading neck deep in flood waters -- first in 1996 and then after Hurricane Mitch in 1998. La Lima, a short bus ride from San Pedro Sula, can be described as the town that United Fruit built. It became the headquarters of United Fruit's main subsidiary in Honduras, the Tela Railroad Company when the company moved its offices there from Tela.

As the flood water after Mitch rose and then a took more than a week to recede in the area of Tela's banana plantations in El Progreso and La Lima, experts began to raise questions about whether deforestation had made the floods worse. Seventeen thousand acres of banana plantations controlled by "la Tela" were destroyed by flooding caused by Hurricane Mitch.

In La Lima, the managers of the Tela Railroad Company knew that the banana company already had plans to address environmental issues through the Better Banana Project, which is scheduled to be implemented by the end of this year on all Chiquita Brands International plantations in Latin America. (The United Fruit Company changed its name to match its brand in 1990, so that now United Fruit is officially Chiquita brands International.)

The Better Banana Project is a certification program established by the Rainforest Alliance and managed by the Conservation Agriculture Network. This network also sponsors an eco-friendly coffee certification program. These two programs for sustainable agriculture, known as "Eco-OK," won the 1995 Peter Drunker Award from Non-Profit Innovation.

According to the Rainforest Alliance, there are nine main criteria that plantations must meet in order to be certified as "Better Banana" producers. Part of this is better conservation of water, such as reducing sedimentation, providing buffer zones along rivers, not altering stream courses or lowering the water table. The plantations must also protect the quality of water through better management of fuels and lubricants. Leaks in fuel storage tanks have been a problem -- not just in Honduras -- that affects underground water.

The company should also reforest the shores of rivers, roads and areas not in production. If there are forest fragments still standing, they should be conserved. New fincas or plantations should be on already cleared land. Watersheds are to be protected. Establishing vegetative cover crops, contour farming and using windbreaks are all designed to protect the quality of the soil by preventing erosion, which was massive during the hurricane caused floods. La Tela will not rehabilitate all of its lands because some are now useless for banana production, reported the company.

One issue that has been simmering a long time in Honduras is the use of potentially contaminating agro-chemicals. Probably the most famous book in Honduras is "Prision Verde" by Ramon Amaya Amador. Written in 1950, the book is about a group of workers on a multinational banana plantation who are responsible for spraying pesticides on banana plants.

Standard Fruit has had to make settlements with its workers about alleged damages to their health from chemicals used in banana production. La Prensa reporters have written there were barrels of toxic chemicals still in the ground near runoff streams. Through the Confederation of Autochthonous Peoples of Honduras (CONPAH), the Garifunas and Indians have denounced a river they believe contaminated by run off from Standard Fruit plantations. Standard Fruit is owned by Dole Foods and is Chiquita's chief competitor in the sale and production of bananas.

Although Chiquita has not had so much publicity about this issue as Standard Fruit, the new Better Banana standards will help the company address the problem. The standards recommend that companies use integrated pest management techniques that use less pesticides. The "dirty dozen" pesticides are prohibited. These chemicals are legal under Honduran law, but not under U.S. law as being environmentally damaging or causing other problems.

To protect workers during the application of these chemicals, the company must use safety equipment and train people to apply the agro-chemicals. Illness caused by improperly applied chemicals is a problem for Honduras' independent farmers, who do not read well and who have no formal training in chemical use.

The Conservation Agricultural Network is interested in establishing biological corridors. Plantations would not be eligible to be Better Banana farms if they were in parks, corridors or the buffer zones of parks. By protecting these core areas, forest fragments, and reforesting watersheds, the network hopes to protect habitants for threatened or endangered tropical species, especially in critical habitats like nesting areas, coral reefs and wetlands.

By employing better management techniques, the farms are designed to maintain a smaller "footprint" -- for example, they will not affect off-farm area through runoff. Agricultural chemical runoff is considered a major source of water pollution even in the United States, says hydro-geologist Tom Lawrence.

In its 1998 Annual Report, Chiquita states that one of the company's four main goals is to promote community responsibility. This includes fair wages, safe housing and working conditions, sustaining the environment and assisting communities in times of need. Some of these requirements, such as a minimum wage, fair treatment and safe conditions, are also part of the Better Banana criteria for certification.

In the end, certification should help in the marketing of Honduran bananas. Won't parents prefer to put on their children's corn flakes bananas that are kind to the environment and to the workers? Toward this end, Chiquita states its goal is to maintain industry leadership in environmental practices. Although other growers in Central America have also begun to work toward Better Banana certification, Chiquita is the first to do so in Honduras.

For more information on the Better Banana Project, see the Rainforest Alliance's web page at <http://www.rainforest-alliance.org> or contact them by e-mail at <canopy@ra.org>. No environmental agency in Honduras is part of the Conservation Agriculture Network. The closest member is FIIT (InterAmerican Foundation for Tropical Agriculture) in Guatemala. They can be contacted at <fiit@net.gt>.

U.S. serviceman murdered in Trujillo

By MELANIE WETZEL

TEGUCIGALPA -- A U.S. Army medic participating in the New Horizons '99 humanitarian mission was killed early Saturday morning (July 17) in Trujillo. Sgt. Francisco Morales, 37, a National Guard medic from New Orleans, La. was found dead at 6:30 a.m. with a gunshot wound to the chest.

A press release issued by the Public Affairs Office of Joint Task Force-Bravo (Soto Cano Air Base) stated that Morales was found in front of his hotel room and that there were signs that he had been robbed, but eyewitnesses have stated that the body was found near the airport in Trujillo.

Morales, assigned to Task Force Aguan as part of New Horizons '99, was stationed in Trujillo and participating in humanitarian missions in the Aguan and Yoro valleys. He and other soldiers in the task force were housed at the Christopher Columbus Hotel Resort.

Eyewitness reports vary, but Morales was allegedly last seen leaving the Bahia Bar disco in the company of two or three women. Four women were taken into custody by the Honduran Police on Saturday for questioning and later released. It was also reported that three men were taken into custody early Thursday.

The investigation will be handled by the Honduran National Police. According to the United States Information Service in Tegucigalpa, this is the first such incident in more than three years.

Morales body has been returned to the United States for burial.

U.S. geologists this week warned that residents of Tegucigalpa's El Reparto district are in danger of being buried in a landslide and recommended their immediate relocation.

According to a report in the daily El Heraldo on Tuesday (July 20), the geologists said the hill is heavily saturated with water and, combined with the geology of the area and the constant earth tremors around the country, could come tumbling down at any moment. Approximately 12,000 people live in this marginal district of the capital.

With the assistance of U.S. military engineers, the public works ministry will begin demolition of the Ruben Callejas Valentine Gymnasium on Aug. 16, according to a report in the Daily La Tribuna Tuesday (July 20).

The structure, located on the banks of the Choluteca river in downtown Tegucigalpa, was seriously damaged last October by flooding caused by Tropical Storm Mitch.

Miguel Lardizabal, an engineer participating in the project, told La Tribuna that demolition work will conclude Sept. 15 and that the site will be converted into a green area. He added that efforts will be made to save the El Calvario Church, which is right next to the gymnasium.

During a popular assembly held recently, residents of Dulce Nombre de Culmi overwhelmingly voted to cancel the permits of all bars and cantinas in their small community, the daily El Heraldo reported Sunday (July 18). Last June, residents of Punuare became the first community in Honduras to close saloons.

Following the vote, a multitude lead by Police Judge Humberto Ruiz proceeded to confiscate all alcoholic beverages in the 16 cantinas located near the village's central park.

Proponents cited the large number of alcohol-related crimes, injuries, deaths and scandalous behavior as the motivation for the villagers' decision to ban all establishments that sell hard liquor.

Monday, July 19, 1999 Online Edition 166

Mahogany houses:
A Challenge to rebuild after Mitch

Bay Island wooden houses are often built on stilts, such as this one on Utila. This gives a cool work space below, and during most floods there is usually no damage.

By WENDY GRIFFIN

The Bay Island of Roatan is once again a destination for cruise boats after Hurricane Mitch. On a recent visit to the island, one travel writer said the only thing to see there were "hovels and damage by Hurricane Mitch." He recommended staying on the ship and listening to jazz.

These "hovels" are traditional Bay Islands stilt houses, mostly made of Honduran mahogany or "caoba." This wood can sell for US$225 for 12-foot boards, while in Trujillo it is sold by the inch. At Lps. 12 the inch, it is hardly hovel material. Although exported from Honduras since the 18th century to make fine furniture, among the Pech, Miskitos, Garifunas, Bay Islanders and Tawahkas it is considered the best wood for making dugout canoes, doors and walls because it is termite resistant.

Until the end of the last century, Pech, Miskitos and Tawahkas made their houses of four poles with a palm leaf room and no walls. In the Miskito and Tawahka languages, the word for window is "windur" and the word for door is "dur," because they did not need a word for windows or doors until the British settlers introduced houses with walls

These Miskito women cook in their house made of mahogany planks with a palm thatch roof. (Photo by Martin Gibbons.)

British loggers from Belize and Jamaica would hire Indians and Garifunas to work with English-speaking Blacks to cut mahogany by hand. Sebastian Marin, a Garifuna from Trujillo, tells how his grandfather worked for the bull gangs, cutting mahogany for the lumber company first in Honduras and then in Nicaragua.

The process was quite complicated, with the cutting beginning on platforms 12 feet above the ground. When the tree was felled, the men still had to cut it into 8-foot sections with axes and two-man saws. Teams of eight yolks of oxen pulled the section to the rivers to be floated to the coast. Along all the rivers of the North Coast like the Aguan, the Limon, Rio Tinto, Rio Coco and especially for more than 150 miles along the Patuca and Guayambre, teams of loggers worked under concessions from the Honduran government, the Miskito king or the Nicaraguan government (which claimed land almost to Trujillo).

The Honduran government tried to entice foreigners to build steam-driven sawmills in Honduras. These started in places like Choluteca and Olancho in the last century. However, on the North Coast wood was primarily shipped as logs. Having acquired the tools to cut the trees, the Indians learned to saw the logs into planks. The Pech of Culmí claim they can cut planks as level as any sawmill could.

From the planks, each ethnic group made different styles of houses. For example, Pech houses of loose mahogany planks are on the ground and have dirt floors. Bay Islander, Tawahka, and Miskito houses are usually on stilts, so that they have wooden floors. These styles also look different in part because the Garifuna, Pech, Tawahka and Miskito mahogany houses are usually allowed to weather without any paint, which makes them look gray. The Bay Islanders usually paint their houses for Christmas, reports Mr. Auld of Roatan.

The houses also look different due to the materials used for the roofs. Bay Islanders use corrugated tin. Indigenous groups have used red clay tiles (Pech), wooden shingles (Pech) and palm leaf thatch, as well as tin. The condition of the house also varies due to local conditions. The mahogany house Sebastian Marin's grandfather built more than 68 years ago is still inhabited. Because there are more than 300,000 termites per hectare in the rain forest, the Tawahkas need to rebuild their houses about every four years.

Although stoutly built, many mahogany houses and other wooden structures were destroyed by Hurricane Mitch. On the northern coast of Roatan, 20-foot tidal surge rose up to damage or destroy docks, walkways and cabanas built over the water, such at Anthony's Key Resort that reopened in February.

Along the Patuca River, flood waters rose higher than the levels of the roofs. Workers in the Mosquitia reported seeing a whole Tawahkan wooden school floating down the river as it was swept away by the flood waters. Even houses that remained are somewhat worrisome. Warren Post reports than on an aid mission to the Mosquitia, he saw houses with their palm thatch heavy with hard dried mud, left by the receding waters, posing a threat to residents.

In the area, some mahogany houses although old suffered only water damage when the roof was blown off. Others closer to the water were more seriously damaged, like the dance club of "Los Tigres" and the workshop of the only local coffin builder.

Rebuilding began within days of the passing of Mitch on the Bay Islands. In Garifuna towns, rebuilding has been slower. In Trujillo, Suzanne Shender reports repairing some places such as the carpentry shop, but the dance hall will have to wait until after people's houses have been repaired. Much of the mahogany around Garifuna villages like Trujillo, Santa Rosa de Aguán, and San Juan Tela was logged out by foreign and local companies working with government concessions. This may have slowed building.

In the Mosquitia, there is mahogany but cash is also needed. In some villages as many as 50 percent of the houses were destroyed, so even though chain saws have replaced traditional tools, the local people were still overwhelmed. So eight months after the hurricane, some people are still living in emergency shelters, particularly since planting food was a higher priority than building a new house. The cutting of mahogany has been at the center of controversy between the state forestry agency COHDEFOR and the Miskitos, but problems with permits have not yet been cited as a major obstacle in rebuilding.

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Honduras ranks 114th in human development

By MARIA FIALLOS

TEGUCIGALPA -- In a ceremony held at the Presidential Palace, President Flores received his copy of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Human Development Report 1999 that was made public July 12.

UNDP has been preparing this document every year since 1990 to measure levels of human development worldwide. Three main indicators used to measure human development are life expectancy at birth, adult literacy rate and combined first-, second-, and third-level gross enrollment ratio. One hundred and seventy-four countries were included in the report, utilizing data collected in 1997. Honduras rose from 119th in 1996 to 114th in 1997. 45 countries ranked in the high development group, 80 in the medium development group and 45 ranked in the low development group. (See box).

Each year a different issue is emphasized in the report, the focus this year being the human aspect of globalization. In other words, measuring human development in terms other than economic growth, but rather in terms of the quality of life.

The study is based on five basic principals: equality, economic growth, empowerment, sustainable development, and individual safety. In addition to evaluating the primary indicators, the report also takes into account factors such as political, economic and social opportunities as well as self-respect, individual potential and a sense of community. It points out that high income is not necessary for creating opportunity in human development and cites the fact that Costa Rica provides women more political, economical and professional equality than France.

According to the report the following steps must be taken in order to improve the quality of life worldwide:

-- Humanize globalization: balance the preoccupation of economic growth with human development. At the present time, the richest 80 percent of the world’s population benefits from 86 percent of the world’s income as follows: 82 percent of the world's exports, 68 percent of foreign investment and 74 percent of the telephone lines (88 percent of the people connected to the Internet live in industrialized countries). The poorest 20 percent of the population benefit from approximately 1 percent of these activities.

-- Increase personal safety: Develop a cure or vaccine for AIDS. Confront organized crime more efficiently (it is believed that six international organizations reap US$1.5 billion yearly) since the drugs, arms, labor, products and money utilized by these organizations contribute to delinquency and violence everywhere. Decrease violations of human rights committed by multinational companies, as well as transnational contamination such as acid rain.

-- Support development of technology that benefits the poor. For example, increase the current limited investment in fighting tropical diseases, an amount that contrasts sharply with that spent on the development of skin care products.

-- Restructure world and regional governments. Restructure world government so as to include more countries in the decision making process. Currently, only a handful of economic powers dominate the scene, such as the G-8. Restructure regional governments allowing groups of countries to participate in international negotiations. Reorganize national governments so as to offer more social protection against the effects of globalization and restructure local governments in such aspects as gender equality.

The data presented in the report was collected in 1997 and does not represent post-Mitch statistics for Central America, the UNDP report for Honduras will be available in October.

An earthquake registering 6.4 on the Richter scale and lasting nearly half a minute shook the northern and central parts of Honduras last Sunday, causing considerable damage to several structures.

La Tribuna reported that the earthquake, which was also felt in Belize, Guatemala and El Salvador, damaged the Hotel Copantl Sula and several other buildings in the downtown area of San Pedro Sula and the public hospital of El Progreso, Yoro. Most of the damage consisted of broken windows, fissures in the walls and fallen stucco.

The earthquake also caused serious damage to the towers, dome and roof of the colonial-era church in Ilama, Santa Barbara, the daily El Heraldo reported. As a result, the church has been closed until repairs can be made. Previously, the 200-year-old church suffered damage during an earthquake in 1900.

José Jorge Escobar of the National University's Geophysics Department said in a La Tribuna report that the epicenter was 15.7 degrees north (latitude) and 88.26 degrees west (longitude), which is near the Honduran-Guatemalan border.

On Wednesday (July 14), another earthquake of moderate intensity was felt in the northern part of Honduras. According to the daily La Prensa, this earthquake measured 4.5 on the Richter scale and the epicenter was in the Gulf of Honduras.

Less than 24 hours after being kidnapped, Ernesto Rojas Alvarado was back with his family after agreeing to pay a large ransom.

According to the daily El Heraldo, the kidnappers released the 72-year-old cattleman and former mayor near the community of San Francisco on the highway to Santa Rosa de Copan last Friday (July 9) when it was agreed he would pay a Lps. 1 million ransom.

However, when the unsuspecting kidnappers showed up to collect their money, they were easily apprehended by the police. Among the 15 people arrested for their alleged involvement in the kidnapping are a Guatemalan and a Salvadoran.

Ileana Waleska Pastor Melghem on Monday (July 12) was sworn in as the new Minister of the Honduran Social Investment Fund (FHIS), succeeding Manuel Zelaya Rosales, the daily La Tribuna reported. A member of the small Innovation and Unity Party (PINU), Pastor has worked for international organizations over the last 20 years and held an executive position with the Inter-American Development Bank in Guatemala prior to her appointment. She is the sixth woman to be appointed to President Flores' cabinet.

Zelaya, who held the post for more than six years, recently resigned to pursue the presidential candidacy for the Liberal Party.

Four people were killed and another seriously wounded in a drive-by shooting near the central park of Copan Ruinas village last Saturday (July 10).

According to the daily La Tribuna, the incident occurred around 8:30 p.m. after a crowd had gathered at the small grocery store owned by Laura Diaz to escape the heavy rain. Witnesses said that as a red pickup truck drove by the store, one of the two occupants opened fire on the crowd with an automatic weapon.

Killed in the shooting were Gloria Guerra (19), Fraudelio Mateo Munguia (45), Francisco Chavez (33), and an unidentified male in his mid-twenties. Gustavo Antonio Rodriguez, a high school student who had come to the village to see the nearby Maya ruins with his classmates, was seriously wounded. Munguia received 17 gunshot wounds and Chavez 13. In addition, there were 41 bullet holes in the store's walls.

A cow and her calf easily eluded airport security last Monday (July 13), passing through the main entrance of the terminal of Toncontin International Airport the same as hundreds of passengers do each day.

Once inside the terminal, reported the daily La Tribuna, the two animals made their way to the Diplomatic Salon but were turned back when employees closed the doors. After breaking a glass window near the meteorological department, the cow and calf were finally captured at the edge of the airport's runway and tied to a tree.

Monday, July 12, 1999 Online Edition 165

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New Morolica being built on important archeological site

Gilberto Sanchez Chandias, special prosecutor for Ethnic Affairs and Cultural Heritage, points to the archaeological site on a map of Honduras. On the table are some of the artifacts that were found. (Photo by Jorge Flores McClellan.)

By JORGE FLORES MCCLELLAN

TEGUCIGALPA -- Morolica was erased from the Honduran map by Hurricane Mitch. "Its inhabitants have gone through too much, so we are taking it easy on them," said Gilberto Sanchez Chandias, Special Prosecutor for Ethnic Affairs and Cultural Heritage.

By a twist of fate, the land bought at El Tejar by the mayor of the town and the people to build Nueva Morolica has been found to be a prehistoric archeological site. The reconstruction of 80 percent of the houses is almost finished on top of what experts call "a major site" due to its mounds, what appears to be three plazas and a great quantity of artifacts uncovered by shovels, pickaxes and bulldozers.

"It is a sensitive issue," said Sanchez. "We cannot just tell these people to stop building and get out for archaeology. They lost everything in a cataclysm and the last thing on their minds is a civilization that, according to our expert, may have been here 3,000 years ago. But if circumstances were different, construction of their new houses would have been stopped long time ago," he added.

The biggest problem, besides the lack of culture and consciousness, according to Sanchez, Carlos Palacios and Belarmino Reyes, assistant prosecutor, is that the National Congress took away all criminal prosecution powers against crimes against cultural heritage.

"Even if we wanted to, we couldn't stop them," said Reyes. "This was right after we started to confiscate important artifacts in February of '98. Suddenly, when some influential people's pockets were touched, politicians decided to tie our hands. Now the authority is in the hands of the Procuraduria General de la Republica, which is the same as saying there is no authority. They are inept and negligent.

Sanchez added, "Experience has shown us politics and money are the key factors and not culture or knowledge. Artifact trafficking is a big business, but we are doing what we can by investigating and notifying."

One other example of their powerlessness is when they filed a report and a complaint to UNESCO to recover artifacts stolen by Bishop Federico Lunardi in the 1940s and taken to a private museum in Italy. Nothing ever came out of that.

In Nueva Morolica, Mayor Humberto Espinal is well informed about the situation. According to the attorneys, he has shown a great interest and willingness to create a museum in this new town that would bring much needed income, but it remains to be seen if he can stop his constituents from looting the site. Espinal is a local hero because right after Mitch, he walked all the way to Tegucigalpa through mountains and flooded rivers to inform about the disaster in his town.

Palacios, the office's archaeologist, recovered small bits and pieces on July 2 that were on the surface and deduced that since the pottery is too thick and rudimentary and the quartz arrowheads not too sophisticated, the site can be placed in the Paleo-American era, around 3,000 years ago. Two years ago when the Nacaome Dam was being built, the Attorney General's Office had the authority and used it to stop construction for two months. During this time, they discovered that the place was the site of the first contact between pre-Columbian civilizations and the Spanish conquistadors in light of the artifacts that were found. This gives the Attorney General's Office a sense of urgency due to the closeness of the sites and has urged the mayor to issue an ordinance to stop excavations and sales.

The National Institute of Anthropology and History (IHAH) is another key player in the case. The Fiscalia has informed them of their investigations and by the end of last week, two IHAH anthropologists were in El Tejar. The results of their investigations will determine, to a great extent, the future of the site.

But according to the attorneys, "knowing the IHAH as we do, they will do nothing. But there is still hope," said Sanchez. "We still have the Municipalities Law and the Law for the Protection of Cultural Heritage. Ethnic groups can send a memorandum to the Bureau of Criminal Investigation and we can prosecute anyone for negligence."

Palacios says this could be the sub-site of a major site and that due to its location, the tribe that built the ancient town could be either Chorotega or Matagalpa.

Comite Garifuna rebuilds 14 houses in Trujillo

By WENDY GRIFFIN

(Third in a series)

After Hurricane Mitch, the Garifunas of Trujillo formed the Comite de Emergencia Garifuna (Garifuna Emergency Committee). This group undertook projects of fundraising, coordination of efforts to rebuild damaged houses, purchase of replacement plants for farms, and the coordination of visits by medical brigades. The group also received donations of toys for kindergartens and medicines for the brigades.

By the end of May, the group had completed the reconstruction of two houses, while four other houses were under construction. The other eight buildings are pending, while families gather the necessary documents to permit construction and to purchase materials.

All the work is being done in a cooperative fashion, reports relief worker Suzanne Shende. The families are required to provide one assistant and the raw materials such as sand and rock. The committee is paying the salaries of a construction foreman, his assistants and a carpenter.

Two other people requested help rebuilding their houses. Many of those who live in traditional red clay houses are elderly people without family. Two elderly people were judged too frail to live alone and are receiving help to rent rooms.

In addition to housing, the Comite de Emergencia Garifuna has been asked to help with the repairs of the Community center. Built of cement, the building is fine, but Mitch's high winds blew off or ruined several sheets of its corrugated tin roofing. The committee was able to respond to this need. Similar damage to the mahogany building where the "Los Tigres" group dances for all major holidays is still awaiting repairs.

When construction projects are complete, food issues are the next priority. Many canoes and fishing gear were lost during the storm. When they are replaced, nutrition will improve. Right now, many children are going to school without breakfast.

The committee would like to also expand its agricultural projects to other Garifuna communities in the department of Colon, but paying for the transportation of young banana trees and cuttings for planting yuca (manioc) is a major obstacle.

For more information on the Comite de Emergencia Garifuna, contact Suzanne Shende (in English) or Angel Batiz (in Spanish) at A.P. 67. Trujillo, Colon; Tel (504) 434-4378, Fax (504) 434-4200, e-mail: s_shende@yahoo.com. There are several U.S. organizations with tax exempt status accepting donations for the Comite de Emergencia Garifuna.

Insecure Olanchanos arm to the teeth

By BLANCA MORENO

TEGUCIGALPA -- Civilian insecurity in the north of the department of Olancho has reached unbearable limits, to the point where citizens have decided to take justice into their own hands. Olanchanos have no confidence in the Ministry of Security whose authorities seem to be tied up in unending bickering.

In light of this situation, the National Congress has begun discussing legislation on restricting the possession and of guns. This legislation establishes that only those without a criminal record will be able to carry weapons. Permits will be issued by the Ministry of Safety, which will also control the use of military caliber weapons instead of the Armed Forces.

One of the problems is that Olancho is such a huge area that there are not enough police to enforce law and protect the population. It is also a place infamous for violence, where the "law of the jungle" rules because police are simply outnumbered. The area is also known for bloody family vendettas like the one in San Esteban, which did not have a police station for the nine years because the feuding families had better weapons, including grande launchers and 0.50-caliber machine guns. The two families had to sign an official peace treaty in 1997, witnessed by international observers and the church, among others.

Today, a general alarm has been sounded after the president of the Northern Olancho Cattle Ranchers Association, Manuel Zelaya, announced that a paramilitary army had been organized to defend its members and residents in general against organized gangs and that they were willing to take the law to the extreme of "ajusticiar" or executing criminals.

Authorities have estimated that there are as many as 20,000 AK-47 assault rifles in the hands of civilians, some who have decided to protect themselves and others who use them to commit crime.

"We are not willing to wait for the police to fulfill their duties," said Zelaya. They have been waiting for too long. An area comprised of eight municipios or counties, and the main road that crosses it from Limones to Mame, has been called the "corridor of death," where many have been assaulted, raped and killed over the last few years.

The treasurer of the association, Jose Ramon Ramos, said the situation has reached the point where they always have to carry high-caliber weapons. Statistics show that an average of five serious crimes are committed every week, ranging from rape, kidnapping and cattle theft to murder. Ramos said he is sure the police force is insufficient to fight the large number of criminals in the area.

There is a continuing debate in all sectors of society on the ways to deal with the problem, centering on gun control. There is talk of a general disarmament and permits for select citizens, but the situation is at present too hot for Olanchanos who are in the cross-fire between delinquents and honest vigilantes who believe in nothing or no one when it comes to defending their crops, cattle, forests and lives under their own laws.

Convict ran motel in SPS prison

A luxurious motel in the San Pedro Sula Prison owned and run by a convict will be converted into a hospital, according to a report in the daily La Prensa Thursday (July 8). Called Paraiso del Amor (Paradise of Love), the prison motel had 18 habitations with air conditioning. Moveover, five were suites with television sets, wall-to-wall carpeting and private bathrooms. Prices ranged from Lps. 50 for three hours in one of the normal rooms to Lps. 200 for a night in a suite. Prisoners using the motel for sexual relations with their spouse or girlfriend had to pay additional fees.

The was closed after prison authorities discovered that Orlando Castellanos, alias "El Magnate," was running a large drug operation inside the prison. Castellanos was subsequently moved to the National Penitentiary at Tamara and all his "business operations" terminated. Castellanos, convicted of murder and ar theft in 1995, reportedly netted as much as Lps. 120,000 a month from his business activities in the prison.

Flores inaugurates solar-powered village

The first Latin American village completely powered by solar energy was inaugurated in Choluteca on Thursday (July 8) by President Flores, the daily El Heraldo reported. The project, conducted in a small village the municipality of Choluteca, was sponsored and financed by UNESCO.

Cattle rancher kidnapped

Jose Ernesto Rojas Alvarado, a prominent businessman and political figure, was kidnapped from his ranch near Santa Rosa de Copan on Thursday (July 8), the daily El Heraldo reported. The kidnappers are reportedly asking a ransom of US$500,000 or the equivalent in lempiras or Guatemalan quetzales. The 72-year-old cattle rancher served as mayor of Santa Rosa de Copan in 1971 and again in 1986.

Monday, July 5, 1999 Online Edition 164

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Honduran boy becomes celebrity in New York City

However, not all the facts in his original story are true.

Paula Vasquez holds a photo of her son, Grevi Sabillon, Edwin's 
deceased father. (Photo by Ketzi Chacon.)

"That's Edwin -- one minute he's here and the next minute you look up and he's gone." These are the words used by Paula Vasquez, 65, to describe her 13-year old grandson Edwin Sabillion.

Edwin captured headlines and hearts in New York City last week after he was brought to a police station by a concerned New York City taxi driver who had been trying to help reunite Edwin with his father. The boy claimed that his father had sent him $200 to make the trip from Honduras to New York and was supposed to meet him at La Guardia airport.

The boy's plight caught the attention of the press and even Mayor Rudolph Giuliani made public pleas for the boy's father to come forward.

Once news got back to Honduras, however, serious inconsistencies were found in the boy's story. Edwin, who had originally claimed that his mother and brother were killed in mudslides caused by Hurricane Mitch, was recognized as the grandson of Vasquez, who has raised him since he was a baby. His family was not affected by the hurricane; in fact Edwin has never lived with his mother, who is alive and well in Choloma, Cortes. Edwin was also not telling the truth about meeting his father in New York. Grevi Sabillion Vasquez died last year in San Buenaventura, Cortes.

Vasquez, who has raised Edwin since he was 10 months old, was not aware of the boy's intentions to leave his home in San Buenaventura, Honduras destined for New York. Yet, she was not too surprised. This was not Edwin's first international journey on his own.

One year ago Edwin had set out for the United States intent on finding his father, whom he knew only from photographs. He got as far as Matamoros, Mexico when a phone call to his grandmother brought surprising news. Edwin's father had returned to San Buenaventura from New York for the first time in over 10 years. Sabillion, an AIDS victim, had returned home to see his mother and son before he died. Edwin returned to Honduras in September. Sabillion died in October, and was buried in the local cemetery.

After the death of his father, life returned to normal for Edwin and his grandmother. Edwin went to school in the morning, and in the afternoons he would travel to a local tourist attraction, the Pullapanzak waterfall, to sell pastries made by his grandmother, or to offer his services as a tour guide. The 150-foot waterfall is popular among foreign visitors to Honduras and on a given day many local children can be found there soliciting money in return for watching cars and belongings or giving guided tours of the spectacular waterfall and surrounding caves. "Some days he would come home with $50," says Vasquez, "and he would say 'they also fed me fried chicken'"

Edwin's moneymaking ventures at the waterfall also brought him into contact with many foreigners. He befriended a Canadian missionary at the falls who would occasionally send Edwin letters with small amounts of cash to be used for school supplies. At the falls, Edwin received one of his most treasured gifts from some foreign tourists: two maps of the United States.

Edwin's teacher, Mayra Perdomo, describes Edwin as an intelligent and rambunctious child. "This is a child who has been raised with lots of freedom. He has had no father and no mother; just his grandmother. Every day he gets on buses and travels around selling pastries and practically running his own business. While I am surprised that he would decide to go to the United States, I am not surprised that he could figure out the transportation. He is a very enterprising young man."

At the end of March of this year, Vasquez was unable to locate Edwin. Asking around town she discovered that Edwin had sold his bicycle and his backpack for Lps. 200 (about $15). As his absence extended, Vasquez began to suspect that he had once again set out for the United States.

Vasquez received a phone call from Edwin in early June. He was in Miami, staying with an uncle (Vasquez' son). "It sounded like they were not getting along well. His uncle was complaining that the boy was a picky eater," says Vasquez. "That is probably true; here he ate whatever he wanted, since he brought the money home. Even if he wanted sausage three times a day."

Apparently, this discord led Edwin to continue his trip northward, even though he has no family members in New York. His reasons for going there remain a mystery and his own version of the story has proven to be less than reliable. But regardless of the inconsistencies in his story, one fact remains: at the end of March, Edwin was in San Buenaventura, Honduras guiding tourists through the mist of a waterfall, and three months (and 4,500 miles) later he is in New York City. He may find that his journey has just begun.

Rebuilding traditional Honduras

Lack of land titles slows rebuilding process

After Hurricane Mitch damaged or destroyed the houses of perhaps one-sixth of Honduras' population, the first apparent need was money for construction. Now that foreign donations are reaching Tegucigalpa, Colon and the Mosquitia, other issues are complicating the rebuilding process such as the lack of land titles, traditional building materials and few people with skills to build in traditional styles.

The Red Cross is planning an expensive project to rebuild 200 houses in the Garifuna community of Santa Rosa de Aguan, says relief worker Suzanne Shende. This community, near where Mitch stalled for more than 24 hours, suffered 30 deaths, the loss of more than 30 acres of land, the destruction of its houses and fields, and the loss of livestock due to flooding.

The housing project stalled, however, due to the lack of individual house plot land titles among the Garifuna there. In spite of promises by former President Carlos Roberto Reina and by the political team of President Carlos Flores, the surveyors needed to measure Santa Rosa's land and give the community its definitive land title never arrived. That process, however, was for a communal land title.

A previous attempt to establish where one house plot ended and another began had previously been financed under the Modernization of the Administration of Municipalities. In this very traditional community built of sand, the specialists admitted that they could not even tell what was the road and what was the yard, better yet decide where house plots began and ended.

To resolve the immediate need for land titles, the Comite de Emergencia Garifuna based in Trujillo is providing funding to the neediest families so that they can make a down payment on the land title or "dominio pleno."

Indigenous people in Honduras, like the Garifuna, no longer have to pay for communal land titles, which are issued by the Honduran Agrarian Reform Institute (INA). However, when people take out individual "dominio pleno" land titles, they have to buy the land from the municipality, even if their great-grandfather built the house and their family had lived there ever since. A person who has "dominio pleno" must also pay real estate taxes, although many people let them accrue until the land is sold.

There are few opportunities for people to earn cash in Santa Rosa de Aguan, a community of 5,000 people, especially now that their livestock are dead. At least the people do not have to worry about paying public utilities, as there is no phone service and drinking water comes from hand pumps.

Another place where land titles are a major issue is in the Comayaguela/Tegucigalpa area. For years the government has refused to give permanent land titles to certain shanty towns as they were on land considered a high risk in the event of a natural disaster. Along came Mitch and proved the city planners right. More people died in the capital than the Bay Islands, Colon and the Mosquitia combined.

So where to build the replacement houses? Poor people, now without land and permanent homes, are invading public and privately held land, currently deemed "unsafe." When Dr. David Hall of Pittsburgh was in Honduras with a medical brigade, he was surprised to be treating people beaten by the police for participating in land invasions where the people were trying to rebuild.

"These people want to do the right thing -- work, send their children to school, house their family. But they are so poor. And now they have nothing," he said.

In Punta Piedra, Colon, ladinos who lost their crops further inland have decided they should be closer to the coast. So they have acquired AK-47 assault rifles and are trying to claim the land of that Garifuna community there as their own. But unlike Tegucigalpa, here the police are located hours away down a ruined road that few 4-wheel drive vehicles will try even in the dry season. And now that the summer rains have come...

Without Mitch, Honduras' land title situation was difficult, dangerous and sometimes bizarre. Making a clear legal land title a prerequisite to rebuilding will seriously slow down the process of helping Honduras' homeless to become housed.

No deaths or serious injuries were reported.