Jose Arevalos, president of the Central American Integration Bank (BCIE) has
placed the estimated cost of reconstruction efforts in Honduras to be
$10,000,000,000 - double the original quote. Regional finance officials from Costa
Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua, as well as delegates from the BCIE,
the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank met with Arevalos in
the Honduran capital on Thursday.
The Clinton administration has claimed they will offer a significant contribution
above the $300 million already promised in aid to the countries affected by
Hurricane Mitch. This comes on the heels of a trip made by Department Counselor
Wendy Sherman, and the senior Latin American Official for the Agency for
International Development, Mark Schneider. Schneider believes the reconstruction
phase will take three to five years, and explained that the $300 million went toward
food, relief to health clinics, and to maintain about 5,000 U.S. troops stationed in the
region. It was also mentioned that congressional approval for a free trade
agreement between Central America, the United States and Canada is being
pursued.
An executive decree was published yesterday which orders the removal of aid for
Hurricane Mitch victims. This decree is designed to expedite the removal of
containers of aid that have been accumulating in customs warehouses for diverse
reasons. The new decree states that if these containers are not removed within the
next days, then the Executive has the power to remove them and distribute the aid
to whomever is considered to be the most needy. The daily La Prensa reports that
amongst the 59 containers of aid presently in one of the airport warehouses, there is
a container full of new refrigerators whose owner is still unknown.
The ambassador of Canada assigned to Costa Rica and Honduras, Denis Thibault,
has announced that the Canadian government will provide the Honduran
government with 100 million Canadian dollars (equivalent to 66.6 million US $
dollars) over the next four years, for Hurricane Mitch reconstruction projects. Also,
representatives of some forty Canadian companies are presently in Honduras
analyzing possibilities of establishing cooperation ties with local Honduran
companies in the private sector.
SOTO CANO AIR BASE, Honduras, (Army News Service, Jan. 24, 1999) --
Almost 30 million pounds of supplies and equipment for the Hurricane
Mitch relief effort have moved on and off the flight line here since
the beginning of November.
Joint Task Force-Bravo has delivered 3.31 million pounds of food,
140,800 pounds of medical supplies, and 1.15 million pounds of items
such as tarps, diapers, clothes and other non-food items.
The cargo that has been delivered, however, is only part of what
JTF-Bravo has accomplished since Hurricane Mitch devastated Honduras
and other Central American countries. The task force has also helped
through medical readiness and training exercises, road clearing, water
delivery and bridge construction.
The medical element has gone throughout Honduras, treating more than
18,000 people. These treatments include prescriptions, immunizations,
dental work, obstetrics/gynecology, eyesight treatments, and minor
surgeries. The medics also support a local orphanage that has been
overwhelmed by children whose parents were killed during the chaos of
Hurricane Mitch.
"We are trying to do all that we can," said Army 1st Lt. David
Roberts, medical liaison officer to the local hospital in Comayagua.
"It feels good to be able to help these people."
Another heavy hitter on the JTF-Bravo team has been the engineers.
Between the Army, Navy Seabees, and the Marine Corps, JTF-Bravo's team
of engineers has rebuilt the infrastructure of Honduras. The engineers
have cleared many of the roads washed out by the hurricane's flooding.
These roads were crucial supply routes that allowed more food and
supplies to get to the villages that needed them.
The engineers have also been busy replacing many of the bridges that
were severely damaged during the storm. The bridges at Rio Hondo, San
Juan de Flores and Ojo de Agua connected many towns that previously
could only receive supplies by air and could not deliver their crops
to the market in the capital of Tegucigalpa.
"The bridges and roads have revived the livelihoods of the people who
live here. We have given them the chance to get back to a life that is
closer to the life they had before the hurricane," said Master Chief
Billy Johnson, U.S. Naval Mobile Construction Battalion Seven command
master chief.
Water delivery has also been an important mission that has been
spearheaded by the Army Forces Headquarters and Support Company. More
than 430,000 gallons of clean, drinkable water have been delivered to
villages all over Honduras. This was accomplished by tankers
delivering water and by purifying water on the spot using Reverse
Osmosis Water Purification Units.
Much of the accomplishments of JTF-Bravo would not have been possible
without the support of the aviation units here. Company D, 228th
Aviation Regiment (UH-60 Black Hawk) and Companies B and C, 159th
Aviation Regiment (CH-47 Chinook) have transported nearly 3,000 relief
personnel and have flown nearly 500 relief support missions since Nov.
1.
"There has never been a more joint task force than this Joint Task
Force-Bravo. The way all four services have come together to support
their Honduran neighbors in a time of desperate need is truly
commendable," said Col. Charles H. Jacoby, JTF-Bravo commander. "More
than 2,000 soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines have become part of
our ranks and have come together as a winning team. I couldn't be more
proud of my troops."
(Editor's note: Ausburn is with the 49th Public Affairs Detachment
(Airborne) stationed at Fort Bragg, N.C.)
CHIQUITA DENIES THREAT TO PULL OUT OF HONDURAS;
NEGOTIATIONS WITH UNION RESUMES
[The following alert was written by the U.S./Guatemala Labor Education
Project: (773) 262-6502, usglep@igc.org.]
Chiquita executives have denied that they have any intention of pulling out
of Honduras and have also denied that Honduran unions were given a 48-hour
ultimatum to sign a new agreement last week or see Chiquita depart Honduras.
Chiquita workers vigorously dispute the latter denial. January 14 editions
of Honduran newspapers quote the head of the Chiquita union, Juan Fundez
Estrada, as saying that Chiquita official Jimmy Zonta, Director of Labor
Relations in Chiquita's Costa Rican office, told the union that it had until Friday, January 15 to sign a new agreement giving up previous rights or the company would end operations in Honduras. (Copies of this article are available from the U.S./Guatemala Labor Education Project upon request - see contact information, above).
All seven Honduran banana worker unions held a press conference on January
15 to announce they would not sign the concessionary agreement and to accuse both Chiquita and Dole of using the destruction wrought by Mitch to pressure unions into giving up past gains. The unions requested a meeting with the
President of Honduras to present their complaints, asked for immediate
rehabilitation of the plantations destroyed by Mitch and for an end to the
companies' suspensions of thousands of banana workers. The unions also
stated that they reserve the right to occupy the plantations if there isn't
progress on their concerns.
Subsequently, negotiations between the union (SITRATERCO) and Chiquita have
resumed.
Chiquita has responded to the union's charges that containers of relief aid
were not delivered to the union by stating that the containers were not
meant to be delivered specifically to the union but to the people of
Honduras, and have offered to compare their record in responding to the
emergency needs after Mitch against any other company. Chiquita has also
disputed other allegations from the workers about Chiquita's post-Mitch
behavior that were contained in the action alert. Chiquita's rebuttals are
being investigated and an assessment will be issued as soon as it is available.
[The following alert was written by the U.S./Guatemala Labor Education
Project: (773) 262-6502, usglep@igc.org.]
According to the banana worker leaders in Honduras, Chiquita Brands International said it would abandon Honduras and not
rehabilitate plantations damaged by Hurricane Mitch if workers didn't sign
by Friday, January 15 a new agreement that would weaken the union and roll
back advances previously won by the union. Chiquita employs approximately
7,000 banana workers in Honduras.
*********************
*********************
Steven Warshaw, President
Chiquita Brands International
250 E. Fifth Street
Cincinnati, OH 45202
Fax: 513-784-8030
Tel: 513-784-8000
*********************
*********************
BACKGROUND
[Note: The following information was provided by banana union leaders in
Honduras.]
Immediately following Hurricane Mitch, Chiquita and its Honduran union,
SITRATERCO met for two weeks to agree to an Emergency Plan. Chiquita
initially came to the table with a list of demands they said had to be met
or they would leave. SITRATERCO took the list to its membership, which said
no, then returned to the table and signed a slightly better agreement on
December 1, 1998 which still gave major concessions. The agreement
named six
issues to be negotiated at a later point.:
(1) restructuring the work system to use fewer workers (giving each
worker a
parcel of land to do all jobs on, instead of one task per worker;
(2) reduced benefits (e.g. cutting paid sick days);
(3) introducing new technology;
(4) reorganizing work for technical systems (mechanics, etc);
(5) plans for salvaging irrigation equipment, etc, from damaged fincas; and
(6) postponing the 1998 contact negotiations.
Information is not yet available estimating how many jobs would be lost and
the lost value of benefits.
Now, Chiquita wants to settle these six issues, on its terms. The
company at
first said it would not disclose whether it would stay and/or rehabilitate
fincas until the union agrees to the company's demands. On January 13, it
told the union it would abandon Honduras if the workers didn't sign the
agreement within 48 hours.
Chiquita's threats to leave Honduras in the wake of Mitch come despite
public promises to the contrary. According to a November 13 AP news story,
Chiquita President Steven Warshaw said Chiquita would rebuild in Honduras.
On November 12, during a visit to Honduras, Mr. Warshaw assured the
President of Honduras they would not leave Honduras.
Chiquita is clearly using the threat to abandon Honduras as enormous
leverage against its workers who been among those who have been the most
affected by the greatest natural disaster in 200 years in Central America.
CURRENT SITUATION OF CHIQUITA WORKERS:
Unemployment. At least 4,000 of the 7,000 workers will not have work
for the next 18 months until the plantations are rehabilitated.
Wages. Except for being paid the first week after the hurricane, workers
have not been receiving any salary, as some have reported. They are
currently living off of legally-mandated end-of-year bonuses (13th and 14th
month payments) and previously-accumulated vacation time. This money is
expected to run out in February, at which point they will need to
resort to
loans. Chiquita is offering loans but only up to and against the value of
80% of one's severance pay. Consequently, Chiquita risks no money and is
essentially providing an advance on workers' severance pay. The loans will
be deducted from workers wages if/when work resumes.
Emergency relief assistance. The union reports workers were only given some
small portions of rice, meat, etc and a one-time bonus of L 1800 prior to
Christmas. There has been no emergency material aid from Chiquita since
Christmas. Chiquita is allowing workers to plant food crops on damaged
plantations (a normal procedure for fertilization of banana plantations).
No emergency aid from Cincinnati. The union says that three containers of
aid loaded with much pomp and circumstance in Cincinnati for Chiquita
workers was never given to them.
Violations of December 1 Agreement:
1. Use of low-wage, non-union labor for salvage work. In the December 1
agreement, the company agreed to use union workers for salvage work
such as
removing irrigation tubes. However, Chiquita has been using non-union,
low-wage day laborers for this work rather than their own banana plantation
workers.
2. Permanently dismissing Chiquita workers. The union signed the
December 1
agreement before coming to a more permanent solution with the company
primarily in order to avoid layoffs. Nevertheless, two weeks later, on
December 14, Chiquita closed its Tela Railroad subsidiary, permanently
laying off approximately 240 workers.
Former President of Honduras,
Rafael Callejas joins Honduras ReLeaf Program.
"... former Honduran President Rafael Callejas joined the ranks of
those calling for a reforestation program to be part of the process of
rebuilding Honduras in the aftermath of Hurricane Mitch.
In joining the international partnership, Honduras ReLeaf, Callejas
states..."Perhaps the greatest tragedy is that many of the deaths and
much of the destruction was caused by mudslides that were the result of
uncontrolled deforestation and therefore could have been prevented.
While we cannot change what has already occurred, I am committed to
doing everything I can to see that the rebuilding of Honduras includes a
major reforestation component that will be aimed at stopping these
deadly mudslides in the future."
The Honduras ReLeaf program was initiated by the international
treeplanting organization, Trees, Water & People (TWP) and will have
three components - all aimed at stabilizing hillsides and preventing
future disasters.
· A survey of Honduran communities, to be conducted as soon as possible,
to determine the damage done to local forests and to identify each
community's specific restoration needs.
· A Community Forest Protection Program that will work cooperatively
with communities to protect the remaining tree cover and plant
appropriate fast growing trees to stabilize the hillsides.
· A Community Education Program that will help communities to protect
and sustainably care for their trees and local forests.
Former President Callejas, who is now a member of the Honduran Congress,
further declares..."I believe it is imperative that we begin immediately
to explore ways we can work with the government of Honduras and with the
international community to assure part of the aid coming to Honduras
includes a way we can prevent these tragedies from occurring again."
In the early 1990's, with the support of then President Callejas, the
National Director of Trees, Water & People, Richard Fox and the
president's wife First Lady Norma Callejas, developed the SIEMBRA UN
ARBOL COMO NORMA program that planted a million trees around the
Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa.
In 1995, the International Director of TWP, Stuart Conway, began working
with local Honduran communities on a long-term program to protect
Honduran forests. These efforts have focused on treeplanting projects
in watershed areas that provide Honduran communities with fresh drinking
water.
Unfortunately, Hurricane Mitch has demonstrated that these reforestation
efforts need to be greatly expanded as deforestation of hillsides has
been shown to be a primary cause of the human and ecological damage that
has occurred in Honduras.
"The hurricane was a natural disaster, but it was worsened by the action
of man's deforestation," said Dr. Carlos Medina, a physician and
biologist who served as Honduras' first environmental minister from 1992
to 1996. A helicopter flight over Honduras showed that heavily forested
areas were relatively unscathed, but the regions where trees had been
plundered and "colonias" or slums had sprouted on hills were denuded,
with even the houses tumbled into the rivers. (Boston Globe 11/11/98)
There is hope though. In the communities where Trees, Water and People
has been working with local communities, there were no mudslides or
major destruction. TWP now anticipates a major expansion of their
efforts in Honduras and other countries in Central America. TWP's
International Director, Stuart Conway, believes " that the tragedy in
Honduras has been monumental and unprecedented and we have to begin to
focus on how to limit the future damage caused by extreme weather
events. Treeplanting is absolutely part of the answer."
While emergency relief is critically important now, former President
Callejas states, "I believe in the long-term our Honduras ReLeaf program
will provide lasting benefits that will provide much needed hope and
security for all Hondurans."
For additional information, please contact Richard Fox at Trees, Water &
People
Phone - (970) 484-3678
Fax (970) 224-1726
Email: rcfox@econet.org
Trees, Water & People is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization registered
in the State of Colorado and all gifts to the Honduras ReLeaf are 100%
tax deductible.
January 17, 1999
From: Nicaragua Network
Subject: Alert! Debt Cancellation
Nicaragua Network urges everyone to act on the following action alert
prepared by Jubilee 2000/USA:
"Debt Relief" Proposed for Central America Still Inadequate!
US Administration Fails to Support Significant Debt Cancellation
despite Devastation.
The second week of December two important meetings were held to consider the
needs of countries devastated by Hurricane Mitch for reconstruction
assistance and debt relief: the Paris Club meeting (a meeting in Paris of
finance ministers of the wealthy, western nations) and the Consultative
Group (a meeting of major lenders and donors, including the US, convened on
this occasion in Washington). Despite news stories to the contrary, neither
meeting produced meaningful debt relief for the Hurricane-stricken
countries, only payment delays and "debt relief" conditioned on the
completion of austerity programs that negatively impact impoverished
communities and the natural environment.
At the Paris Club, the wealthy nations agreed to grant Honduras and
Nicaragua a three-year moratorium on debt service payments. At the
Consultative Group meeting, lending institutions, including the World Bank,
and wealthy creditors, such as the US government, agreed to provide the
region with large amounts of loans for reconstruction - but not significant
debt relief:
++ The World Bank approved $1 billion dollars in interest-free, 40-year
loans for Honduras and Nicaragua. The World Bank also announced the
creation of a trust fund through which wealthy nations can cover the
countries' debt service payments until February, 2001. (Neither measure
would reduce debts both countries owe.)
++ The Inter-American Development Bank pledged $3 billion in loans and
grants for reconstruction in the region; and the International Monetary Fund
(IMF) agreed to lend Honduras $66 million (but not on favorable terms)
++ The lenders agreed to speed up 'debt relief' for Nicaragua through the
World Bank/IMF-sponsored "HIPC Initiative" and to reassess the eligibility
of Honduras, previously judged ineligible.
Broad coalitions of Honduran and Nicaraguan peasant federations, religious
institutions, and unions, as well as environmental and women's groups, used
the occasion of the Consultative Group meeting to make a strong appeal for
debt cancellation, as well as for accountability in the provision of
reconstruction funds. They presented specific plans detailing how savings
resulting from debt cancellation could be channeled to sustainable
development. (See one example at the following web site:
http://www.j2000usa.org/j2000/intl/laamer/coalit.htm)
"When you suffer, we suffer; when you hurt, we hurt with you," Under
Secretary of State Stuart Eizenstat told Central American leaders gathered
for the meeting. President Clinton told them, "We stand together in good
times and bad." Yet, the US failed to use its influence at these meetings
to advocate meaningful joint strategies to lift the debt burden. The
Administration still opposes the immediate cancellation of the debts, even
of those owed directly to the US. The payment moratorium, supported by the
US, is a start, but it's clearly not enough: the existence of the debt
itself harms these countries by deterring investment and shifting economic
decision-making to creditors. The countries still won't be able to pay
when the delay has lapsed. And, austerity measures that harm the poor and
the effort to rebuild still must be implemented in order to ensure vital
creditor support.
Take action!
==> Write to Secretary of the Treasury Robert Rubin and your legislators to
ask that the debts of Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador be
canceled immediately without conditions that exacerbate poverty or
environmental destruction. Ask your Representative to sign a "Dear
Colleague" letter being circulated by Reps. Bonior, Kelly and Becerra urging
President Clinton to support debt cancellation. Emphasize that a moratorium
is not enough.
==> Contact members of your community and local organizations that have
collected donations for hurricane relief to express support for their work,
make a donation if possible, and inform them of the terrible burden of debt
faced by the affected countries. Ask that they get involved in the campaign
to cancel debt. Use the opportunity to make connections with Hispanic groups.
Background:
Honduras and Nicaragua are heavily burdened by debt. Honduras's foreign
debt has tripled since 1980 and stood at $4.5 billion in 1996. $147.7
million of this total is owed directly to the US government. Last year it
paid $539 million in debt payments, more than $1 million a day. In
addition to killing thousands, the recent flooding and mudslides destroyed
an estimated 70% of the crops. Nicaragua has a foreign debt of $5.929
billion, much of which was incurred during the US-sponsored Contra war.
Last
year it made payments of $349 million, nearly $1 million a day. $106
million of its total debt is owed directly to the US government. The
country was devastated by Hurricane Mitch, causing thousands of deaths,
destroying 2,500 kilometers of roads and destroying crops. Partly because
of IMF-imposed austerity programs, spending on health care dropped from $58
per person in 1988 to $14 in 1997.
A preliminary estimate by the United Nations has put total Hurricane damage
at about $5.4 billion.
El Salvador and Guatemala were also hit. Hurricane damage led to hundreds
of deaths. In El Salvador, crops were over 80% destroyed in 4 provinces. El
Salvador has an international debt of $2.894 billion (1996 figure). In 1996
it made$314 million in debt service payments, equal to 9.5% of its earnings
from exports. Guatemala has an international debt of $3.785
billion (1996 figure). In 1996 it made payments of $353 million, equal to
11% of its earnings from exports. (Debt relief under HIPC was not
officially requested by the governments of El Salvador and Guatemala; so
far, no donor initiatives are planned to help these countries cope with
their debt burdens.)
Sample Letter to Congress and the Clinton Administration:
Dear __________:
With the terrible devastation left by Hurricane Mitch in Central America,
particularly in Nicaragua and Honduras, but also in El Salvador and
Guatemala, I ask that you take strong leadership in achieving immediate debt
cancellation for these countries, so that resources can be redirected to
reconstruction. Following the example of France, the US government should
begin by canceling the debts owed directly to it.
[For members of Congress add: I urge you to sign a "Dear Colleague" letter
being circulated by Reps. Kelly, Bonior and Becerra which asks President
Clinton to support debt cancellation for Central America.]
While the $300 million in emergency aid to the region now pledged by
President Clinton is welcome, much more will be needed since the UN
estimates the cost at reconstruction to be almost $6 billion. The debt
payment moratorium proposed by the US is a beginning. Yet, I believe this
is inadequate. The existence of the debt itself harms these countries by
deterring investment and shifting economic decision-making to the creditors.
Once the moratorium has ended the countries will still be unable to pay the
debt and, at the same time, make investments in their future. A moratorium
is unrealistic as a long term strategy -- we can and must do more.
Nicaragua, and potentially Honduras, may receive some limited debt reduction
through the IMF and World Bank's HIPC Initiative; yet, unless it is
fundamentally modified, this program will not deliver deep enough reduction
and the conditions attached to the 'relief' will hurt the poor, as the
example of Mozambique has already demonstrated. Cancellation of unpayable
debt should be complete; it should be done quickly and in a way that
provides for participation by and accountability to broader civil society in
each country. It must not conditioned on implementation of austerity
measures that increase poverty or environmental damage. The time for action
is now.
US Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121
White House Comment Line: 202-456-1111
Mr. Robert Rubin
Secretary of the Treasury
Department of the Treasury
1500 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20220
Tel: 202-622-1100
Fax: 202-622-0073
The Honorable _______
US Senate
Washington, DC 20510 www.house.gov
The Honorable ____
US House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515 www.senate.gov
======================
Jubilee 2000/USA
222 East Capitol St., NE
Washington, DC 20003-1036
tel: 202-783-3566
fax: 202-546-4468
Email: coord@j2000usa.org
Web site: http://www.j2000usa.org
January 14, 1999
By Staff Sgt. Jeff Troth
Special to the American Forces Press Service
SOTO CANO AIR BASE, Honduras -- Churches and companies throughout
America were readying to send food and supplies to Central America in
November even before Hurricane Mitch's floodwaters receded. But how to
get it there? Atlanta had 200,000 pounds of food ready. Savannah
donations included 50,000 pounds of sugar. A company in South Carolina
offered 30,000 pounds of pasta a day. Their calls and others regarding
donations went to Joint Relief International-Denton Operations at Pope
Air Force Base, N.C. The nonprofit contractor finds ways to move the
civilian donations through military channels -- primarily by airlift,
but whatever it takes, said spokeswoman Audra Murray. The relief group
coordinates U.S. Transportation Command's Denton program, which allows
the military to transport the civilian humanitarian donations
worldwide on a space-available basis. Transportation is one of the
biggest expenses organizations face when trying to ship goods, Murray
said.
Flying donations from the United States to Central America could
easily cost several thousands of dollars. That's money groups either
don't have or would rather spend on more donations, she said. Through
the 1985 Denton Amendment, named after U.S. Sen. Jeremiah A. Denton of
Alabama, the Air Force has shipped millions of pounds of humanitarian
aid worldwide at no cost to the donors. The departments of Defense and
State and U.S. Agency for International Development jointly administer
the program. Denton operations originally relied on unused cargo space
on U.S. aircraft flying into Central America, but they've since
expanded to include most areas of the world. Prior to Hurricane Mitch,
the program last year moved more than 2.5 million pounds of goods to
38 countries, including nearly all those in Central and South America,
and Kenya, Mongolia, Armenia, South Africa and the Philippines. In the
first 10 weeks following the November hurricane, Central America alone
received more than 4 million tons of donations through Denton program
shipments.
"When the hurricane hit we had civilians all across the
United States calling who wanted to donate hundreds of thousands of
pounds of aid," Murray said. The large number of donations, in fact,
overwhelmed the available military transport space to move them, she
noted. "Calls were coming in from all over the country. Officials at
Piggly Wiggly, a grocery store in South Carolina, said, 'Here's two
tractor-trailers, fill them with your choice'," Murray added. "In New
York City, 3,000 taxi cab drivers placed boxes in their cabs and
collected food, clothing and other items. Those are the kinds of
things that were happening and still are."
The Denton Program is very successful at getting supplies and food to those who need it, said
Marine Maj. Anthony McGinty, Joint Task Force-Bravo deputy J-5 here.
"Instead of the stuff going to a big warehouse and sitting for a week
while someone decides what to do with it, the food, medicine and
clothes go directly to nongovernmental organizations, and they
distribute the stuff. "Many of the organizations have been in country
for years, so they know who needs what," McGinty added. "They already
have a network in place to distribute the donated aid." Murray, in
Honduras to help assess operations, said she goes out and sees where
food and supplies go after they leave the air base. In the Honduran
capital of Tegucigalpa, for instance, she visited the local Rotary
Club's emergency operations center.
"A Rotary Club in Rhode Island
organized a huge food and medicine drive and sent donations through
the Denton program to the Rotary Club in Tegucigalpa," she said.
Wives, Boy Scouts and other volunteers gathered at the club to sort,
pack and prepare goods for transport to other Honduran Rotary Clubs.
"I asked the Rotarians how many people they had fed and they couldn't
answer me. The stack of paper with the names of all those who've
received assistance is about an inch and a half thick, and each piece
of paper had at a minimum of 220 families on it," Murray said. "It's
been an incredible thing to watch. It's really something to see the
generosity and goodwill of U.S. citizens." [Staff Sgt. Jeff Troth of
the 49th Public Affairs Detachment (Airborne), Fort Bragg, N.C., is
assigned to the U.S. military relief effort in Honduras.]
O Ma R's Report
January 13, 1999
This past week it's been raining on the northern coast of Honduras, which has resulted in more flooding and infrastructure damage. La Ceiba became incommunicado from Tela for the fourth time since the passing of Hurricane Mitch (though traffic has begun to flow again now that another temporary crossing has been built), and areas in and around Puerto Cortes, La Lima, El Progreso and Choloma have all suffered flood damage. The Santa Barbara area is also suffering from periodic earthquakes and landslides.
Traditionally the rainy season ends in January, followed by the sugar cane harvest in the Sula valley. Although this year there will be no significant harvest due to the severe flooding throughout the valley, we cannot wait until the rains end since that will provide a window of opportunity for the authorities to adequately fix the road infrastructure so that it will not easily collapse again.
Over one thousand containers that had been stockpiled in diverse customs warehouses are finally being opened and distributed. These containers had accumulated for diverse reasons. The main reason is due to the fact that the authorities have implemented stringent control measures designed to ensure that none of the aid disappears. The comptroller's office has auditors verifying the use of all aid that enters the country.
In other words, the bureaucratic red tape regarding aid is a necessary evil to ensure that none is misappropriated. Other reasons that aid containers have accumulated in these warehouses involve their consignees. Some containers have been unclaimed and their consignees have not been located. Consignees who lack the economic resources needed to pay for transportation from the customs warehouse have also abandoned containers.
The momentous news is that the comptroller's office has finally taken decisive action to rectify this situation and thereby ensure that the aid inside these containers is not wasted. The comptroller, Vera Sofi Rubi Avila, has temporarily relocated her operations center to the Port of Cortés. She and ten auditors are presently opening abandoned containers and shipping their contents to diverse needy areas for their distribution. We effusively applaud this measure that has also has the support of the first lady, Mary Flakes. Aid will reach needy citizens and the newly emptied containers will now be able to be reused to transport additional aid that has been accumulating in diverse foreign ports throughout the world.
More Honduras News this Week can be found by clicking here.
O Ma R's Report
January 6, 1999
Trujillo is a lovely place, in fact, it is one of my personal favorites. As I have been asked about damage to Trujillo by several parties, I thought it might be a good idea to post the most recent news.
Unfortunately Hurricane Mitch plowed right through there; it was the first area of the mainland to get hit on Oct 29th. All of those little huts and businesses that operated on the beach below the fort were completely wiped out. Power to the whole Aguan valley went out due to posts that were blown down near Trujillo.
Official statistics for the entire Colón region registered 96,279 "damnificados" (homeless), with 25,000 lodged in shelters. The paved road was completely wiped out near Saba by the torrential Aguan river and the best access into the area is via the old dirt road through Sonaguera.
As reported in one of my updates, The Canadians had set up a camp in Sonaguera to assist the people in this region. Supplies were being flown in from Toronto to La Ceiba, then by land to the camp in Sonaguera. As of today, La Ceiba is once again incommunicado with Tela and San Pedro Sula since the recent rains have washed away the temporary river crossings that had been constructed.
