Marching against emigration

At Masses in our parish there is often a list of Mass intentions. They include concerns about health of family members and about the death of members of the community. Recently I have noticed a good number of intentions asking prayers for family members are trying to reach the United States. Sometimes they are prayers of gratitude for having arrived there.

Radio Progeso recently reported that about 12 Hondurans leave each hour in hopes of reaching the US. Though the issue of migration is not as pronounced here as in other parts of Honduras, it is real.

When I speak with young people here I am sometimes asked about the United States and about migrating there. I always talk about the dangers of the route toward the US, the difficulty of getting jobs there, and the anti-migrant stance that is so strong in some parts of the United States. I also urge them to think how to improve their lives here in their communities, without leaving their families and friends.

This is not an easy discussion. I know that so many young people have little chance of finding meaningful work, even if they have a high school or college education. I see the problems of low salaries and increasing prices and taxes that most affect the poor and the lower middle class. I am deeply concerned about the drought and heat that have plagued farmers in the last months and may result in losses of more than 60% in basic grains in some part of Honduras.

In  the midst of this the US has been pressuring Honduras and providing money to curb migration, especially of the young. The US should be revising its immigration laws, but that’s another question.

I don’t know all that the Honduran government is doing but there is one that I have my doubts about.

The government is promoting August as the month of not migrating and to publicize this there are marches by children in the educational centers.

Last Thursday as I was leaving Plan Grande for a catechists’ workshop, two young people I know asked for a ride to the nearby town of Candelaria. They are taking Plan Básico (middle school) classes there in the afternoons and I was surprised to see them going in the morning. I saw two other young people on the road and gave them a ride. One had a wooden “rifle.”

When I got to the corner by the school I found some children lined up for a march – against migration.

The first group was of kindergarten kids who had signs that none of them could read. 

There were also a few dressed up for folk dances.

A few of the older students had handmade signs advising against migrating and calling for education and work as ways to stop this.

I don’t know why there were some students with toy weapons, as there had been in El Zapote a week ago. The presence of even toy weapons bothers me because of the message it gives. Weapons are needed. This is a very poor message to give folks, but the increasing use of the military by the Honduran government is, as I see it, only promoting this.

I see that it is important to provide incentives for the people not to migrate. But when the government raises taxes that affect the poor, when the price of basic goods and services increase, when there are not enough employment opportunities and when the government has them they are given to political allies, what are the people to do? They will think seriously about migration, despite the dangers and the costs.

As part of my ministry here I would like to find more ways to help the people, especially the young, find ways to live meaningful and dignified lives in the countryside, with sufficient work and remuneration to feed their families.

That’s the challenge.

Education efforts

School starts next week.

Education in Honduras is a mess.

Some teachers work months, without being paid. I recently heard of a new teacher who worked for two years and never got paid. He went to the US to try to earn some money.

Then there are some teachers who hardly work, arriving on Tuesday and leaving Thursday. But they get their salaries.

I have also read of teachers with two or three teaching positions which they get paid for - although they don't teach in any of the schools where they have their plazas - tenured positions.

I know that some years the teachers have gone on strike and the students suffer. Sometimes the strikes are because the teachers haven't been paid; sometimes because they are opposed to new education policy proposals; sometimes because they are against other policies of the government.

But then there are the good teachers - who spend their own money for supplies, who stay overtime and work with the kids who need help, who really encourage their students to learn.

But then there are the schools.

In Honduras education is mandatory up to the sixth grade, but I often run across young people who haven't gone past second or third grade.

Also, for a number of reasons only about one-third of those who could go past sixth grade.

Why?

The price is one reason. Today I spoke with a pastoral worker who is sending a child to high school in Santa Rosa. It's a public school, but he's already spent about $250 for uniform, supplies, etc., and even though the child will live with relatives he will pay about $30 for housing and food each month. $550 for a year of high school is not cheap here.

Another reason is availability of schools.

About forty thousand people live in the four municipalities in the Dulce Nombre parish where I help. But there are only four public middle schools and one public high school. One of the middle schools does not have a paid teacher assigned, but the mayor has set aside public money for the salary.

And so what do the young people do?

Some go to school, walking or riding a bus to get there.

A few, if their families have some money or can scrape together some money, might go to a school in Santa Rosa or another town. These might be weekday or weekend classes. This means that there are extra expenses - travel, lodging, meals. This is not something many can afford.

Many don't go to school but join the family work force.

For a number of years in the parish of Dulce Nombre, some students have attended the weekend classes of  Maestro en Casa, a study-with-radio program. The students have work books; they listen to an hour long class each night on the radio; and they get together for about four hours each weekend to review the material and to get help for the more difficult subjects.

It doesn't sound like much, but it does offer an opportunity to young people; in fact, I know of a few professionals, some of whom now have university degrees, who studied with the program.

In the past few years the program has grown in the parish, much due to the initiative of Padre Efraín Romero, the former pastor.

In 2008 there were two programs, now there are six, and the mayor of Concepción, Copán, is trying to open two more this year.

The largest is in Dulce Nombre, run by the sisters who live there - the Oblates of Divine Love. It has had more than 300 student some years, though the number is down now that there are other sites. In the past some students walked, rode bikes, or sought other transportation to travel up to an hour or more from their homes just to get to Dulce Nombre.

But still, even though registration and fees are fairly low, there are students who have difficulty getting the money together. And then there are the travel expenses each week.

But there are students and parents who take major efforts to see that their children get a middle school or high school education. I heard of a parent who borrowed $20 to pay for part of the fees for her son. An older student has been working in the coffee harvest to have money to sign up.

In light of this, Padre Efraín suggested to St. Thomas Aquinas Church and Catholic Student Center in Ames, Iowa, that they provide some partial scholarships. A funding raising event last year enables us to offer scholarships. We will probably enable more than sixty students to begin to study or continue their education.

Since Padre Efraín was not around the parish much in January before his transfer and because Sor Pedrina, who had runt he program in Dulce Nombre, was transferred to Nicaragua, the details fell on me.

It's been a learning process, with a lot of ups and downs.

One center thought that all new students would get a scholarship. I ended up spending three hours last Tuesday trudging up and down hills in El Zapote visiting the families. It was a humbling experience, especially when I entered the first house. The floor was dirt; one daughter was white-washing the stove. The mother, pregnant with the fifth child was there with her husband and other children. The one daughter will be entering seventh grade and a fifteen year old son will be taking part in the third year of a primary school program that enables the student to finish six grades in three years. This family will obviously get a scholarship.

We did tell one family, though, that they weren't eligible. They have a truck, a satellite dish, and about five manzanas of  coffee.

Today, Saturday, I put over 50 miles on my truck visiting the sites of the program in Dulce Nombre, Prado de la Cruz, and El Zapote de Santa Rosa to make sure that worthy students would be able to attend classes.

Some of the scholarship recipients in El Zapote with their teacher, Melvin.

Sunday I'll head out to another site as well as meet with some of the students in Dulce Nombre. I'll report more on this tomorrow or Monday morning.