We are just finishing up a free weekend - no agendas, no "should get done's",
no place gotta go's - it has been very relaxing. Seems like ever since we got
back from the US we have been constantly on the go. Not that we mind having
our lives full of activity, as those of you who know us will attest. But it seems
like our weekends in particular have been taken up with travel to or from San
Pedro Sula or interim representative responsibilities. So it was nice to wake up
Saturday morning and realize... hey - we can do what we like today. Actually, it
felt kind of strange.
Our roles as interim reps has taken up a considerable amount of our time. Partly
because the MCC monthly financial reporting took a while to learn.... I know I
spent way too much time on that both months that I've done it so far. I'll
probably have it all figured out just in time for Amy and Andrés, the new
representatives, arrival in October. The political situation has also caused
concern as we keep closer contact with the MCCers in country and more work
with the Honduran Mennonite Church as they struggle with how to respond to
the situation amid wide divisions in society and in the church itself. They are
now working on a proposal to provide reconciliation services, much as the
Mennonite Church in Columbia has done. Many ideas and discussion on how to
do that, who should take the lead, etc. Let's just say it has expanded my
Spanish vocabulary and grammar dramatically, especially when I have to carry
on these types of conversations on the phone. Makes me quake every time one
of those calls is made.
A highlight last weekend was welcoming two new MCCers to Honduras. Ah....
how wonderful to see someone incoming rather than outgoing! Andrés
Villarraga from Columbia and Laura Stafford from the US are joining us for one-
year assignments in the Yamen and SALT programs respectively. Andrés will
take Caleb's place with the MAMA school project in Seis de Mayo, a poor barrio
near San Pedro Sula. Laura will take a new position at Amor Fe y Esperanza
(AFE), also known as the school at the Tegucigalpa city dump. They are both
taking on positions in some tough tough situations. God bless them!
So back to the weekend: Saturday we actually slept in. Somehow the
neighborhood must have had a "dia libre" too, because our neighbors, the
vehicles, dogs, even the roosters seemed to take longer than normal to get
revved up. Either that or we just didn't hear them. Got up – privileged myself to
some of my sequestered-only-for-special-occasions coffee and checked from the
porch to be sure all was in order. Looked OK there, so I double-checked the on-
line news to be sure. We tuned into on-line NPR Denver (same time zone and
comforting to check on news/weather in Ft Collins) to listen to the Saturday
morning lineup: Weekend Edition, Car Talk, Michael Feldman, and my favorite
Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Part of the time I sat on the porch to read a book and
say hello to folks passing by. This is how Saturday mornings should be!
Saturday afternoon I cleaned up and organized my office (sounds like work, but I
promise it was relaxing and redeeming). Kathy finished long overdue painting of
trim in the house (sounds like work, but she promises it was relaxing and
redeeming).
Today we attended church at Teguc Mennonite and were taken to lunch by a
young couple from the church to a great restaurant on the road to Valle de
Angeles serving papusas and comida típica. We spent most of the afternoon
with them, which was great from a developing relationships point of view and an
affirmation of our conversational Spanish. (Kathy in particular has been working
diligently in self-study and has really improved…. Getting compliments from
native speakers!)
And now we are relaxing in our house, enjoying the cool evening breeze. Almost
living up to the Honduran saying, "hay mas tiempo que vida" (We have more
time than life –also known as: chill out gringo).
Tomorrow will come soon enough.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Coup update
The situation in Honduras continues to stretch on, with little hope for a solution in the near future. And the interactions between the two sides, the pro-Zelaya demonstrators and the national police/military are becoming more intense with several recent violent outbreaks including deaths and injuries to the marchers.
Last week there was a disturbing confrontation between university students and police at the gates of the national university (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras). The police arrived to clear the blocking of Boulevard Suyapa (a new policy - no blocking of roads) outside the gates. When the students retreated into the university the police, in full riot gear, followed and then all h___ broke loose. The students were furious and began throwing rocks, the police retaliated with rubber bullets and tear-gas, the university dean tried to get through the rampage to talk to the police and was thrown to the ground by a policeman. Eventually the students actually drove the police back out the entrance where there was a standoff as they, both students and police, threw rocks at each other. The scenes on TV were eerily reminiscent of Kent State in 1970...... students and police playing cat-n-mouse..... we know how that ended up.
The very next day I had to go to the bank, which would normally take me right past that scene on Blvd Suyapa. I took a cab figuring if it wasn't safe the driver would take a different route. We drove right past the entrance, which was packed with the usual buses, taxis, students, and professors coming and going as if nothing had happened the day before. The only evidence was some buildings (Burger King and a fast food chicken restaraunt!) that had windows broken by rocks. The crews were already there replacing windows. Sureal!
Today in Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula huge crowds of Zelaya supporters have come in from the countryside, converging on the two cities for grand marches in supposedly unprecedented numbers. It's hard to know the actual numbers, since the reporting is strongly biased depending on which newspaper or TV station you check. Unfortunately there was another violent outburst in the Tegucigalpa march - a bus was burned and a Popeye's Chicken restaurant set on fire. (Fast food chains are taking a licking in this thing!).
The march was taking place peacefully until near the end when the torching and chaos happened. There appear to be various versions of what happened from the bus driver hit a marcher, to a policeman shot a person in the ankle, or a white van drove up and discharged 10 young men who started it all. It's impossible to tell what actually happened but it certainly has given fodder to the pro-Micheletti (de facto government -or- "golpistas" depending on your point of view) to criticize the demonstrators as a bunch of thugs, which is just not true. The unnerving thing is that this happened in an area where we walked all the time when we lived in the apartment. In fact when I went to the bank last week, I was within a few feet of the burning bus location.
So - we continue to be prudent and observant as to where we go and when. If you see a crowd - head the other way no matter what it costs in fare or time. Fortunately there hasn't been any targeting of expatriates or Americans and as I said in our last blog - life just has to go on day-by-day here - it's how people survive all the time, coup or no coup. We'll just continue to take our cues from the Hondurans around us.
One note about the response of the Honduran Mennonite Church - I am so impressed. Early on they met to discuss their role in this crisis and develop a statement. According to Darrin it was a long and at times tense meeting - as in society, the church is divided on this political issue. But they persisted and came up with a statement calling the church to it's prophetic and unique role to maintain peace and human dignity. Since that time they have helped coordinate an inter-denominational group to address the suffering of persons, marchers or local residents, caught in the middle of the conflicts that arise. There was some discussion of the need for MCC Honduras to make a statement regarding the situation - but we eventually came to the consensus that in this situation, we would stand by the statement of our brothers and sisters and, as suggested by our Latin American director, ".... We often try to be the voice of our partner churches, I think this is one time when they can be our voice. "
Last week there was a disturbing confrontation between university students and police at the gates of the national university (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras). The police arrived to clear the blocking of Boulevard Suyapa (a new policy - no blocking of roads) outside the gates. When the students retreated into the university the police, in full riot gear, followed and then all h___ broke loose. The students were furious and began throwing rocks, the police retaliated with rubber bullets and tear-gas, the university dean tried to get through the rampage to talk to the police and was thrown to the ground by a policeman. Eventually the students actually drove the police back out the entrance where there was a standoff as they, both students and police, threw rocks at each other. The scenes on TV were eerily reminiscent of Kent State in 1970...... students and police playing cat-n-mouse..... we know how that ended up.
The very next day I had to go to the bank, which would normally take me right past that scene on Blvd Suyapa. I took a cab figuring if it wasn't safe the driver would take a different route. We drove right past the entrance, which was packed with the usual buses, taxis, students, and professors coming and going as if nothing had happened the day before. The only evidence was some buildings (Burger King and a fast food chicken restaraunt!) that had windows broken by rocks. The crews were already there replacing windows. Sureal!
Today in Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula huge crowds of Zelaya supporters have come in from the countryside, converging on the two cities for grand marches in supposedly unprecedented numbers. It's hard to know the actual numbers, since the reporting is strongly biased depending on which newspaper or TV station you check. Unfortunately there was another violent outburst in the Tegucigalpa march - a bus was burned and a Popeye's Chicken restaurant set on fire. (Fast food chains are taking a licking in this thing!).
The march was taking place peacefully until near the end when the torching and chaos happened. There appear to be various versions of what happened from the bus driver hit a marcher, to a policeman shot a person in the ankle, or a white van drove up and discharged 10 young men who started it all. It's impossible to tell what actually happened but it certainly has given fodder to the pro-Micheletti (de facto government -or- "golpistas" depending on your point of view) to criticize the demonstrators as a bunch of thugs, which is just not true. The unnerving thing is that this happened in an area where we walked all the time when we lived in the apartment. In fact when I went to the bank last week, I was within a few feet of the burning bus location.
So - we continue to be prudent and observant as to where we go and when. If you see a crowd - head the other way no matter what it costs in fare or time. Fortunately there hasn't been any targeting of expatriates or Americans and as I said in our last blog - life just has to go on day-by-day here - it's how people survive all the time, coup or no coup. We'll just continue to take our cues from the Hondurans around us.
One note about the response of the Honduran Mennonite Church - I am so impressed. Early on they met to discuss their role in this crisis and develop a statement. According to Darrin it was a long and at times tense meeting - as in society, the church is divided on this political issue. But they persisted and came up with a statement calling the church to it's prophetic and unique role to maintain peace and human dignity. Since that time they have helped coordinate an inter-denominational group to address the suffering of persons, marchers or local residents, caught in the middle of the conflicts that arise. There was some discussion of the need for MCC Honduras to make a statement regarding the situation - but we eventually came to the consensus that in this situation, we would stand by the statement of our brothers and sisters and, as suggested by our Latin American director, ".... We often try to be the voice of our partner churches, I think this is one time when they can be our voice. "
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