Day 2 in Honduras: The Façade of Democracy

Promise that the National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd would keep working for justice for immigrants and for justice for Honduras.

Today [January 25] I attended a series of meetings where Honduras was presented as having a façade of democracy but in reality is a ruthless dictatorship that resorts to fear, arrests, torture, and "disappearance." Sadly, many human rights organizations concur in this assessment. According to these organizations, when people speak out, they frequently meet with physical beatings and even death. This is especially true of young people.

One of the speakers spoke at length of the 700 women who are murdered by gangs each year. According to her, the government does not actively pursue these cases because of a machismo attitude. The lives of women simply aren't valued.

Before coming to Honduras, I had expected a greater visibility of police, the military, and hood covered protesters. This hasn't happened. Everything today appears fairly normal. However, there was a protest earlier in the day that we missed.

Toward evening, we joined a large peace march led by Fr. Melo. Recently, Fr. Melo has received death threats. Several people have stated that Fr. Melo would have been assassinated if not for the support of the international community.

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Fr.. Melo receives gifts from the delegation upon behalf of Radio Progresso.