| Saturday, November 30, 1996 | |
Where are the ladies? By ERLING DUUS The men and boys, of course, are everywhere, just as they are in all Latin countries on a Saturday night. They group together on the streets, crowd the bars, and fill the discos. They live, to a considerable degree, public lives. But the women, where are they? And who are they? During the working day the city is full of women as well as men, but come evening most of the women disappear. Here and there one sees women out with husbands and boyfriends at restaurants, and there are little groups of unsupervised teenagers as well as prostitutes on the street. Movies are well attended, and musical events may be. But generally, it is a fact that the great majority of Honduran women do not go out on the evening, while the majority of men plainly do. It is a division in sexual identity and expectation that virtually defines Latin society. On exploring these issues with some secondary school students, most of the girls report considerable conflict with parents, but the boys do not. It turns out that the boys are allowed to be out on the town, while girls are not. The girls resent this discrimination, but are forced to conform to it. And clearly, the prohibition or stigmata involved with women going out evenings continues after the girl becomes a woman and supposedly a free adult. She is still likely to be under the scrutiny and control of someone who has responsibility for supervising family reputation. What functions here is a result of the dichotomies and dogmas of Latin countries: the good girl/bad girl mentality. It all begins with the macho male who has, according to custom, one object in mind which is to cause some lady to succumb to his irresistible charm. However, the lady who does succumb is regarded with scorn, someone with weak character and low morals, certainly not a heroine of romance. This is exactly the sort of woman who might be out on the town without escort or chaperon, announcing her availability, advertising her low morals in public. What self-respecting family can put up with that? So, must Honduran women mostly stay home. The cultural forces which mandate this situation need to be examined side by side with some others in order to place them in perspective. There are a great many Honduran women who are for one reason or other single mothers. Some are divorced or separated, many are the victims of the aforementioned machista seducers, not to mention their own culpability. A woman with children who is unmarried in Honduras, despite the commonality of the situation, loses most of her status and value, that is, she is not seen as someone with a marriage potential. If she is attractive, the men will happily line up outside her door for the opportunity to woo her, but marriage is not their objective. In a society obsessed with virginity, she cannot conceal that she is not of that condition. And once a woman passes the age of 30 or thereabouts, there are not likely to be many who are interesting is procuring her as mistress; what with the ever-renewing crop of young girls coming of age, in a society where women are briefly young and men are never old. In the light of all these things, it seems particularly hard that social codes do not lighten and relax their proscription on women going out in the evening either alone or in groups. It is not fair to women that they should be expected to live such restricted lives, but beyond that is the fact that it is the entirety of society which is deprived. It is a condition of a civilizing society that men and women meet in public, non-exploitive ways for both serious purposes and for fun. It ought to be possible for this encounter to transcend a narrowly sexual dynamic, and to get beyond the mythology that an unmarried woman out for the evening is a lady of easy virtue. It is the fact that Latin society is changing, and the situation of women becoming less difficult. A new generation of young women have more liberated ideas. But is not changing fast enough. Erling Duus is a U.S. teacher and writer living and working in Honduras. |
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| Saturday, November 23, 1996 | |
"Honduras is not a bad place for investment and hundreds of foreigners who have chosen Honduras for their overseas operations will back that statement up." |
Three Storms The country suffered three tragedies this week: the national soccer team was eliminated from the World Cup running, the Wall Street Journal said Honduras is one of the worst places in the world for foreign investment and 90,000 Hondurans along the North Coast have been left homeless after heavy rains and flooding. All have been equally catastrophic for national morale. When soccer loses the people lose because soccer is the circus of the people. Proud to have the best soccer team in Central America, Honduras has been waiting for a chance to prove itself on World Cup grass, but has been unable to make it through eliminations since it last attended the World Cup in Spain in 1982. It's been 14 years since the Honduran people saw their own blue and white at the height of international play. The Wall Street Journal report was equally devastating and has left us wondering where our fellow newspaper gets its information. And what, exactly, did the Journal intend to achieve with its report? To keep Honduras underdeveloped as long as possible? To keep Honduras from making a true mark in international economics? To keep the Honduran people hungry? In a nation like Honduras, a nation that is struggling to insert its own economy into the global arena, information in a renowned periodical -- misinformation at that -- can be a death sentence. Honduras is not a bad place for investment and hundreds of foreigners who have chosen Honduras for their overseas operations will back that statement up. Meanwhile, on the homefront, its seems that the government disagrees that 90,000 homeless storm victims qualifies the nation for an emergency. And if there's no emergency, there's little national aid and even less international aid. We're a nation that is used to seeking foreign aid for everything from new roads to joint investments to medical supplies. Why are we now, with 90,000 Hondurans flooded out of their homes and facing hunger and disease, suddenly shy about asking our neighbors for help? Three storms passed over Honduran skies this week. Let's hope the news is better next week. |
| Saturday, November 16, 1996 | |
ONLINE READERS' FORUM
KEEP UP EXCELLENT WORK
Dear Editor: I LOVE (HTW Online)! I'm a Bay Islander currently residing in Atlanta, GA and I am really excited about discovering HTW-Online. Keep up the excellent work!!! Davinci McNab
SADDENED BY BRAD
MARTIN'S DEATH Dear Editor: I was deeply saddened to learn of the sudden death of Mr. Brad Martin. I have never personally met him, but he has touched the hearts and minds of me and my family. If not for Mr. Martin, we would probably not be stating our adventure to Honduras this winter. My family of five plus a dog wanted to drive from North Carolina to Honduras this winter and tow our 15' inflatable. As somewhat of a "net junkie," I started my research here. I found all the health warnings, State Department warnings, and some info on resorts and the like. Then I stumbled on an article by Mr. Martin. It was informative and fun. I e-mailed him and received a prompt response with help, directions, connections, and even peace of mind that we were sane in the planning of this trip. From then on it was like talking with a good friend. About two weeks ago a package arrived and it was the travel guide! What a great book! I send an e-mail message thanking him, and promised that if I could get online in Honduras, I would update my adventure. We all get busy, so I haven't checked my mail, but this morning I decided to read Honduras This Week. I will miss my chats with this kind, giving man. Maria
KEEP IN TOUCH - ONLINE
Dear Editor: What a pleasant surprise to discover your web site this morning! I taught at the Escuela Americana from 1977 to 1980. Although I have been unable to return to Honduras since then, I retain both a genuine affection for the country and an ongoing curiosity about it. Needless to say, I have bookmarked your home page and will be returning on a regular basis to see what's happening in "el mundo de los Catrachos"! Peter Bacon |
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| Saturday, November 9, 1996 | |
Voter pride On December 1, the National and Liberal parties will hold primaries to choose their respective candidates for the 1997 presidential election. Neither party expects surprising results. Nationwide opinion polls show strong leads for Nationalist favorite Elias Asfura and Liberal forerunner Carlos Flores. Asfura, who worked very hard on the 1993 campaign of Oswaldo Ramos Soto, now shines with his own light and is emerging as a Nationalist stronghold in a party that has struggled to produce a definite favorite for next year's election. Closely following Asfura is Nora de Melgar, who is backed by Ramos Soto and former president Rafael Leonardo Callejas. Although the race promises to be a close one, the polls point to an Asfura victory. It is with this formula that the National Party hopes to weather the storm of corruption accusations that it currently faces and return the presidency to Nationalist control. The Liberal Party candidacy, on the other hand, is an open and shut case. Carlos Flores, the current president of the National Congress, is, has been and will remain the Liberal Party's greatest asset in this year's election. After losing to Callejas in 1989, eight years later polls put Flores way ahead of any other Liberal politician, as well as any Nationalist candidate. Not only is this a product of hard work and some popular legislative decisions; his wife, U.S. citizen Mary Flake de Flores, is another favorite among the Honduran people for her numerous charity activities, most notable with the Children's Cancer Foundation, as well as her intellectual talent. That Flores is the favorite has two advantages: one, obviously, for the Liberal Party and another that promises to benefit the country as a whole: he won't have to make a lot of promises to a lot of other politicians to get into office, which should make his job more efficient once he gets there. Regardless of the outcome of December's primaries and next year's election, one fact remains for certain: as in previous years, the people of Honduras will no doubt turn out in great numbers to exercise their right to vote. As lovers of democracy, we're better than many other countries throughout the world at exercising our right to vote, exhibiting our patriotism and bringing democracy to its highest level on election day. In Honduras, we're proud of the last 20 years of our voting past and we hope future leaders and voters will follow our excellent example. |
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| Saturday, November 2, 1996 | |
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