By BLANCA MORENO

TEGUCIGALPA -- Government officials consider the short but productive visit to Honduras by International Monetary Fund (IMF) Director Horst Kohler as providential for the future of the nation with respect to external debt and reconstruction efforts.

Kohler announced that this coming August the IMF will decide the amount of debt relief Honduras will receive.

Kohler, who succeeded Michael Camdesus, made a Latin American tour that included visits to Argentina, Brazil and Mexico, and then decided to visit Honduras where he met with President Flores and other high-ranking government officials.

The IMF president applauded the advancements made in the reconstruction process following the disaster of Hurricane Mitch, and congratulated the Flores administration for them. He said that even though there is still much to do, it is pleasing to see the spirit of unity of all Hondurans in this effort that will assist the country's growth.

"There are clear signs of economic recovery in Honduras," he said. "This year there are good perspectives that the growth rate will be 5 percent, and there is an encouraging factor: inflation has gone down and the reserves have grown, creating a better setting for continuing growth and the creation of more jobs."

Kohler said the progress observed is encouraging and foresaw that in the near future, the IMF and the World Bank will give even more support to the reconstruction and growth processes.

He said the most important factors in fighting poverty are having a strong economy, equal growth and a competitive economy. In this context, Honduras is on the right track and Kohler is confident that it will be maintained.

Kohler said that in the struggle against poverty, reforms must be made, such as improving the Social Security system (IHSS) and privatizing the energy sector. Regarding the possible implications in the delay of Congress' approval of reforms, he said that revitalizing the energy sector is of the utmost importance for the growth of the economy in general.

"If a climate of stability and trust is created in Honduras, the IMF will provide support to Honduras and the international community will be able to invest more," he said.

Regarding the energy sector, the government announced that it is not a question of privatization, like Honduran businessmen say, but of a better distribution and service. As for IHSS, the government is making efforts to improve it and to remove politics from the system so that it accomplishes its objectives.

A former finance minister of Germany, the 56-year-old Kohler is a PhD in economics and political science. He is the first German to occupy such a high post in the IMF.

By BILL MCDONNELL

Special to Honduras This Week

Twice before, Honduras This Week has reported on a locally produced organic compound derived from ferns grown near Lago de Yojoa that has shown promise in relieving the ravages of AIDS. Recently, a study was concluded on this product here in Honduras by the University of Miami, Florida, and it indeed confirms this material to be helpful in improving the health of those suffering with AIDS. Unfortunately, it is not a cure, but it seems to improve the quality of life, and also to extend life somewhat.

About two years ago, having been successful for two years in treating AIDS, Helechos Internacional of Honduras began a program of treating gravely ill cancer patients with the compound with similar results as found on AIDS patients. The patients feel stronger and gain weight after starting the treatment. Helechos expects to publish a study on cancer treatment soon.

The University of Miami study was conducted in a fully professional and scientific manner. Patients selected were seriously ill, but with no immediately terminal conditions such as Kaposi's Sarcoma or pneumonia. Half were given placebos (pills that look the same, but lack the active ingredient) by observer technicians who did not know which subjects were getting the drug and vice versa. At the end of six months of treatment, those receiving the active medication showed a 24 percent reduction in the AIDS virus circulating in their blood, while those receiving placebos showed an increase of 25 percent in the virus in their body.

Company managers said that of 24 patients taking the product, eight still survive. None of those who took the placebos survive today.

When asked whether their medicine, trade named Exply, had been given in conjunction with the more traditional AIDS treatments such as Acyclovir and Retrovir, both expensive and both widely used in the United States, the answer was no -- because testing is done in Honduras and the traditional AIDS anti-virals are too expensive for Honduras. Also, there is a reluctance by the medical establishment to try new, non-traditional treatments, both in Honduras and elsewhere. For now, it is not known whether Phlebodium decomanium (Exply) will work synergistically with other drugs to improve anti-Aids therapy or not.

A close cousin to Exply, calaguala, is marketed under the Kalawalla and other names. Their use is approved for Vitiligo and Psoriasis treatment in Europe. Exply is from a different fern in the same family, and seems the better for AIDS and cancer.

It seems that the fern derivatives must have some useful medicinal properties. Despite the fact that there are no known risks in consuming the product, it is being marketed in the United States as a "food supplement" to avoid the necessity of extensive and very costly trials under the auspices of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Company management resides both in Honduras and Spain. Helechos is really a small business, about 70 people working in Honduras, about 50 of them in fern cultivation. A handful are in Spain and are also working on documenting the benefits of this natural material. Company officers are also funding a considerable deficit in the company's finances out of their own pockets. They hope that after some well-accepted benefits of their product that they will be able to ally themselves with one of the larger big-name pharmaceutical companies.

Apparently, even in Honduras these testing programs are expensive, not least of all the cost of the drug itself, which is given free to the testing program.

For those with more interest in these materials, a website is available <http://www.organichope.com>. More information is available, and if desired, their products can be ordered online.

The product used for treatment of auto-immune disorders like Vitiligo, Psoriasis, and rheumatism, as well as the Exply are processed by an extraction process that concentrates the active ingredients by 50 times. The processing of fern leaves to make the products is all done at their plant near El Hatillo, Tegucigalpa. Fern leaves arrive weekly from Lago de Yojoa, about halfway between Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula, for the concentration process. Lab technicians quantify the active ingredients to assure that all products for testing and resale meet specifications.

Sales in Honduras are small, perhaps because of cost. The recommended dose for AIDS and cancer costs US$75 per month, and the other drug recommended for Vitiligo, etc. costs about US$35 per month. In Europe, where the product is available by prescription, sales are growing about 35 percent annually. Penetration in the U.S. market is very small at present.

Its tough to be small, and these guys are paying the price with sweat equity and capital contributions out of their own pockets. Like most entrepreneurs, they would like to get rich with a product significant worldwide. Let us hope they succeed. It will be great for everyone, perhaps most of all for the Honduran economy.

By SUYAPA CARIAS

TEGUCIGALPA -- Heydy Vanessa is an attractive 16 year old with expressive brown eyes and freckles on her face. But what you can't see on the outside is the suffering she went through for years, when her stepfather would come home and brutally beat her with a whip. He is a policeman. Her humble mother, another victim. So she just handled the situation the best way she could: By drinking, smoking and hanging out with "bad elements" in the neighborhood.

Fortunately, these are now just memories. A visit to Casa Alianza, at the advice of a friend, changed Heydy's destiny. Last May 19, she was one of the 34 children between 10 and 16 who graduated from Casa Alianza after successfully completing the organization's two-year family reintegration program.

However, Heydy's future is still uncertain. She now has a seven-month old child and a husband of her own, and she left school. But in her opinion, what she has learned at Casa Alianza changed her life in a positive way, and for good. "I am not the girl I used to be anymore. I treat people with respect now, I don't drink or smoke, and hopefully I will go back to school next year," she said.

According to estimates from the public and private sectors, there are between 6,000 and 8,000 children living in the streets of Honduras as the result of poverty, injustice and social disintegration.

"We might think there are no possibilities for these children, but today we can prove that statement wrong," said Manuel Capellin, the acting director of Casa Alianza. "Many of you have experienced terrible, unimaginable situations, but today you are the main characters in a story of victory."

With evident pride, Capellin praised the efforts of every one of the children, as well as their mothers and close relatives, many of whom were present and shed tears at the special ceremony held at the organization's headquarters in downtown Tegucigalpa.

"But it would be unfair to blame only families for this phenomena; it has to do with economic factors, and with the imposition of unfair development models that have fractured these families, and especially their most fragile members, the children, who are then seen surviving in the streets," said Capellin.

Casa Alianza's program includes two-year individual follow-up work by social workers and psychologists, who have to make sure that the home is actually providing self-esteem and an environment of respect that will favor the child's mental health and growing process.

Since its foundation in 1986, Casa Alianza/Honduras has been able to reunite more than 1,200 children with their families. The majority have come from extremely poor homes where the father figure is often absent and where physical abuse and prostitution are not uncommon.

Currently, the international organization spends $500 on each child in the family reintegration program. Its goal is to graduate 150 children every year.

The National Police Force last week received two anti-riot vehicles and a shipment of tear-gas materials. The two trucks were unloaded at Puerto Cortes and will be assigned to the Preventive Police Forces in Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula. The trucks have bullet-proof windows and will be installed with anti-riot water hoses for use in dispersing rioters.

Earlier this month, another shipment of anti-riot masks, tear-gas, and shields was also received. -- La Prensa

According to Oscar Sahury, general manager of Full Products and representative of H.B. Fuller in Honduras, new technology has allowed the company to produce products that don't contain dangerous solvents.

Sahury said, "Fuller, after many years of research was able to create a new production technique that eliminates the use of solvents in glue. Mainly used in construction for gluing fiber-cements, plastic, wood and metal: these as well as paper glues have been modified and no longer contain solvents that contaminate the environment and are dangerous if inhaled."

Mauricio Gazel of Fuller Central America said, "Although the company's purpose was creating a better product for the industrial sector, the added social benefit can be appreciated by all." -- La Prensa

Authorities of the Instituto Atlantida High School, located two blocks from the Central Park, issued a statement last week refuting the police report that one of their students initiated a shoot out in downtown Tegucigalpa on May 12.

According to the official police version, one of the school's students engaged in an argument, took out a gun and started shooting, injuring a female student from the same school.

However, the director of the Atlantida claims that the perpetrator does not attend their school and that the girl injured was walking by another school nearby when she accidentally received the gunshot wound. --La Prensa

In a meeting held in La Ceiba on Monday attended by all affected sectors, a hydroelectric project on the Cangrejal River to produce 50 megawatts of electricity a year was unanimously approved. The final step in the process is Congressional approval of the contract between the National Electric Company and Hydro Honduras, so that the company can begin construction of the $US75 million project.

Electric company Manager Manual Arriaga Yacaman said the 20-year contract is basically a purchase-sale agreement of electricity in which Hydro Honduras promises to sell electricity to ENEE at the cost of generation plus a 10 percent incentive for clean energy, which the electric company promises to buy at the agreed price.

He also said that the new facility will help meet new demands for renewable energy, reduce the import of fossils fuels that only last month cost the nation Lps. 180 million, as well as improve the energy supply to La Ceiba and surrounding areas, thus promoting industrial investment and tourism in the area.

Approximately 300 inhabitants from the town of San Ignacio came to Tegucigalpa on Tuesday to once more protest operations of the Entremares mining company in their community. The villagers protested under the National Congress to get the attention of the legislators since, they claim, municipal authorities were bought off by the mining company and have repeatedly ignored their desires that the company not begin operations.

Roger Escober, the vice president of the local environmental committee, said, "we are not against foreign or national investment within reasonable limits that take into consideration our well-being, as well as protect the environment. However, even though the government says the company has met all legal and environmental requirements, residents are worried about the use of cyanide and other dangerous chemicals that will be used to extract gold."

He went on to say that the Ministry of Health had closed a nearby Tourist Center due to the hazard the operations of the mining company presents, and that possible contamination from mining activities could affect the whole country since the Playa River, which will be directly affected, flows into the Francisco Morazan reservoir and the Ulua River. -- El Tiempo

Continuing its promise to alleviate the severe food shortages in the isolated region of the Mosquitia due largely to the erosion of fertile soils during the flooding caused by Hurricane Mitch, the World Food Program began transporting 123 tons of provisions to the region as part of an emergency program it instated April 12.

Eighteen communities with approximately 11,000 inhabitants will benefit from the donations. -- La Tribuna

By ROSIBEL PACHECO DE GUTIERREZ

Do you know what planetary alignment is? From a mathematical point of view, it is three or more objects that are aligned and their centers are exactly on the same straight line. This implies that the centers of the objects must be on the same plane. If this were the case and all the planets were on the same side of the sun, the ones nearest to the sun would eclipse those farthest away. Since the planets move on elliptic orbits that are on different planes, the probability that these are ever in a straight line is almost zero.

Ivan Palma, who is studying for his masters degree in astronomy at the National Autonomous University (UNAH) and who works at the Central American Observatory at Suyapa, says: "When one speaks of planet alignment, this does not indicate that they will be on the same straight line; however, the concept is not too far off from this ideal because they will be aligned when they are close enough to a straight line, that is, they space themselves on a swath or band of a certain width, less then 30 arcseconds, according to generalized criteria."

The conjunction occurred on May 5 and May 17. On May 5, the event occurred at 2:08 a.m. Honduran time, and comprised of a grouping of the moon and the five visible planets -- Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn -- spanning 25 arcseconds. The event was not visible from earth because the planets were on the other side of the sun. On May 17, the same event occurred, with the exception of the earth's moon.

This phenomena has awakened much interest in the field. According to Dr. Maria Cristina Pineda, director of the Astronomical Observatory, it is believed that the Star of David, the light that led the three wisemen to the birthplace of Jesus in Bethlehem, may have been due to a planetary alignment, even though the duration indicated in the Bible suggests a supernova.

It has been speculated that there could be a substantial increase in the gravitational forces that the planets exert on Earth during an alignment, forcing the destabilization of its axis. However, this is not true. The increment on the gravitational force on the earth's surface is insignificant, and during these May events, the planets are farther away from Earth than they normally are.

The last time a conjunction like this happened was in 1962, when the planets were separated by only 15 arcseconds. The next event will happen on May 14, 2002, when they will only be 23 arcseconds apart.

For more information, visit the websites:

By ALEJANDRA FLORES BERMUDEZ

TEGUCIGALPA -- The Public Employee Retirement and Pension Institute (INJUPEMP) wasn't directly affected by Hurricane Mitch, but some of its affiliates, around 250 persons, were. None of the institute's assets were affected and because its housing projects weren't flooded, they acquired immediate demand.

INJUPEMP Director Pedro Milla said, "our inventory of houses in the northern region was 5,600 and now we only have 1,300. INJUPEMP works for national reconstruction mostly by providing land for macroshelters and also with an inventory of houses with low prices and interest so that people can be relocated. But we must not forget that the main purpose of the institution is to provide adequate pensions to all our affiliates, to provide stability and social peace through general welfare."

INJUPEMP's budget is Lps. 1,200 million, but it is not financing more housing projects. Its intention is to sell all those that currently exist. Apart from building the first recreation and training center for the retired in Honduras near its headquarters, it has no other building projects in perspective. But the institution inherited a lot of problems from past administrations, specially during the Callejas administration from 1990 to 1994. In those days, the institute tried to promote housing projects when that is not the basic function or should not be the principal purpose of INJUPEMP.

"In a public pension fund like INJUPEMP, there is only one purpose: to create a patrimony to be able to respond to our obligations in the future with our affiliates," said Milla. "We are a public institution, a public pension fund for public employees and those of the executive branch. Our principal function is social and it is to provide adequate pensions for our affiliates."

Milla is now trying to reorient the objectives of the institute. "We want to reform the law that governs INJUPEMP, update it, because since its approval 23 years ago, the law has not been reformed."

Proposed legislation has been drawn up this year that will first be presented to the board of directors for discussion. Once there is agreement, the final draft will be presented to congress.

Like the U.S. Social Security system, INJUPEMP works through withholding taxes: employees contribute 7 percent of their salary and the institution where they work contributes another 11 percent. This is the institution's only income. The number of participating public employees is around 45,000, generating around Lps. 33 million per month. This money is deposited in private commercial banks, providing additional income via interest.

One of the chief concerns of current INJUPEMP director is the controversial Ciudad Mateo housing project, a problem he has inherited from previous administrations.

"To understand Ciudad Mateo, we must itemize its components: the legal component, the economic component, and the technical component," said Milla.

Everything related to Ciudad Mateo had been paralyzed, as well as actions by the Public Ministry and the Government Prosecutor's Office for Environmental Matters (Fiscalia del Medio Ambiente).

"Our main goal was to find a solution to Ciudad Mateo because in this project, as well as in all the housing projects, is a large part of INJUPEMP's technical reserve."

The Ciudad Mateo project came to a halt when ecological groups in the country and abroad opposed the project because of its location in the Goacerique River basis, which feeds the Los Laureles Dam that provides water to 60 percent of Tegucigalpa's residents.

There is also a legislative decree establishing that the region where Ciudad Mateo was built is a restricted zone. "Some people argue that this decree was issued after Ciudad Mateo was built. But the law protected this region before [the project got underway]. What was created after Ciudad Mateo was built was the Government Prosecutor's Office for Environmental Matters. Pressure from environmental groups was what halted the project.

There was also justification on the part of INJUPEMP for stopping the project because the institute has disbursed more than 80 percent of its cost and not even 45 percent had been built. So, apart from the environmental problem, there also was a strong economical reason to stop it," said Milla.

He added that INJUPEMP is not seeking to do the prosecutor's job. His main concern is recovering the investment made in the housing project. "We cannot view Ciudad Mateo as an inventory of houses because INJUPEMP's objective has never been and will never be to solve the country's housing deficit. The justification given for undertaking this project was that the investment made was going to generate a return that would be the same or more than what would have been obtained in a private bank. INJUPEMP has to recover the investment made in the project," said Milla.

There are various ways to recover the investment, according to Milla. The legal way would be to charge the people involved in this project, who had substantial monetary gains, so that INJUPEMP could recover its investment. Another way is to consider an alternate use for Ciudad Mateo, because currently there are legal obstacles preventing it from being inhabited. There are also technical limitations. This project was made under the concept of "turn-key," which means it must be completely finished all aspects: the houses and all services like sewage, potable water, storm drains, treatment plant and electricity.

"INJUPEMP cannot receive the project unless it's finished. To receive it incomplete would be to incur in serious liability... There is a lawsuit against INJUPEMP by the contractors who claim we haven't wanted to receive the project. What is going to happen is that a judge is going to establish who really defaulted in the development of the project, if it was the contractors or INJUPEMP. That will provide a solution in the sense that a court will establish what is expected of the Ciudad Mateo project.

"The situation becomes even more complicated due to the fact that two of the consortiums never made transfers of the property on which the project is located, which is a legal requirement of INJUPEMP. Law forbids the institute from building housing projects on land that does not belong to the institute. Two of the consortiums never could assign or register the property in the name of INJUPEMP. At this moment, INJUPEMP is not the owner of anything concerning this project... A court will determine what belongs to whom. Once we know how much land will be ours, what belongs to INJUPEMP, then we will proceed to find a solution to this problem," said Milla.

According to Milla, INJUPEMP is making advances in the legal aspects of the project. Officials have explored various solutions, assuming that the institution would retain a large part of this project. This means finding an alternate use for the houses, because Article 33 of Environmental Law (Ley de Proteccion del Medio Ambiente) forbids any human settlements in the basin due to the problem of the trash and waste disposal.

Milla said INJUPEMP has to search for an alternate use in case part of the houses were assigned. "Why find an alternate use to the houses? Because environmentally speaking, it would be much more harmful to destroy them and it would be politically pitiful. Maybe using them for other means like developing an institution like INFOP [National Professional Training Institute] or, as other countries like Costa Rica, which sells its oxygen through its forests."

He added, "Environmental associations or European countries interested in the conservation of the environment pay the state money for not exploiting its forests. One way of recovering the investment INJUPEMP has made would be that an environmental organization would come and offer to pay us to protect the basin and to not inhabit those houses because of the harm that living in those houses would cause it."

Another possibility under consideration is transforming the area that has not been built into a cemetery. "It seems a crazy idea, but if we consider it without prejudice we can see it's practical. It's the most expensive real estate and it would benefit our affiliates. We have 75,000 affiliates that could buy a piece for their final resting place. It's something we all need. "With this solution," he added, "we would recover the initial capital invested in the project. Even more, it would not negatively affect the environment and we could reforest the area where the cemetery would be located without causing pollution to the basin. This is why it appears as an attractive solution. This in turn would lower the value of adjacent land, such that other people would not want to develop housing projects there. Moreover, we would be responding to the increased demand for cemeteries in Tegucigalpa," said Milla.

Milla also said the institution has not ruled out the possibility of inhabiting some of the 5,000 houses. INJUPEMP has received technical cooperation from the French government to this end. The French are providing an expert on environmental matters who will examine the project and determine the viability of inhabiting it: what should be done and how much it would cost.

"This possibility has not been disregarded, it's part of the range of options we have," said Milla. "First, we must solve the legal aspect. Meanwhile, we're working on the technical aspects of possible solutions, like the option of inhabiting it if the French expert finds it to be a favorable option, environmentally and economically speaking," said Milla.

By WENDY GRIFFIN

GUANAJA -- "When Hurricane Mitch hit Mangrove Bight, we were in a house belonging to my mother-in-law in the swamp," said the truck driver between Savannah Bight and Mangrove Bight. "It was made of pure corrugated zinc. You know since zinc bends, we had to put our backs up against the walls to stop the pieces of wood that hit it. When the waves came, they knocked down the houses, then those pieces of wood knocked down the other house. There we were for three days."

"We could not go outside. We were risking having our heads cut off by flying pieces of zinc. I was in Hurricane Fifi. I was only a boy, but this was worse. With Fifi, there was wind for 24 hours, but then it was over. This was three days. We lost our house, but thank God no one was killed or hurt, except me. They took me to Tegucigalpa, because of a piece of wood that hit me in the back. Now I am trying to rebuild my little house here because my family is in La Ceiba. Here after 18 months, we still have no houses in Mangrove Bight."

But the speed of rebuilding varies on the island of Guanaja, the worst hit by Hurricane Mitch. In Bonacca, 98 percent of the people were affected by Mitch, mostly through the lose of roofing known as laminas. After Mitch, there were donations of laminas and people bought whatever else they needed. The Honduran Social Investment Fund (FHIS) helped with the clean up. Now visitors to the town will probably not notice the damage.

Residents of Savannah Bight have had several groups working with them to help rebuild homes, including Mission to the World, Global Challenge and PRIMIR, a German program. Although people can be seen rebuilding houses, hurricane damage does not stand out here. What people complained of most was a garbage dump in the swamp.

Global Challenge, a Bozeman, Montana group, has faced special problems in its rebuilding program, especially in Mangrove Bight where only nine out of 164 houses were still standing after Mitch. The destruction was so widespread because as the waves knocked down houses built over the sea, it threw the wood like battering rams at the houses further inland. The sea rose to about 80 feet inland. People took refuge in houses on higher ground, sometimes over a 100 people in a single building, said a local fisherman.

To get funds for materials to rebuild Mangrove Bight, the Global Challenge group participated with the Cooperative Housing Foundation (CHF) to write a proposal to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to get funding to rebuild houses. USAID approved the project and gave the funds to CHF, which put them in the bank to earn interest.

At first, CHF said the Mangrove Bight program could have the funding for materials in February 2000. However, even though the Mangrove Bight project was one of the original projects in the proposal, CHF then wavered, saying they would have to resubmit their proposal, more paperwork was needed, the houses were too big, and maybe the people there would not get anything.

With the promise of materials, Global Challenge brought down a work crew in February that could not work full-time because there were too few materials. For March, they had 92 people coming to help with rebuilding. In the meantime, people are still living under plastic tarps nailed to frames of houses more than 18 months after Mitch.

As of March 2000, 68 houses had been rebuilt. Although municipal law prohibits building over the water, some people rebuilt their houses there on their own. Those who were on the beach in plastic structures had other problems as well, because these temporary homes were located on privately-owned land. There have been threats to move the people of Mangrove Bight forcibly off of this land. In anticipation of the large rebuilding project, a large dock is being built privately at Mangrove Bight.

East End, a Guanaja community past Savannah Bight, was completely flattened by Mitch. About 60 percent of that community has been rebuilt.

While the rebuilding of private housing is going slowly, people are content with the rebuilding of public buildings like schools, health center and the airport. Most of this work was done by FHIS, a Honduran government agency currently under investigation for "irregularities."

The situation on Roatan is distinct from Guanaja. Housing was only lost on the northern side of the island, and only on the eastern end. The Native Bay Islander Professional and Laborers Association (NABIPLA) and Reliant Ventures have been rebuilding houses in Oak Ridge, Pandy Town and the Garifuna village of Punta Gorda.

This last community was particularly hard hit, as a huge wave suddenly came up and hit the community, destroying about a 100 houses. Fortunately, there was no loss of life. Local people mobilized immediately with private rescue efforts.

The southern edge of Roatan and the western end was little affected by Mitch. Governor Don Ebanks remembers watching CNN reporting about Mitch in the Bay Islands, while in his Coxen Hole home. "They were reporting the Islands were destroyed and we had not even lost power." One friend asked another, "Are we dead?"

Few tourists visit the eastern end of Roatan, where the damage occurred, except those who travel with a tour sponsored by the Casi Todo Bookstore of Coxen Hole.

By SUYAPA CARIAS

TEGUCIGALPA -- Representatives of the political, academic, civil and private sectors last week gathered in the capital to discuss the situation of Honduras' human development policies in the context of globalization.

The seminar, sponsored by the U.N. Conference of Trade and Commerce and the U.N. Development Programme (UNDP), reviewed human development studies prepared by international experts Manuel Agosin, Eduardo Giltil and David Bloom. National consultants included Maria Bennaton, Ana Cristina Maria de Pereira, Miguel Ramos Lobo, Sergio Membreno and Ximena Ibanez.

The documents presented departed from the position that human development is indispensable for economic growth, since it is vital to have a healthy labor force with a minimum level of education in order to make national and foreign investment profitable.

The Central American analysis pointed out the advances observed in Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala and El Salvador in terms of lowering trade and investment barriers, economic growth and social achievements, as well as the problems faced by small businesses and microenterprises.

According to the UNDP, even though military expenses were considerably reduced during the 1990s, Honduras has not been able to improve health, education, underemployment and housing levels, nor lower birth rates. Despite the efforts made to increase tax revenue and decrease the fiscal deficit between 1994 and 1998, Hurricane Mitch was responsible for a new increase in the deficit in 1999, since it caused damages in the order of $5 billion million, equivalent to 70 percent of the domestic gross product.

On the other hand, while inflation has declined, it is still the highest in the Central American region, topping 10 percent per year. Under these conditions, it is hard for the country to continue a policy oriented toward the reduction of macroeconomic imbalances.

Among the problems addressed at the seminar is the fact that the economy grew at a rate barely above the population growth rate; in other words, Honduras hasn't been able to generate a sustainable growth process that improves the standard of living. Honduras, along with Nicaragua, is the country with the lowest levels of income.

The external debt is another obstacle faced by Honduras. Despite bilateral debt relief in recent years, service of the foreign debt absorbs 20 percent of income generated by exports.

On the bright side, participants in the seminar said the dynamics experienced by the export sector in the last decade is encouraging. This has been particularly true for non-traditional products such as cultivated shrimp, cantaloupes, manufactured wood products, pineapples, cigars and clothes, among others, which recorded a 25 percent growth in exports compared to a one percent growth in traditional exports (coffee and bananas).

The maquila sector has acquired an important role as well,

stimulated by favorable legislation that has created free zones where more than 120,000 people are working and exporting merchandise worth more than US$400 million. One third of this amount comes from products with added value.

By BLANCA MORENO

For years, San Francisco de Lempira in Choluteca was just a poor, forgotten communities until this month when it became the nation's second solar village, which now gives residents access to computers and the Interent and the advantages these bring.

The project, which cost Lps. 2 million, consists of computer centers for the schools and rural health centers with solar-powered refrigerating systems for vaccines and medicines. Over time, additions will be made to the systems so that more residents are benefitted.

"Solar villages are no longer utopic and can change the perspective of millions of other villages in the world toward change, development and a better quality of life," said President Carlos Flores during the inauguration ceremony.

"Today," he added, "San Francisco de Lempira has become the standard bearer of world development because it is the second solar village and represents an example of how communities can have access to something that represents many benefits."

Flores said one of the most important benefits is that children can now receive an individualized education with the computers and that teachers will always be up to date on the latest educational, scientific and technological advances.

With respect to health, Flores said refrigerated vaccines will now be at hand and people will not have to go to the cities or die on their way for lack of medicine. "It is also inconceivable that at the dawn of the third millennium, there are still places where people do not know electricity and the advantages of having it."

Also attending the ceremony was Cesar Gaviria, the secretary general of the Organization of American States (OAS).

The first solar village in Latin America was San Ramon Centro in Choluteca, which was inaugurated last year. That project, which cost Lps. 1.8 million, was sponsored by UNESCO and several Honduran government agencies.

The project at San Francisco de Lempira, sponsored by the OAS, seeks the community's scientific advancement, improved health and education and the development of micro-enterprises through solar power. The cost of each project was Lps. 2 million.

The solar villages are a project of the Science and Technology Commission directed by Gerardo Zepeda Bermudez.

By SUYAPA CARIAS

TEGUCIGALPA -- Members of the Honduras Emergency Life Project (HELP) from the United States recently provided free training on laparoscopic surgery and orthopedic to personnel of the San Felipe Hospital, as well as the necessary equipment to establish a permanent program at this center.

Dr. Jesus Sosa, the mission's coordinator, said the purpose of their visit was to show the Honduran medical community the latest techniques in laparoscopy and to emphasize the benefits this practice can offer to a country with scarce economic resources.

According to Sosa, the main advantage of this surgical technique is the short recovery period needed by the patient. Since an surgical incision is not required during the procedure, the patient is ready to go home the following day and can return to work just five days later. In conventional surgery, however, a patient needs an average of a six weeks to fully recover. "With laparoscopy there is considerably less pain, there are less probabilities of a recurrence, hospitalization time is reduced, as well as the patient's absence from work, which in the end favors the country's development process," added Sosa.

The brigade came from the St. Anne's, Charlon and Morton hospitals in Boston, Massachusetts and brought the technological equipment and surgical materials needed to perform the operations. Visiting surgeons and nurses worked one week long with their Honduran colleagues in 15 successful operations.

"Local personnel are now trained and there is enough material to keep the procedures going for about three months," said Sosa.

Meanwhile, Dr. Oscar Tavarone, chief of the San Felipe's surgical service, pointed out their interest in establishing a permanent self-sufficient laparosocopic surgery program. This would require patients to cover part of the operation's costs. "But the fees would be symbolic if we compare them to real costs as well as to the fees charged by private hospitals," said Tavarone.

Project HELP plans to come back to San Felipe every year. Two years ago, the group made its first trip to the hospital and set up the program's foundations, which will hopefully take off soon in benefit of the Honduran population.

Three prominent companies last Friday (May 5) signed a cooperation agreement to support schools with scarce resources in Honduras. The program will initiate in a public school in the outskirts of Tegucigalpa, the Escuela Monsenor Jacobo Caceres in the village of Suyapa.

This alliance consists of incorporating the Futurekids computer technology into the school calendar. It will benefit the school for a minimum of three years and consists of a computer lab complete with scanners, printers and networks. The teachers and their assistants will receive full training and periodic instruction in the latest advances by a supervisor from the computer company all year round.

The program will be taught in a specially designed classroom to be converted into a computer lab for the more than 900 students from first through ninth grades. There will be two children for every computer one hour per week, 24 kids at a time. Ten essential technological areas applied to practical projects will comprise the educational agenda of "learning by doing."

The other two companies that support this effort are Celtel and Nokia. All three businesses are looking to expand the educational project to encompass new technologies and more schools throughout the country.

Last week, Marco Vinicio Arias, administrator of the Honduran Forestry Development Corporation (COHDEFOR), repeated to regional COHDEFOR authorities that they must require resource management plans from prospective loggers.

Arias also warned lumber mills to only buy certified lumber from loggers authorized by COHDEFOR. He indicated that people who break the forestry law will be sanctioned by COHDEFOR, but that in more serious cases, perpetrators will be charged with forestry crimes and taken to court. -- La Prensa

Nurses, resident doctors and other Hospital Escuela workers continued to strike this week, demanding higher salaries. On Tuesday all scheduled surgeries and non-emergency admissions were canceled when strikers abandoned their posts for 12 hours.

Resident doctors are asking for a 40 percent raise over the Lps. 2,700.00 monthly stipend they currently receive. The Ministry of Health has threatened to suspend the scholarships and stipends of striking resident doctors.

Nurses are on strike throughout the country demanding an increase in salary, as well as other benefits such as health, life insurance and early retirement. -- El Heraldo

Due to high levels of air pollution, the government plans to put a emissions control program into effect. By next year, all vehicle owners will be required to carry an emissions control certificate and all vehicles will require catalytic converters to reduce carbon monoxide emissions.

Natural Resources and Environment Minister Xiomara Gomez says the new requirement is aimed at modernizing the transportation sector, one of the major contributors to air pollution. -- El Tiempo

In a public statement issued Tuesday, the Honduran Banking Association, the Chamber of Commerce, insurance companies and savings and loans sharply questioned the effectiveness of the judicial and criminal investigation systems.

The document stated, "The judicial system is a dark maze in which corruption, opportunism, and a political buddy system work together in benefit of a few. Institutionalization is not possible, when the institutions favor personal interests. Justice is not possible, when criminals are not caught. Safety is not possible, when society is oppressed by the police."

The bankers also stated that economic development and prosperity are not possible if individual liberty is not guaranteed: "changing the form of the judicial system will not bring reforms about since it is evident that the institutions managing the justice system don't fulfill the role granted them by the Honduran people." -- El Tiempo

Weng Min Hua, imprisoned in San Pedro Sula since January 4, was released last week after his lawyer successfully argued that his client was an innocent victim of fraud.

Min Hua, a native of China, was deported from England in January when he attempted to enter the country with a false Honduran passport. Min Hua was criminally charged with falsifying documents. However, he stated that he had paid US$7,000 for the documents and was unaware they were false. All charges have been dropped. -- El Tiempo

According to a representative of the Ministry of Health, Moises Sanchez, extreme poverty affects the quality of life in 70 Honduran municipalities, up from 57 prior to Hurricane Mitch.

By BRAD MINCEY

Special to Honduras This Week

TEGUCIGALPA -- As a 2-year-old little girl lays anesthetized on an operating table, Air Force and Honduran doctors work to repair a joint in her hip.

The future of the child depends on the cooperation and exchange of information between the doctors in the Hospital Escuela, Tegucigalpa.

The young girl suffers from a complex congenital dislocation of the hip, which caused joints in her hips to separate.

In the past, this might have been treated with traction, and the end result would be dislocation again in six months to a year.

By using a technique called open reduction of the hip, the doctors hope to resolve the young girl's problem so she can walk properly after her treatment.

"It's a very complicated technique with a number of different steps," said Maj. Raymond Stefko, a U.S. Air Force surgeon. "It's a technique that, once the Hondurans get a fluoroscope, they'll need to become familiar with to improve the quality of their care." The medical team consisted of three surgeons, two anesthesiologists, three nurses and two operating room technicians, all from the 59th Medical Wing and Wilford Hall Medical Center out of Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas.

TRAUMA CASES
"We're doing pediatric orthopedics, primarily trauma cases such as club feet that are endemic in this part of the world, and they typically don't get care," said 1st Lt. Christopher Coven. "We come down here and assist the Honduran physicians in providing care to people who come from Tegucigalpa and the local area."

According to Stefko, the team's primary mission is to assist the Honduran surgeons with the treatment of severe pediatric infections, developmental disorders and muscular and skeletal defects.

"We work very close with one another," said Stefko. "There is at least one Honduran orthopedic surgeon who scrubs up on every case we do. We screen the patients ahead of time with the individual physicians, and then we help them with these complex procedures on their patients."

Many types of injuries come into the hospital. Automobile accidents are common, as are broken bones from falls.

Every few weeks, a new team rotates in and provides a different type of care. Fortunately, both sides, the Americans and Hondurans, get a lot out of the experience.

One of the anesthesiologists, Maj. John Reynolds, is working closely with several Honduran residents to train them in techniques they will need to treat the patients that will continue to come into the hospital after the Air Force team has left.

"The cooperation has been great," said Reynolds. "I've had to meld with the people here. I have two Honduran residents working with me for two weeks. We do a lot of things in America that they don't do here, so I am going to give them some lectures and have a lot of talks."

Although there is a huge language barrier between teacher and students, they find ways to work around that, and there is usually a translator close by, in case of an emergency.

"It's nice to be able to work with them, and maybe show them some things they haven't been able to do before," said Reynolds.

CONTINUING EDUCATION
The cooperation also yields continuing medical education for the Hondurans. They are trained in new techniques that are used abroad, but have not yet been adapted by this country.

Hondurans also benefit from some of the more sophisticated equipment that the American doctors bring down.

The doctors, nurses and technicians from America also get a great deal out of the collaboration.

"They teach us a number of techniques that we are not that familiar with in the (United States)," said Stefko. "They see such severe infections here, and they have some novel ways of dealing with those that we aren't normally exposed to. That really benefits us when we are in a battlefield environment, because we are better able to deal with these infections and know how to treat them more appropriately."

The medical team has also learned many techniques from the Hondurans on how to deal with ailments without using the sophisticated equipment and materials they normally have at their disposal.

Whether the tour is two weeks or two months, the doctors seem to enjoy the work and camaraderie they get out of the experience.

"I love it down here," said Coven. "This is the second year I have come down here. I have three kids of my own, and I think what we do down here is very beneficial, not only to the kids but to us for readiness reasons. A lot of people don't get to see this side of readiness and actually doing surgery, it's mostly exercises. We're not only doing a service, but it benefits us because we have to adapt and use some of the things that are native to here."

As for the young girl, according to Stefko she should recover completely from the operation.

"We think her prognosis is excellent," he said, "assuming that she can make it through the early post-operative period without any infection or other serious complications, this may be the last operation that she'll need."

By SUYAPA CARIAS

TEGUCIGALPA -- In an attempt to eradicate corrupt practices that have existed for decades, Revenue Director (DEI) Jorge Illescas Oliva announced the dismissal of 35 employees who were involved in automobile registration.

During a press conference held last Wednesday, Illescas pointed out that the DEI had detected approximately 70,000 vehicles circulating illegally in Honduras. Of this number, 30,000 have since been legalized or paid their respective taxes. The remaining unregistered vehicles currently represent a loss of approximately Lps. 400 million in taxes for the government.

The measure, said Illescas Oliva, responds partially to the endless number of protests and claims from Honduran citizens

whose names have been falsely used by illegal car traffickers, making them appear as the owners of cars they don't have.

"People who have never had a car in their lives appear in our registration lists as the owners of brand new models," said government officials.

Protests have also come from authorized tramitadores (individuals who, for a fee, apply for and obtain government permits, licenses, etc. on behalf of another person), import companies and the diplomatic community. Irregularities in the car registration process include evasion of customs duties for used cars, false import permits, and illegal permits for stolen cars.

Accompanied by the Board of Directors of the Asociacion de Tramitadores de Vehiculos and Jose Jorge Martinez, directive of the Asociacion de Importadores de Vehiculos de Honduras, Illescas Oliva asked for comprehension and support because in the coming months DEI will commit mistakes and there will be delays, given the fact that new personnel are being hired for that agency.

To avoid other illegal practices, Illescas Oliva said authorized tramitadores will be required to carry an authorized identification, have no criminal record, and receive training not only in technical matters, but in ethics and moral values as well.

Illescas reiterated his opposition to proposed legislation that seeks to exempt people whose cars are already circulating under illegal terms from paying taxes. Moreover, he isn't advocating police operations, either, as "what we need to do is look for the root of the problem."

"This is the first time we have gotten unequivocal and direct support with regards to cleaning up the car registration process," said Marco A. Valladares on behalf of the Tegucigalpa tramitadores. According to Valladares, no less than 200 unauthorized tramitadores are giving them a hard time while ripping off unsuspecting victims.

Meanwhile, Martinez of the Imported Vehicles Association said they are willing to offer their full support since their business has been affected, especially because of constant irregularities in the import of used cars.

Finally, Illescas Oliva showed members of the press a room filled with approximately 180,000 import permits that were found thrown on the floor at the customs' facilities in Col. Palmira, Tegucigalpa. "It is possible that these import permits were intentionally mixed up, but we will be working on them until they are properly classified again," he said.

By WENDY GRIFFIN

Herbal medicines like cat's claw, which reputedly reduces pain and improves the immune system of AIDS or arthritis sufferers, and supplements like the hormone DHEA have become a multi-billion dollar industry in the United States. People who have become used to taking glucosamine sulfate for their arthritis, St. John's Wort for depression or ginkgo balboa to improve their memory can now find these products in Honduras' largest cities.

In La Ceiba, Reino Natural is located on 14 de Julio Street, one block over from Parque Central and one block closer to the beach. If menopause's hot flashes have you down, maybe phytoestrogen from soy will help you feel better. Can't sleep in the heat? Try valerian. For chicken bus nerves, take two kava-kavas and enjoy the ride.

A naturalist doctor does consultation here. For example, if you are considering a plant substitute for Viagra, he might recommend damiana, either alone or with saw palmetto for better prostate health. If you do not see what are you looking for, ask them. Maybe they can order it for you.

If you are in Tegucigalpa, try visiting Oasis de Dios on Miguel Cervantes Street about two blocks closer to the Honduras Maya Hotel from Central Park. They offer a lot of vitamins, as well as being the only place that carries DHEA. Levels of this hormone decline with age, thus making one more tired and less resistant to illness. A number of good benefits are attributed to it, including improving depression, eliminating hot flashes, and lessening problems associated with lupus. Read the book Superhome Promise or search the Internet for information on the anti-aging claims for this supplement.

One block over near Parque Valle in Tegucigalpa is Reino Natural, which has a different range of medicinal plants. For example, passiflor compuesta includes a variety of plants to relieve anxiety and help you sleep.

Some homeopathic remedies are available at Reino Natural. However, they are made in Mexico and there is concern about concentrations. In general, homeopathy does not have much of a following here as compared to local herbal traditions. The Tegucigalpa stores also have naturalists who treat patients with the plants they have in the store.

The Mall in San Pedro Sula has a herbal medicine/supplements store, reports Marianne Ewing. Also in San Pedro Sula is the Herbal Life company, which is offering its products through sales representatives in different cities. This company's products are substantially more expensive than products found in stores, and weeks may pass before the sales representative brings them, if at all. I finally went to La Ceiba to get what I wanted.

Honduras has a long tradition of herbal remedies. Local people are more likely to drink tilo flower tea for their nerves (Lps. 12 for a large bag) than take kava-kava (Lps. 106 per bottle). Calaguala root has more of a following for arthritis pain than glucosamina sulphate. If you can not find what you want, you might ask for an equivalent plant at your local medicinal herb store, such as the Clinica de Medicina Natural in Trujillo.

In the March 28 article titled Rebuilding slow in Garifuna village, the contact e-mail address for the Comite de Emergencia Garifuna was incorrect. The correct e-mail is <shende@yahoo.com>.

By BLANCA MORENO

TEGUCIGALPA -- Bearing placards and banners demanding an across-the-board wage increase and an end to neo-liberal economic polices, thousands of workers on Monday participated in the traditional May Day parade in observance of International Labor Day.

As in previous years, however, continued divisions within the labor movement gave rise to separate parades. More than 100 unions affiliated with the Confederation of Honduran Workers (CTH), the General Workers Union (CGT) and the United Workers Federation of Honduras (CUTH) marched from La Bolsa, crossed the recently inaugurated Hernan Corrales Padilla Bridge and made its way to the Casa Presidencial.

Meanwhile, the United Federation of Honduran Workers (FUTH) -- an affiliate of CUTH -- broke away from the three major union groups and marched along the European Economic Community Boulevard and the Calle Real, the traditional route, before finally reaching the Central Plaza. The break was due, according to FUTH officials, to the lack of organization.

An estimated 8,000 workers participated in the FUTH march, while only 5,000 took part in the other parade. Also, unlike previous years, most of the activities were over before 10 a.m.

As is the custom, numerous unions protested key issues affecting the nation in unusual ways. Two members of the National University's union carried a large, wood cross covered with paper that had phrases such as "corruption", "private beaches", "forest fires", "soccer for breakfast", "expensive housing" and "dangerous religious sects" written on it.

Another group of workers carried a wood coffin with a paper-mache figure of a dead man inside. On top was written, "Neo-liberal globalization killed him."

Many marchers also carried placards with photos of Cuban leader Fidel Castro and revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara and pro-Cuban messages.

Julio Cesar Pineda, a journalist with Radio Progreso, received a gunshot wound to the head last week when assailants attacked him outside his home in San Pedro Sula.

Pineda stated that his attackers had been following him for several days and finally confronted him at the gate of his house on April 26.

According to his statements, one of the criminals grabbed him by the hair and shot him in the head, the bullet went through his right temple and then his helmet, finally stopping in a wall of his home. Pineda stated that he had previously received threatening phone calls but that he had ignored them.

Radio Progreso is directed by Jesuit priests and on numerous occasions has severely criticized politicians and the private sector. Pineda also said that it took the police three days to begin an investigation. -- El Heraldo

According to recent study released by the U.N. Population Fund, 46.2 percent of child-bearing women in Honduras give birth at home. According to Rita Avilez, U.N.consultant for sexual reproduction, 53.8 percent of Honduran babies are delivered in medical centers -- 38.9 percent in state hospitals, 7.7 percent in the Social Security Hospital system and 6 percent in private hospitals. Of the 46 percent born at home, 38 percent are attended by midwives, 6.8 percent are attended by the mother alone, and 0.7 percent are attended by private doctors and nurses. -- La Prensa

According to Maria Marta Diaz, Minister of the Governmental Organization of Women, radical opposition groups are interfering with Honduras' compliance with International Reproductive Right's Treaties. These groups and others like them from Sudan, Pakistan, Algeria, Syria, Morocco, Iran, and the Vatican wish to eliminate sexual rights clauses from the Cairo Treaty.

According to Diaz, the government position concerning reproduction does not support abortion but does promote the use of contraceptives. "Unfortunately," said Diaz, "there are radical groups that are against a reproductive health policy; these groups are not in tune with the reality of our country and are not affiliated to the government and cannot represent Honduras before international organizations." -- La Prensa

As part of strategy to include all interested sectors in the process of reforming the national forestry law, representatives of 65 municipal governments met last week at the National Forestry School in Siguatepeque to provide their input concerning reforms.

So far, campesino groups and non-governmental organizations have participated in the process and according to Juan Blas Zapata, reform program coordinator, the process may also include members of the private sector and the National Congress' environmental commission.

The coordinator stated that their goal is to hold a meeting including all sectors at the end of May or the beginning of June to finalize reforms before presenting the legislation to Congress for its approval. -- La Prensa

In response to recent allegations of corruption and politicization of the Judicial System in Honduras by the press, the Human Rights Commission and several politicians, President Flores last week formed a commission to study problems in the judicial system.

The commission is comprised of 22 members, including the rector of the National University, the dean of the Law School, the president of the National Workers Union, and the president of the Honduran Council of Private Enterprise. Jorge Bueso Arias has been appointed as the commission's coordinator. -- El Heraldo

The United States has temporarily suspended the import of non-cultivated shrimp from Honduras due to the failure of local shrimpers to use sea turtle excluder devices. Guillermo Alvarado, the Minister of Agriculture and Cattle Ranching, said this is the second time the country has been sanctioned for this reason.

The suspension began on May 1 and will last until authorities prohibit certain fishing techniques. Alvarado stated, "We won't know until the harvest begins in June whether the industry will comply with these requirements." -- La Tribuna

Policarpo Paz Garcia

By BLANCA MORENO

TEGUCIGALPA -- Retired General Policarpo Paz Garcia, the last military caudillo of the 20th century, died on April 16 at the age of 68. Paz Garcia was also the head of state responsible for the transition from a military to a democratic regime.

In a solemn ceremony, President Carlos Flores paid posthumous homage to general of division and provisional President Paz Garcia, protagonist of the establishment of the constitutional regime and symbol of the Honduran soldier.

Funeral services were held in the Jose Cecilio del Valle Presidential Palace in the presence of the late president's family, former comrades in arms, and former heads of state Gen. (ret.) Oswaldo Lopez Arellano, Jose Azcona Hoyo and Carlos Roberto Reina.

President Flores, accompanied by first Lady Mary Flores and their daughter Lizzy, laid the Honduran flag on top of the coffin.

Archbishop of Tegucigalpa Oscar Andres Rodriguez offered mass to those present and exalted the virtues of Paz Garcia, and praised the general's accomplishments.

Later, the funeral procession continued on to the Cathedral in Central Park and then on to Saint Michael's Archangel Cemetery, where the general was finally laid to rest.

President Flores spoke highly of Paz Garcia, and repeated the famous phrase: "Soldier Paz Garcia reports to his country, mission accomplished." Those were the same words that Paz Garcia said in 1982 when he turned military power over to civil authorities.

President Flores further added, "Neither power nor glory could change the simple and humble Policarpo Paz Garcia, who accepted without resistance the fact that transition through this world is always temporary, for which reason he travelled light of any vanities and armed against the temptation of arrogance. We are ... saying good-bye to a good man, a genuine and authentic Honduran, a soldier who loved and honored his uniform, gave dignity to his institution, and won the hearts and respect of the people."

Policarpo Paz Garcia or "Polo Paz," as he was popularly known, was also a war hero in the 1969 conflict with El Salvador. He was born on Dec. 7, 1932 in Goascoran, Valle. He had an impeccable service record. Among other achievements, he approved the Law for the Journalists Association and as president of Honduras, he signed the peace treaty between Honduras and El Salvador in Peru in 1982.

By WENDY GRIFFIN

The Bay Island of Guanaja was the site of the worst impact of Hurricane Mitch as it stalled three days near the island. "First it hit here at Mangrove Bight and then it hopped over the mountain and hit Savannah Bight, but the damage was worse at Mangrove Bight, because it faces the sea on the north side," said one resident.

However, while most Mangrove Bight people owned their homes, in Savannah Bight many people were renters. After Mitch they invaded national land between Mangrove Bight and Savannah Bight where the old airport for Guanaja was located. Now a town of 50 houses called "Brisas del Mitch" is located there. The houses are multicolored because they are built with pieces of wood from the houses destroyed at Mangrove Bight and some still have plastic walls stapled onto wooden poles.

The population of Brisas del Mitch is almost 100 percent Spanish speakers (Ladinos). About 60 percent are from Guanaja and another 40 percent are from the mainland of Honduras, people who came over after Hurricane Mitch. Before the hurricane, laborers earned Lps. 74 per day. Immediately after the hurricane, the daily salary jumped to Lps. 350. There was already a shortage of housing units before Mitch, reports Roberto Pino, the land register (catastro) of Guanaja.

The fact that these land invaders are Ladinos contributes to worsening islander-mainlander relations. "We've lived here our whole lives, saved for land and a house and now these people are going to get all this for free?" said one islander.

The land situation is very complicated. During the prior administration, the mayor had agreed to divide up the airport land and sell it in lots to the poor people of Guanaja for homes. People like Francisco Cuello, with four children born on Guanaja, began to make payments to obtain dominio pleno titles from the municipality. However, as the airport land still belonged to the national government agency previously called SECOPT, now SOPTRAVI (Ministry of Public Works), this land sale process was questionable.

Currently, Brisas del Mitch has no electricity or running water. Pipes to hook up water have already been donated through the Popular and Progressive Youth of Guanaja (PPYG) organization. However, before connecting up the water, the municipal government wants to clear up the land title situation, said Pino.

There are discussions whether the national government will give land titles to the municipal government, which is charging money to sell land to Mitch survivors. Or maybe through the National Institute of Agrarian reform (INA), the central government will give land to the patronato or citizen's committee of Brisas del Mitch. If it goes to the patronato, people who were buying the land have been told they will get nothing, explains Cuello.

Previously INA denied having any jurisdiction in the islands because it is a tourism investment area (ZOLT) and the land involved is not agricultural land.

Many of the houses that have to be rebuilt were originally located over the water. Rebuilding over the sea in vulnerable areas like Mangrove Bight has been prohibited by municipal law, said Mayor Sherral Haylock. But 95 percent of the land on Guanaja is privately titled, so there is a shortage of land for relocating people. An American woman bought land between Mangrove Bight and Brisas del Mitch so the Mangrove Bight people would have somewhere to rebuild.

Opposite the main town of Bonacca on Guanaja, there is a second land invasion called Pelican Reef. The invasion is on privately owned land. The municipality cannot dislodge this invasion, said Mayor Haylock, unless the owner denounces it. They are attempting to find the owner, but in the meantime more little houses are going up, said Pino.

Having this land invasion without any sanitary services up above a resort located on the water contributed to its closing, said Mrs. Miller, a member of the Guanaja Hotel Association.

The municipal government has identified land where Hurricane Mitch victims could rebuild their houses, particularly a site called Monte de Savana. But no agency has come forward to develop a housing project on this land, said Pino.

By JORGE FLORES McCLELLAN

TEGUCIGALPA -- "Arriba Honduras" is officially the new motto, directive and objective of the National Party, historically the other half of Honduran politics and government.

The ideological statement and strategic goal was legally ratified by several hundred party delegates from the 18 Honduran departamentos or provinces, who held a rally at the Hotel Honduras Maya Convention Center in Tegucigalpa.

They also convened to name the national directorate of the party and Ricardo Maduro as their leader and official presidential candidate of the cachurecos, as nationalist party members, supporters and voters are known.

The convention was attended by many National Party leaders, including former President Rafael Callejas, former presidential candidates Oswaldo Ramos and Nora de Melgar, and Tegucigalpa City Mayoral candidates Miguel Pastor and Antonio Rivera. Also present were Irma Acosta de Fortin, Porfirio Lobo, Ricardo Alvarez, Carlos Kattan and a host of other well known figures who are major players in the decision making processes of the National Party within and without the government.

The assembly now gives way to the presidential campaign of Ricardo Maduro, who up to now has professed a moderate line of opposition against the ruling party, the Liberal Party, and instead, a stronger, concentrated opposition against the major maladies that plague the nation.

To this effect, a Declaration of Principles was presented stating that the central idea of Arriba Honduras is based on the human being and its inalienable rights. Maduro's basic ideals as president are to fight crime, corruption and to "rescue Honduras," reforming the judicial branch and making the National Congress attend to the problems of the people.

The National Party's primary elections are still to be held, where Maduro will contend with, among others, Elias Asfura, but early polls indicate Arriba Honduras well ahead of him.

Maduro was president of the Central Bank of Honduras during the Callejas administration between 1990 and 1994. He has received mixed opinions from political analysts for his performance in the post.

At the beginning of the convention, a minute of silence was held for the Mayor Hugo Alvardo of La Union, department of Copan, who was assassinated during Holy Week. Several years ago, Ricardo Maduro was a victim of violent crime when one of his sons was killed by kidnappers.