'We Are Doomed': Devastation From Storms Fuels Migration in Honduras

[Eugene]

Source: New York Times

‘We Are Doomed’: Devastation From Storms Fuels Migration in Honduras

Honduras has barely begun to recover from two hurricanes that hit late last year. With relatively little disaster relief from the U.S., many are heading for the border.

By Natalie Kitroeff Photographs by Daniele Volpe
Published April 6, 2021
Updated April 7, 2021, 4:35 a.m. ET

-snip-

People have long left Honduras for the United States, fleeing gang violence, economic misery and the indifference of a government run by a president accused of ties to drug traffickers.

Then last fall, two hurricanes hit impoverished areas of Honduras in rapid succession, striking more than four million people across the nation — nearly half the population — and leveling entire neighborhoods.

“People aren’t migrating; they’re fleeing,” said César Ramos, of the Mennonite Social Action Commission, a group providing aid to people affected by the storms. “These people have lost everything, even their hope.”

President Biden has insisted that the recent increase in migration to the United States is nothing out of the ordinary, just another peak in a long history of them, especially in months when the desert along the U.S.-Mexico border is cooler and more passable.

-snip-

The warning barely registers in parts of Honduras like Chamelecón, a sector of San Pedro Sula that is overrun by gangs and was pounded by both storms. Survivors of the disaster say they have no choice at all.

Months after the hurricanes, houses remain underwater. Gaping holes have replaced bridges. Thousands of people are still displaced, living in shelters or on the street. Hunger is stalking them.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/06/world/americas/migration-honduras-central-america.html

[roamer65]

1. What the news won't tell you.

These people are CLIMATE CHANGE refugees.

There are going to eventually be millions of them.

[SharonAnn]

2. They are also fleeing an extremely corrupt government that we have supported.

I lived in Honduras for a year in 1981, living in a “middle class” environment while I was working for a multi-national company. My life was comfortable but my eyes were really opened during my stay. Example: On a proposal to the telephone company, I was told to add 10% to the bid price. First time I ever had that happen! It was explained to me later that was the “commission” to the government officials.
As I traveled between the Capitol (Tegucigalpa) and the port/industrial city of San Pedro Sula, I saw the living standards of the general populations. Regions without electricity (including in the cities) with no electricity, no potable water, no sewage management, completely inadequate roads and bridges, completely inadequate medical facilities, very few schools ( usually only private ones), and no opportunity. A few companies that had close ties to the government and which controlled everything. And even educated people who were desperate for jobs.
It caused me to rethink everything I thought I knew about capitalism since it only existed there if it was tied to a corrupt government. I realized that I had a lot to learn.

I learned even more later as I struggled to learn about more than 100 years of U.S. involvement had turned out so badly for their people.