We are at the end of November and where has the year gone? Honduran elections are this week and with it is the suspense of "will anything change?" I do not have a lot of faith in politicians as I think they are too far removed from reality! Just look at the U.S. and its huge debt. Do they stop spending? No. Do they make necessary and much needed cuts? No. Do they allow their politicians to live a much better life than the average citizen? Yes. Even so I am proud of my government and just wish that Honduras could look to the future - their children and provide them with a much needed and necessary education. They should start thinking of the future of their country and not their pocketbooks.
Ok - so, I became another year older this month and with that a friend said I now have the Wisdom of the Elders. But, what good will it do? Young people do not want to listen to their elders. I mean, when you were young did you want to listen to the stories or take seriously the advice of your elders? Probably not. So why should we expect our children to be any different? So much is happening in the world today and advances are being made at lightning speed. Wonders are being discovered and life is suppose to be getting better.
But, is it? I look around our island and see unemployment, thievery, basic needs not being met and the main income of the island, tourism, has fallen drastically. Now, the local electrical company may go under and what are the majority of the people on the island to do if they hardly have money for food let alone buy a generator to generate their own power? The people of this island think if they build a road from one end of the island to the other it will make their lives better and attract tourists. But, if you don't have the amenities to go with that road that attracts tourists, what good will it do? Hondurans are not known for maintenance and who would maintain a road once it is built? Right now there is a hole at the end of the airport runway which goes untended to. The local government, from all reports, is responsible for the upkeep up of the runway and claims they have no money to fix it! So, I guess we will wait for the airlines to announce they will not land here until the situation is remedied. Why do we have to wait until the worse scenario comes along?
The education in Honduras is appalling; it does not meet basic standards and when the children finish school, what do they have to look forward to? A job at a fast food chain? A job as a teacher who does not get paid for months? A job where if the local government leaders do not agree with what the individual is suppose to be able to by law so that individual is prevented from doing his legal job?
Life for an islander is hard. Life here for a retiree is easier but expensive. The law is ineffectual and very little is done to stop the on-going thievery or prosecute the thieves. Drugs are still present with many people taking the stand that the money coming in from drugs helps the islanders. Nothing could be further from the truth. There is nothing to spend your money on here on the island - no luxuries and if you are bringing in a lot of money people generally want nicer things in their lives. People are spending more money on drugs, committing crimes to get the money and are not part of a "responsible" community contributing to the island. Drugs drag the community down.
There seems to be no law forcing a builder to guarantee the completion of any project they may begin. Thus, we have "ruins" all over the island. Areas that are partially built up and then the forest is allowed to grow back over them. Hotels that once were productive are left to the elements and to people stripping them of their material. So many construction projects are started and never even reach the half way point leaving a blight on the looks of the island. This practice should be stopped and there are way to guarantee that it does not happen, but who will put those plans into effect and who will enforce them?
I have not blogged in quite a while as I did not have much more to say about the island. It is still beautiful and I enjoy living here but things are not getting better. Things have stagnated and seem to be going backwards. I ask myself, is this happening all over the world? With my limited communication and intel from the outside world, I do not know but I suspect that in many places all over the world there is an uneasiness about people who are becoming disgruntled. So, it is not entirely a phenomena in just this part of the world.
I can only hope that, as in the past, things will change. People will become wiser and take more pride in their communities. People will start being concerned about their neighbors and will no longer tolerate lawlessness. One can wish can't they?
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