by Ana Lorena Lacayo
In an environment of uncertainty when it comes to the international relations and understanding from the international community, one only trusts what you’ve seen and lived. In this sense is that I decided to direct my email trying to give another light to the much talked about situation in Honduras.
I am a 25 year old teacher, I have been able to study abroad for my master’s degree and this makes me become part of the 20% lucky enough to conclude the whole process of education in my beloved country.
The whole issue with Mel Zelaya began when he decided to make us Hondurans participate in an illegal “poll” that would come to say if we supposedly wanted to have a 4th ballot in next November’s elections. Let’s analyze this, a poll can be easily made by hiring a company which is a specialist in this area and having them call or locate random people and asking them the questions wanted, Mel said in his address to the UN that he decided to make it as a written poll and all in one day because most of the people in Honduras live in rural areas which don’t have telephones…well Mr. Mel, these people don’t know how to read or write! They are part of the 80% in our country who reach 3rd grade at the most without really knowing how to read or write, so I enlighten you: one of Chavez’ and Castro’s friends decides to make a “poll” where he got the paper from Venezuela, had it delivered himself, will count it himself and will give out the results himself without showing WHAT THE POLL ASKS??? I’m pretty sure the “fishiness” of this all can be quickly recognized by educated people. You are not going to ask the one that can’t read or write, or don’t know anything about politics and how to run a country on how they want it to be ran! You must teach them first, and this is one of the many losses that our country has had during Mel’s period as president, EDUCATION has been a mere fight between the teachers asking for more money to the government, no classes in public schools and the university closed for two months during this year. Are we going to rise as a country like this? No we won’t. So, I had the opportunity to read one of the “polls” and as Mr. Zelaya had refused to tell us what he planned to ask saying many times on international and national channels, that he was only asking the people if they wanted the 4th ballot on November, but was is my surprise when I read the paper and it asks if they want a CONSTITUTIONAL ASSEMBLY…why would he ask this in the poll??? This was supposed to be the question in the 4th ballot.
Really only someone with no common sense would think that Mr. Zelaya was looking to leave on November. We all know he’s a cocaine user and has transformed our country Honduras into the fastest growing drug transporting bridge in Latin America. These past years every single day an airplane has been taken with thousands of kilos of cocaine and heroine, our police and crime investigation organizations haven’t been able to capture those responsible for using Honduras as a drug transporting bridge because they have been taken to other countries with the help of Mr. Zelaya who is surely involved in these plans. Just after he was taken to Costa Rica, while searching through the Presidential Palace they found an approximate amount of $3 million in his office, where did he get this money if he has refused to give our Congress a budget for 2009 and we are in JUNE? Where does he get this money when there is supposedly no money to handle the almost 300 cases of swine flu in our country? Where does he get this money from? Why have it in his office and not declared?
This is our reality, a country being played by communists whose only goal in mind is to live a “gracious” life at the expense of their “people”. I don’t think Mr. Zelaya would give up his farms and lands in Olancho if the country decided to divide possessions equally in order to balance poverty in Honduras, Chavez didn’t give up his riches, Castro didn’t either, so why would he?
It’s insulting to see Mr. Zelaya take advantage of the hunger in my country to keep on going with his illegal ideas. He gave cellular phones, bags filled with food, $50 and under to all of those who would go out to the streets and help keep the “poll” alive, and this I know because the people working for me told me that they were offered all of this in exchange for going with him to get the paper, going with him to greet Chavez when he came to Tegucigalpa and simply making news casters believe that there is a whole bunch of Hondurans that support him.
Most of our citizens don’t begin to understand what’s going on because our education level is low. They are only manipulated, and when a president makes them think he’s doing everything to help by pushing up the minimum wage almost a 60% more than it used to, causing most of the international factories to close and leave the country leaving thousands unemployed because the economical crisis being lived worldwide doesn’t allow companies to have as many employees as before paying them 60% more that they used to, it simply surpasses the educated mind. This was not the way to go during an international economical crisis.
Maybe things weren’t handled as it should have been, he could’ve been captured and taken to court. But we know his manipulative ways, we know how he loves to disrespect the press and external opinions, so he brought this on himself. We are not going to let someone ruin our country; we are not going to give up. We are going to stand by our country and let him know that he is NOT welcome anymore. We will have our elections on November and continue on with our lives trusting that the international community will recognize it is our wish to make history, to let the world know that the power DOES belong to the people. Venezuelans got tired, Cubans got tired, and Bolivians got tired, well Hondurans won’t…
It’s easy to talk when you’re not living it, so I hope that my insight to our real situation makes you at least try to develop a more objective evaluation. I’d rather be left out of the worldwide community 6 months than live under the foot of a dictatorship for the rest of my life. I refuse to leave my country because of an egotistical and greedy EX PRESIDENT ZELAYA.
My kindest regards and knowing that I won’t be left unheard,
Ana Lorena Lacayo
Tegucigalpa, Honduras