Hondurans Denounce Their Own Government for Corruption, Indifference

By Jerry Kammer on July 25, 2014

The website of Honduran newspaper La Tribuna received a remarkable series of readers' comments to its June 18 story about demands from the Honduran Human Rights Commissioner that the United States guarantee the rights of Hondurans who were fleeing to the United States to seek asylum there. The readers expressed anger at the Honduran government, accusing them of corruption, incompetence, and indifference to the suffering of the people who decide to leave the country. Here are excerpts.

  1. "Respect for human rights begins at home. The state has the obligation to provide the children health care, education, public safety, opportunity for their parents to work. ... How sad to demand that another country treat our countrymen well, something our own governments past and present have never done. What a disgrace to be born in Honduras."
  2. "These children are fleeing from the misery and violence caused by all the governments we have had and from the overwhelming corruption of our politicians, something that is not a secret. The corrupt ones are not punished. Instead, they are rewarded with high positions in the government apparatus so they can continue their robbery."
  3. "It is Honduras that should be obligated to protect the human rights of these children, after putting them in the disgraceful situation that they are fleeing from this precious land whose political leaders, businessmen and communities are incapable of caring for their own. ... How is it possible that all these children leave the country without anyone noticing? It gives the impression that it is the policy of the Honduran government to push the responsibility onto someone else."
  4. "All the government income goes to stratospheric salaries for people who live in opulence. ... The people flee because of hunger. ... The Americans know this. Or do you think they don't see that a handful of people here take everything while the ordinary people invade their country? ... It is not the responsibility of the gringos. It is the responsibility of the government of Honduras."
  5. "All this could be avoided if there were jobs in Honduras, if those who govern us were dedicated to helping the people get out of misery and extreme poverty. But it is clear we have had the bad luck to be governed by false prophets, by corrupt people who just want power so they can enrich themselves. When will there be a sense of conscience and someone who will make the effort so that at last we have a country where we don't have to abandon our families to seek a better future?"