Futbol at the drive in
Futbol here in Honduras is a religion, especially since there is a good chance that Honduras may make it to the finals in South Africa next year and Honduras hopes to be canonized world champions, the gods of futbol.
And so the Caritas Nacional retreat changed its schedule so that we could watch the game between Honduras and Mexico. The women were as into the game as the men. (Interestingly a Mexican bishop is giving the retreat. He didn’t join us for the game.)
Almost of all us went into Siguatepque and joined several hundred people at a Texaco gas station where they were showing the game on a big screen above the oil change pits! Some of the women in the group watched the first half from the roof of the can. Several of us found some hard concrete near the pits to sit and watch the game. The smell of oil pervaded the area.
During the second half one of the staff of Caritas Nacional brought out some beer and so some of us sat and watched as Honduras lost 1-0. It would have been worse if Honduras’ goalie hadn’t made some incredible saves in the first half. Otherwise Mexico dominated the game. (I can’t believe I’m doing this sport’s reporting – and about futbol/soccer! Honduras must getting to me.)
This reminded me of some of my favorite memories of childhood. Going with Mom and Dad in the car to watch movies at the drive in was loads of fun. And I did enjoy the game and cheered at the saves and was disappointed when we lost.
And so I chalk up a new experience in Honduras. I’m becoming more “catracho” every day.
---
"Catracho" is the name given to Hondurans.
Wednesday, September 09, 2009
Monday, September 07, 2009
A moment of opportunity?
I’ve been reading a number of articles on the internet, including a long but interesting article in Spanish by the Honduran Jesuit, Ismael Moreno, which suggest that this could be a moment for some real change, if people really would take advantage of it. Some say that the bureaucratic two-party democracy is showing its weaknesses and that Honduras needs to go beyond this. One analyst says that Honduras could be suffering the pains of birth or death pangs.
(By the way, the two major parties, the National and the Liberal, are more like Tammany Hall than the US experience of political parties. There are some minor parties and there is even an independent candidate for president who has ties to the popular movements. But almost the political power is in the hands of both the two major parties who have close ties to the economic elite.)
Monday, in the main plaza of Santa Rosa, I ran into a former politician who was involved locally and then had a national post which he renounced because of the corruption. We talked briefly but he mentioned the need to take advantage of the situation so there might be real change. The economic powers, who are responsible for this mess, need to reflect on the crisis. People need to stop following just what the two political parties say.
Is this just wishful thinking or is there something happening under the surface here, causing people to think of real alternatives? Now the problem will be how the Honduran people will achieve true democracy – with social justice.
I’ve been reading a number of articles on the internet, including a long but interesting article in Spanish by the Honduran Jesuit, Ismael Moreno, which suggest that this could be a moment for some real change, if people really would take advantage of it. Some say that the bureaucratic two-party democracy is showing its weaknesses and that Honduras needs to go beyond this. One analyst says that Honduras could be suffering the pains of birth or death pangs.
(By the way, the two major parties, the National and the Liberal, are more like Tammany Hall than the US experience of political parties. There are some minor parties and there is even an independent candidate for president who has ties to the popular movements. But almost the political power is in the hands of both the two major parties who have close ties to the economic elite.)
Monday, in the main plaza of Santa Rosa, I ran into a former politician who was involved locally and then had a national post which he renounced because of the corruption. We talked briefly but he mentioned the need to take advantage of the situation so there might be real change. The economic powers, who are responsible for this mess, need to reflect on the crisis. People need to stop following just what the two political parties say.
Is this just wishful thinking or is there something happening under the surface here, causing people to think of real alternatives? Now the problem will be how the Honduran people will achieve true democracy – with social justice.
Father Andres Tamayo
troublesome priest
One of my favorite plays and movies is Becket, about the martyred archbishop Thomas Becket. I even had a minor part in a high school production of the play.
Upset by the independence of the archbishop, English King Henry II cries out, “Will no one rid me of this troublesome priest?” Upon hearing this several of his soldiers go and kill Becket in Canterbury cathedral on December 29, 1170. His shrine became a major pilgrimage site in the middle ages. (I also recommend T. S. Eliot’s Murder in the Cathedral, with the challenging couplet: “The last temptation is the greatest treason: to do the right thing for the wrong reason.”)
Micheletti’s de facto government is trying to get rid of a troublesome priest – not by assassinating him (though the priest has had death threats because of his environmental advocacy), but by revoking his citizenship and trying to throw him out of Honduras.
Father Andrés Tamayo is a Salvadoran by birth who has been ministering in Honduras for many years and is a naturalized Honduran. He has worked for many years in the protection of the environment, especially against the cutting of forests in the department of Olancho. An article on him (and the Santa Rosa de Copán bishop) appeared in Sierra magazine and can be found on the Sierra Club website.
Father Tamayo has been very active in the resistance against the coup, including marching with people from Olancho to Tegucigalpa. An article on his flight to avoid being captured by the Honduran forces was published by Catholic News Service. Father Tamayo has also talked about boycotting the November elections here in Honduras. Many nations of the world have said they would not recognize the elections if carried out under the de facto government. Even the US has placed conditions on accepting the results of the November elections.
Many look upon Father Tamayo as a sign of the church’s commitment with the poor and the environment. He has played this role in a very active, pubic way, and challenged the authorities.
However, the de facto government sees him as a dangerous priest. And so, last week they informed him that they were nullifying the act of his naturalization as a Honduran citizen. They want to expel him from Honduras, despite 22 years of ministry here.
I have no idea if this is legal, but it shows how undemocratic the de facto government is and how much it feels threatened by a person who has worked with organized people .
Padre Tamayo has noted that, because he would not leave his work with the people, he was being relieved of his parish in Salamá, Olancho. "The church forbids me to continue walking with the people. I am in the hands of the people; I belong to the people and I will continue walking with the people,” he said. I don’t know if he was disregarding his pastoral duties, but it is sad that he will no longer be officially ministering in his parish.
My prayers and hopes are that Padre Tamayo will continue to be able to continue to minister with the people of Olancho and Honduras – especially in support democracy and the environment.
---
Apologies (and thanks) to RAJ who used almost the same title on a blog entry on HondurasCoup2009 a few weeks ago.
troublesome priest
One of my favorite plays and movies is Becket, about the martyred archbishop Thomas Becket. I even had a minor part in a high school production of the play.Upset by the independence of the archbishop, English King Henry II cries out, “Will no one rid me of this troublesome priest?” Upon hearing this several of his soldiers go and kill Becket in Canterbury cathedral on December 29, 1170. His shrine became a major pilgrimage site in the middle ages. (I also recommend T. S. Eliot’s Murder in the Cathedral, with the challenging couplet: “The last temptation is the greatest treason: to do the right thing for the wrong reason.”)
Micheletti’s de facto government is trying to get rid of a troublesome priest – not by assassinating him (though the priest has had death threats because of his environmental advocacy), but by revoking his citizenship and trying to throw him out of Honduras.
Father Andrés Tamayo is a Salvadoran by birth who has been ministering in Honduras for many years and is a naturalized Honduran. He has worked for many years in the protection of the environment, especially against the cutting of forests in the department of Olancho. An article on him (and the Santa Rosa de Copán bishop) appeared in Sierra magazine and can be found on the Sierra Club website.
Father Tamayo has been very active in the resistance against the coup, including marching with people from Olancho to Tegucigalpa. An article on his flight to avoid being captured by the Honduran forces was published by Catholic News Service. Father Tamayo has also talked about boycotting the November elections here in Honduras. Many nations of the world have said they would not recognize the elections if carried out under the de facto government. Even the US has placed conditions on accepting the results of the November elections.
Many look upon Father Tamayo as a sign of the church’s commitment with the poor and the environment. He has played this role in a very active, pubic way, and challenged the authorities.
However, the de facto government sees him as a dangerous priest. And so, last week they informed him that they were nullifying the act of his naturalization as a Honduran citizen. They want to expel him from Honduras, despite 22 years of ministry here.
I have no idea if this is legal, but it shows how undemocratic the de facto government is and how much it feels threatened by a person who has worked with organized people .
Padre Tamayo has noted that, because he would not leave his work with the people, he was being relieved of his parish in Salamá, Olancho. "The church forbids me to continue walking with the people. I am in the hands of the people; I belong to the people and I will continue walking with the people,” he said. I don’t know if he was disregarding his pastoral duties, but it is sad that he will no longer be officially ministering in his parish.
My prayers and hopes are that Padre Tamayo will continue to be able to continue to minister with the people of Olancho and Honduras – especially in support democracy and the environment.
---
Apologies (and thanks) to RAJ who used almost the same title on a blog entry on HondurasCoup2009 a few weeks ago.
Thursday, September 03, 2009
What Caritas has wrought
Wednesday I accompanied Kirsten (a representative of Caritas Norway), Celia (a Caritas Honduras national staff member), and Brenda Medina (our local Caritas worker in citizen participation) to meet with parish leaders in Lepaera, in the department of Honduras, as well as to visit a rural village which has benefited from Caritas projects.
The parish leaders spoke very highly of Caritas. The list of projects went on for quite some time. Then Kirsten asked them to talk about results, what had they done with all the training. (By the way, the Spanish word I’m translating as “training” is ‘formación’ – literally, formation.)
Petronila has been involved in Caritas projects since 1967. “I was nothing,” she said, “just a submissive woman.” I didn’t know how to lead a meeting or speak in front of others. We received training in baking, cooking skills, family gardens, and more. She learned sewing and soon became a teacher. She was involved in a literacy program in her village. Now her garden is a demonstration plot. She also is involved in a women’s cooperative of 120 women, 30 of whom have family gardens. One of the women in the cooperative is running for mayor of Lepaera.
Orbelinda talked first about the need for education. Before, many asked “Why study – even six years in school?” Boys only need to learn how to use the machete and the hoe. And the girls….? Now many go beyond sixth grade. She also told how people who learned about natural medicine now can make their own and don’t need to buy as much expensive medicines from the pharmacies.
Juan Angel, who is the Lepaera parish coordinator, told how the training sessions have led to the desire to organize.
Mervin,
from the village of Cementera, talked about the work of the community-based risk management project in his village of Cementera, a Caritas project being facilitated by Norma Cruz. Eight days after they had gone through one of their training sessions, the October 2009 “Tormenta 16” hit and they had to put what they learned into practice. Their work probably saved lives. A nearby village, knowing that Cementera was organized, went up to them for help during the storm.
“Organization is essential,” Mervin noted. He also added that he had learned to help out in the house and to value the work of women in the home.
By training in political advocacy, he proudly said, they know how to approach the mayor. We are not afraid of the mayor – or of the police!
Mervin and others noted that before there were not well-organized local water project associations. Now, if the mayor wants to privatize water, they said, these groups will defend these public projects. “We’re the owners now.”
One other remark stood out. We now know how to analyze the reality better. We don’t just follow one of the colors (i.e., one of the two major political parties.)
It was refreshing to hear these people, some of whom I’d already met, most of whom have six years of formal education or less. They have begun to do what’s really needed for a democratic and just Honduras – to organize, to take responsibility for their lives and for their communities, to live as signs of the Reign of God, a reign of “justice, love, and peace.”
Wednesday I accompanied Kirsten (a representative of Caritas Norway), Celia (a Caritas Honduras national staff member), and Brenda Medina (our local Caritas worker in citizen participation) to meet with parish leaders in Lepaera, in the department of Honduras, as well as to visit a rural village which has benefited from Caritas projects.
The parish leaders spoke very highly of Caritas. The list of projects went on for quite some time. Then Kirsten asked them to talk about results, what had they done with all the training. (By the way, the Spanish word I’m translating as “training” is ‘formación’ – literally, formation.)
Petronila has been involved in Caritas projects since 1967. “I was nothing,” she said, “just a submissive woman.” I didn’t know how to lead a meeting or speak in front of others. We received training in baking, cooking skills, family gardens, and more. She learned sewing and soon became a teacher. She was involved in a literacy program in her village. Now her garden is a demonstration plot. She also is involved in a women’s cooperative of 120 women, 30 of whom have family gardens. One of the women in the cooperative is running for mayor of Lepaera.Orbelinda talked first about the need for education. Before, many asked “Why study – even six years in school?” Boys only need to learn how to use the machete and the hoe. And the girls….? Now many go beyond sixth grade. She also told how people who learned about natural medicine now can make their own and don’t need to buy as much expensive medicines from the pharmacies.
Juan Angel, who is the Lepaera parish coordinator, told how the training sessions have led to the desire to organize.
Mervin,
from the village of Cementera, talked about the work of the community-based risk management project in his village of Cementera, a Caritas project being facilitated by Norma Cruz. Eight days after they had gone through one of their training sessions, the October 2009 “Tormenta 16” hit and they had to put what they learned into practice. Their work probably saved lives. A nearby village, knowing that Cementera was organized, went up to them for help during the storm.“Organization is essential,” Mervin noted. He also added that he had learned to help out in the house and to value the work of women in the home.
By training in political advocacy, he proudly said, they know how to approach the mayor. We are not afraid of the mayor – or of the police!
Mervin and others noted that before there were not well-organized local water project associations. Now, if the mayor wants to privatize water, they said, these groups will defend these public projects. “We’re the owners now.”
One other remark stood out. We now know how to analyze the reality better. We don’t just follow one of the colors (i.e., one of the two major political parties.)
It was refreshing to hear these people, some of whom I’d already met, most of whom have six years of formal education or less. They have begun to do what’s really needed for a democratic and just Honduras – to organize, to take responsibility for their lives and for their communities, to live as signs of the Reign of God, a reign of “justice, love, and peace.”
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
CITIZEN PARTICIPATION
One of the programs of Caritas Santa Rosa is the development of citizen participation. There are similar programs in the other dioceses of Honduras, but three of the programs, including ours, are financed by Caritas of Norway.
Two of the goals have been to combat corruption at the local and regional level as well as to strengthen democratic institutions.
The project works in three municipalities (roughly equivalent to small counties) and has helped in the development of what we call “civil society,” groups of people who work together for the good of small (or large) communities. These would include women’s associations, village or neighborhood planning groups, and water project groups.
The Caritas Program workers have helped these groups get organized and also helped form coalitions between these groups in some places. They have trained people from these groups on how to hold public hearings with local governments as well as to on how Community Transparency Committees can work with the local Transparency Coordinator to combat corruption and misuse of funds. They also help people learn how to affect local governments.
The Caritas program staff have also worked with the Social Ministry of the two parishes where the project is, to provide programs in sustainable agriculture, HIV/Aids, and Catholic Social Teaching.They have helped one rural village find a way to get funds to build a new water holding tank.
A staff person with Caritas Norway is with us this week to see the work. Tuesday and Wednesday she is going out to meet people involved in the projects.
Padre Efraín Romero, the director of Caritas Santa Rosa, Caritas Norway’s representative, a representative from the Caritas Honduras national office and I met together Monday afternoon. Because of the coup and its effects the program will have to be modified. In some parts of the country the program staff feel constrained because of the fear and polarization and in some places have nearly stopped going out to the program sites; however, here the staff continue and expand their work.
As we met, it became clear that – no matter what happens politically – there is a need to work on dialogue and reconciliation. The program must find ways to continue to work with institutions of the civil society as well as with local institutions of those in power. But in a very polarized country, with much intolerance and even violence, something is needed to help create a climate where real participatory democracy can take place. There are some programs that Caritas Colombia has developed and there is information from Caritas International, some of which they've put on their website.
Any process here in Honduras will have to be a long term process but must begin. The national directors of Caritas will be meeting soon and I hope will address this and begin to help build a democratic Honduras.
One of the programs of Caritas Santa Rosa is the development of citizen participation. There are similar programs in the other dioceses of Honduras, but three of the programs, including ours, are financed by Caritas of Norway.
Two of the goals have been to combat corruption at the local and regional level as well as to strengthen democratic institutions.
The project works in three municipalities (roughly equivalent to small counties) and has helped in the development of what we call “civil society,” groups of people who work together for the good of small (or large) communities. These would include women’s associations, village or neighborhood planning groups, and water project groups.
The Caritas Program workers have helped these groups get organized and also helped form coalitions between these groups in some places. They have trained people from these groups on how to hold public hearings with local governments as well as to on how Community Transparency Committees can work with the local Transparency Coordinator to combat corruption and misuse of funds. They also help people learn how to affect local governments.
The Caritas program staff have also worked with the Social Ministry of the two parishes where the project is, to provide programs in sustainable agriculture, HIV/Aids, and Catholic Social Teaching.They have helped one rural village find a way to get funds to build a new water holding tank.
A staff person with Caritas Norway is with us this week to see the work. Tuesday and Wednesday she is going out to meet people involved in the projects.
Padre Efraín Romero, the director of Caritas Santa Rosa, Caritas Norway’s representative, a representative from the Caritas Honduras national office and I met together Monday afternoon. Because of the coup and its effects the program will have to be modified. In some parts of the country the program staff feel constrained because of the fear and polarization and in some places have nearly stopped going out to the program sites; however, here the staff continue and expand their work.
As we met, it became clear that – no matter what happens politically – there is a need to work on dialogue and reconciliation. The program must find ways to continue to work with institutions of the civil society as well as with local institutions of those in power. But in a very polarized country, with much intolerance and even violence, something is needed to help create a climate where real participatory democracy can take place. There are some programs that Caritas Colombia has developed and there is information from Caritas International, some of which they've put on their website.
Any process here in Honduras will have to be a long term process but must begin. The national directors of Caritas will be meeting soon and I hope will address this and begin to help build a democratic Honduras.
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