I have recently been reviewing blogs by people living in Honduras and have been either pleasantly surprised by their entries or thoroughly disgusted. I should clarify.
The photos and comments about Honduran life and geography are really inspiring. I have only been to Trujillo (about 15 years ago), LaCeiba, San Pedro, Roatan and Copan. This is not due to the fact that I do not have the desire to travel but to the fact that I can’t seem to get my reluctant husband off the front porch! When I did manage to dislodge him and took him to Copan, he loved it. Now that I have seen photos of Olancho, Juticalpa, Pico Bonito, I am more than ever determined to burn the porch down and do some traveling!
To explain the disgusted part; reading various articles supplied by bloggers really re-confirms my initial observation that the government in Honduras is for the rich and greedy. Electrical thievery, unpunished murders, drug trafficking, lack of education for the masses, I could go on and on. However, everyone excuses the action of this country because we are in the “Third World”. So much graft and corruption and a people seemingly unable to do anything about it. To me, the highest priority this country should be to educate its people and provide a source of good, free education. This will not happen because the people in top positions know that once people are educated they will realize that they deserve more and will begin to take steps to see that their lives are improved by demanding that their government care about them!
Lawlessness in the country is paramount. I have seen people who have murdered others go to jail for two years and buy their way out of their sentences. I have seen drugs come into a community and nothing is done to curb it even though everyone knows who is doing it, how they are coming in and the fact that the government is turning a blind eye. Threats have been made to people on our island that they should keep their mouths shut about the drug problem, make no inquiries, and have been ordered when they can have lights on outside their homes and when they cannot, i.e., when the drug plane comes in late at night, all lights must be doused.
There are problems the world over, including the United States. But what makes major countries different from Third World countries is the fact that people can take a stand and demand that their government do something and the peoples’ voices are heard.
I love living in peace and serenity on the island and enjoy a less stressful live than I had in the United States. I gave up a lot to live here, not only materially but by losing contact with friends and family. Oh, I can still write e-mails and correspond but it is not the same as actually being among them. I miss the connection with my family and friends that can only come by one’s presence. I miss seeing the grandchildren growing up and being involved in their lives.
On the other hand, I have met a lot of people from various countries who have given me invaluable insight to what is going on in the world and how people are governed. I have met truly kind, intelligent people that it has been a treat to be associated with. I have also met greedy, hateful people that have no social redeeming qualities whatsoever. Thankfully, and for the most part, the majority of the people I meet prove to be wonderful human beings. I just wish some Third World governments could be made up of people who are not looking out for the interests of #1 and would concentrate more on the people they are there to serve. I guess I’m asking for too much!
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