Interview with Teresa Reyes, Garifuna leader from Triunfo de la Cruz

[subsuelo]

My name is Teresa Reyes and I am from the Garífuna community Triunfo de la Cruz and I am the current preseident of the patronato (council of the patron saint).

Teresa what is your opinión about the current political crisis and the de facto government?
Well, I think that this crisis is affecting all of us, because we didn’t expect that it would unfold into violence and into such a horrible attitude by the people from the de facto government, as much the military as Mr. Roberto Micheletti himself, who believe he is president of the republic. Nonetheless we believe that the elected president, who is legally constituted, is Manuel Zelaya, who had his rights violated and was taken out of the country by force, which at this point in this century doesn’t happen anymore in any part of the world.

How have you been affected by the political crisis and how has it affected the Triunfo community?
First of all, we have been morally and psychologically affected. We were terrorized, we had our constitutional rights violated, our right to movement, our right to information, and to media also. Our rights have been violated. We have also been terrorized by the members of the de facto government, because they have used a lot of scare strategies on the population. And we have been directly affected in that aspect.

...
What has been the reaction of the Garifuna community to the coup d'etat?
What they have wanted is for people to stay calm in their couses cause anything can happen in the streets, but we have a movement in the community which has come out because we can'tcontinue to sit in our homes with our arms crossed. We have to do something to participate because we have a right to the participation even if it's limited. We have looked for ways to protest because we can't stay silent about a situation as horrible as what we are living through in this country. We are representing the Gariguna people currently even though there's few of us but we are doing it and we are showing the face of our people because we are also against what is happening.

How have you participated in the Resistance Front?
I have had to leave the community by going from bus to bus until I get to Tegucigalpa with some other friends. Although the trip costs because along the way we have been questioned, a lot of people have had to go back. They are limited people's access. But we have been able to get through to Tegucigalpa to also participate in the protests and be there permanently, eating or without eating, but we are there. Nobody is supporting us economically. The organization is make an effort to cover the costs of the mobilization and we are also collaborating.

...
It is not as much for Zelaya that we are showing support as for Honduras, because we know that the current situation can't continue like this. Also, they are closing off the constitutional and international rights of peoples, which is why we consider it necessary to support so that we can return our constitutional rights, that's what this is about.

http://hondurasresists.blogspot.com/2009/07/interview-with-teresa-reyes-garifuna.html">Honduras Resists - read more

[magbana]

1. Thanks for posting this, subsuelo. Every interview that

Honduras Resists has done with people from the popular movements has been excellent.

[Peace Patriot]

2. John McCain is pouring $40+ million of US taxpayer money into rightwing groups

in Honduras, through the USAID's "International Republican Institute," and these folks don't have the money to eat in Tegucigalpa as they try to defend their democracy. Was there ever a more brutal illustration of the problem in Honduras? One side's pockets are stuffed with US taxpayer money as they lie and bloviate and brashly defend the indefensible--not only their greed with so much extreme poverty around them, but their shredding of their own constitution and violence against the elected president and others. The other side has to sacrifice their little food budget to be able to afford bus tickets to the capitol of their country.

Her final remark reminds me of the Venezuelans in "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised," whose first cry was not, "Return our kidnapped president!" but, "What about our Constitution?" They thought they had a democracy, then, poof, it was gone, by means of "edicts" from the rightwing coup government. These were poor people on the street saying this, who had READ their Constitution. They are well aware of the hard, hard fought battle for democracy and the rule of law in Latin America. They knew quite well what was at stake--not only their president's life, and his rights as the chief executive of the country, but democracy itself, now and for the future--the right to have government of, by and for the people.