Honduras: Day 6

From March 25th to April 3rd of 2019, I was part of Witness for Peace Solidarity Collective's delegation to Honduras. The theme of the delegation was "Migration and Social Movements."

Tegucigalpa

That morning we took off for the capital, Tegucigalpa (or “Téguz,” for short). The landscape turned drier. We passed a new airport under construction and a US military base. Nearby were new housing developments for the rich surrounded by walls, with security guards at the gates.

They were like gated communities in the US, but these gates were manned by seriously packin’ security guards. (At the time, I didn’t make the connection between the base, the airport and the gated communities, but now it seems obvious.)

We came down through mountains to a big lake (El Lago de Yojoa) surrounded by a greener landscape. There we stopped at a restaurant for brunch. I talked with Corie about my job and what I’m looking for. That was nice, but not nearly as substantive as I would’ve liked. I just skated across the surface of my anxiety, afraid to dip my toe in the well of regrets.

The view from the treehouse

There was a multi-story treehouse in front of the restaurant. A few of us climbed to the top of it and looked at the lake. I bought some Kleenex since the one handkerchief I’d brought was pretty gross at this point. I asked Corie if I should address the shopkeep (a young woman) as “tú” (the casual “you”) or “usted” (the formal). She said “usted.” It was a bit humbling deferring to a much younger person for expertise.

I actually felt threatened when Corie and somebody (Meg?) were talking about “false cognates.” I’d never even heard of them, and it was disconcerting to find myself lacking knowledge that a 20-something possessed on a subject I felt I should’ve had at least as good a grasp as her on, at least when it came to abstract concepts.

I can’t even remember the last time I felt intellectually threatened. Maybe it was because I was feeling so much more emotionally open than normal that I could feel the insecurity instead of glossing over it with envy or anger.

Raúl on the bus

We continued on to the capital, which was spread out over undulating terrain. The city overwhelmed the hills like a swarm of ants that had suddenly been seized by the need to put down roots. They hadn’t done much to alter the landscape. They were far more vulnerable to Nature’s whims than those of us in the First World. They seemed to live perpetually on the precipice, always in danger of being wiped out by a flood, earthquake or other natural disaster.

For lunch we stopped at a small restaurant. Meg randomly serenaded Ale with the “Olé” song that can be heard in soccer stadia the world over, changing “Olé” to “Ale.” Recognizing the song, I joined in. Ale’s bemused expression seemed to say, “Yeah, guys, I’ve heard it before.” It was the kind of face I try to make whenever someone sings me the “Mickey” song.

Cadetur

Our hotel was a small, 3-story building called Cadetur. As the only man again (Raúl had gone home.), I got my own room. I thought, “Hey, this masculinity thing is finally startin’ to pay off!” But, seriously, it was weird filling the role usually reserved for the woman in a group of men, getting that deference due to her supposed weakness, which is the basis of chivalry (or so I’ve always assumed).

But I was happy to have my own room, even though it felt a bit lonely. There was a painting of a ballerina, a window over the bed and a flat-screen TV perched high up on the wall.

Vienna Herrera of Contracorriente

We reconvened that afternoon in a conference room on the top floor to meet with Vienna Herrera of Contracorriente. It was my turn to introduce the group for this partner meeting. I’d written an intro at Barracón Digital after listening to someone else do the honors.

Of course, I stumbled right out of the gate, saying “Habitat” (as in “Habitat for Humanity,” my current employer) instead of “Witness for Peace.” That got a laugh, and I was able to enjoy it pretty well. Meredith even got a few pictures of my foible.

Lisa, Corie, Emily and I

Contracorriente was sparked by the Indignados movement in Spain in 2010. It’s a news organization with a feminist bent. They get funding from the Seattle International Foundation, Henrik Volk and Free Press.

She said being female makes it easier to interview women, such as victims of sexual violence. It sometimes takes days for them to deal with the emotional fallout of a difficult story.

I asked Vienna if she’d encountered any dangers in the course of her work. I assumed the answer was yes, but it wasn’t quite what I expected. She just talked about one region known for drug trafficking. I figured danger was inherent in her job no matter where she went in Honduras.

She’s worked as a “fixer” for foreign journalists, meaning she’ll translate, book hotels and manage security and transportation for them. She finds the Honduran media “sensationalistic,” but she didn’t mention any specific bias, which is what I was looking for when I asked her about it.

The whole gang (minus Meredith) with Vienna

After that, we met on the top floor on an open-air patio and did our reflections session on the plush couches and chairs set up there. Diana and Emily broke down over the murder of Ramón Matute’s father and brother in Locomapa. Diana said he was so young (23, the brother), the same age as them.

I envied their ability to emotionally absorb the deaths and grieve so openly. It’s one of the overlooked advantages of being (socialized as a) female.

There were more tears that day than before. The feelings were starting to leak out.

The food at the hotel was quite good, even if every meal included hamburger buns or plain white bread on a dish. We thought this was a result of the hotel management's stereotypes about Americans, that we love white bread. I wonder if they know that Wonder Bread isn’t nearly as popular in the US as it used to be.

There was an extremely Catholic Latin American movie from the 70’s or 80’s on TV that afternoon. I caught the end of it in my room. In the evening I discovered Honduran VH1, which is far superior to our version. They actually show music videos.