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Thursday morning the Liberal Party will be at Plaza Luarque blocking the Southern road into Tegucigalpa.
The Bloque Popular will be at Carasal, this is the Northern road into Tegucigalpa.
These two political groups are now coming together and coordinating their actions for a unified front.
UnoAmerica will be holding a meeting tomorrow morning as well.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Notes From This Week
The protests in support of Manuel Zelaya continue, however their numbers are dwindling down. Xiomara Castro, ex first lady, seeked asylum in the Embassy/Ambassador's house once Manuel Zelaya was removed from the country. She remained in hiding until the middle of last week, where she then became a spokeswoman for the pro-Zelaya rallies. She continues to sleep in hiding, with rumors stating that she returns to the Embassy/Ambassador's house for sanctuary. No confirmation available.
A psychological war has taking place in Honduras this past week, as text messages are being forwarded to avoid certain locales certain days under threat of possible violent action by the Zelaya supporters. However, there have been no attacks or threats at any of these places.
Zelaya made an announcement earlier this week that if he is not reinstated into power by the end of this week, then "there are other forms of actions we are already organizing for my return to the country at whatever cost."
A psychological war has taking place in Honduras this past week, as text messages are being forwarded to avoid certain locales certain days under threat of possible violent action by the Zelaya supporters. However, there have been no attacks or threats at any of these places.
Zelaya made an announcement earlier this week that if he is not reinstated into power by the end of this week, then "there are other forms of actions we are already organizing for my return to the country at whatever cost."
Monday, July 13, 2009
Why I'm doing this
Why would someone with no personal connection to the people or government of Honduras, buy a camera, start a webpage, and fly to Honduras to become a citizen journalist? It just doesn't make sense. I've been asked that question numerous times, and at times I don't fully understand what drove me to such extreme actions, so here an explanation of events that shaped my thinking and pushed me towards this endeavor.
To begin with, I am proud to be an American. I do, however, strongly disagree with the direction our country has been heading the past few months. I recently finished serving my country as a rifleman in the United States Marine Corps.
I enlisted late 2004, and after boot camp and the school of infantry I was sent to Fox CO 2nd Battalion 5th Marines. Up until my assignment to 2/5 all I had been told was that I was going to Iraq, yet the Marine Corps had different plans for my unit, and we were sent on the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit.
We were on ship and traveled to different countries in the Western Pacific. We were in the Philippines during the mudslides, and different elements of the unit helped in the search and rescue effort. I was not part of the rescue operation, as I was in one of three squads that were sent to Jolo Island, providing security while Air Force Engineers built new school buildings.
My second deployment was to ar Ramadi, Iraq, where 2/5 was one of the surge elements. Now I am not going to go into details of the deployment, but the deployment was a success, contrary to the initial reporting from many main stream media news releases.
I saw first hand the changes that were taking place during the al Anbar Awakening. Police recruits were receiving formal training, Our combat outpost hosted two platoons from our company and elements of the Iraqi army and Police. Local governing boards were established and there was a sense of order in the streets. The Iraqi's began policing their own neighborhoods, working shoulder to shoulder with their US counterparts. Despite all of these positive gains being made, it took awhile for accurate stories to surface.
I extended my contract to do a third deployment with Regimental Combat Team 5 where I was a part of a platoon of infantryman, tasked out with company and regimental level missions. Throughout 2008, I saw how the US was handing control back to the Iraqi's, with little press available because of the media circus surrounding the election trail.
I saw first hand the good that was being done overseas, yet the news was inaccurate and unfair, especially to the families of servicemen and women. I am now experiencing the same fears and worries that family members of the armed forces experience, as close friends of mine (which should be read as "brothers") are now in Afghanistan and I have to dig for information to see how they are doing, and all I can do is pray for their safety and success.
In June the world watched as Iranians took to the streets, protesting the election results, and the US administration say idly by, with the decree that the US can not interfere with other governments. Yet with the removal of Zelaya from office, President Obama was quick to take a stance, siding with Zelaya and against the "coup".
Immediately, an overwhelming majority of national (and international) press began condemning Honduras. I looked to the internet where I came across some great articles, that explained what happened was legal.
I was working at my parent's business for the summer until I return to school in the fall. Always ready for a new adventure, I decided to go find out for myself. I was tired of biased news reports and I had to see for myself if this tiny Central American country truly underwent a coup, or if they legally removed a potential dictator and chose to be a free people.
This site is just a one trick pony. My stay here in Honduras is quickly coming to an end. Once I return to the States, I will no longer be updating on the situation here in Honduras. All I hoped for was to see what was truly happening and write about it on this little blog. If it was able to accurately inform at least one person, then I consider this venture a success.
To begin with, I am proud to be an American. I do, however, strongly disagree with the direction our country has been heading the past few months. I recently finished serving my country as a rifleman in the United States Marine Corps.
I enlisted late 2004, and after boot camp and the school of infantry I was sent to Fox CO 2nd Battalion 5th Marines. Up until my assignment to 2/5 all I had been told was that I was going to Iraq, yet the Marine Corps had different plans for my unit, and we were sent on the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit.
We were on ship and traveled to different countries in the Western Pacific. We were in the Philippines during the mudslides, and different elements of the unit helped in the search and rescue effort. I was not part of the rescue operation, as I was in one of three squads that were sent to Jolo Island, providing security while Air Force Engineers built new school buildings.
My second deployment was to ar Ramadi, Iraq, where 2/5 was one of the surge elements. Now I am not going to go into details of the deployment, but the deployment was a success, contrary to the initial reporting from many main stream media news releases.
I saw first hand the changes that were taking place during the al Anbar Awakening. Police recruits were receiving formal training, Our combat outpost hosted two platoons from our company and elements of the Iraqi army and Police. Local governing boards were established and there was a sense of order in the streets. The Iraqi's began policing their own neighborhoods, working shoulder to shoulder with their US counterparts. Despite all of these positive gains being made, it took awhile for accurate stories to surface.
I extended my contract to do a third deployment with Regimental Combat Team 5 where I was a part of a platoon of infantryman, tasked out with company and regimental level missions. Throughout 2008, I saw how the US was handing control back to the Iraqi's, with little press available because of the media circus surrounding the election trail.
I saw first hand the good that was being done overseas, yet the news was inaccurate and unfair, especially to the families of servicemen and women. I am now experiencing the same fears and worries that family members of the armed forces experience, as close friends of mine (which should be read as "brothers") are now in Afghanistan and I have to dig for information to see how they are doing, and all I can do is pray for their safety and success.
In June the world watched as Iranians took to the streets, protesting the election results, and the US administration say idly by, with the decree that the US can not interfere with other governments. Yet with the removal of Zelaya from office, President Obama was quick to take a stance, siding with Zelaya and against the "coup".
Immediately, an overwhelming majority of national (and international) press began condemning Honduras. I looked to the internet where I came across some great articles, that explained what happened was legal.
I was working at my parent's business for the summer until I return to school in the fall. Always ready for a new adventure, I decided to go find out for myself. I was tired of biased news reports and I had to see for myself if this tiny Central American country truly underwent a coup, or if they legally removed a potential dictator and chose to be a free people.
This site is just a one trick pony. My stay here in Honduras is quickly coming to an end. Once I return to the States, I will no longer be updating on the situation here in Honduras. All I hoped for was to see what was truly happening and write about it on this little blog. If it was able to accurately inform at least one person, then I consider this venture a success.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Prayer Meeting in Tegucigalpa
Yesterday afternoon, Christians, Catholics, and Jews came together in prayer for peace in Tegucigalpa and Honduas, putting aside their religious differences. Around 1,000 Hondurans came together in a baseball stadium, where music and guest speakers were already waiting.
They prayed for peace. They prayed for guidance. They prayed for support.
They prayed for peace. They prayed for guidance. They prayed for support.
Curfew
I am now back to working on this blog full time. The past few days I have been working on a different project and it has finally come to a completion so the updates will once again resume.
Friday night I had the opportunity to do a ride along with a local police force in Tegucigalpa to witness the enforcement of the curfew. Curfew hours were from 11:00 PM through 04:30 AM. A little after the commencement of the nightly curfew, I was able to load up in one of the police trucks and take off on patrol.
The streets were quite well before the beginning of the curfew. The officer in charge (OIC) called each of the checkpoints on the radio and asked for a situation report. One of the checkpoints called in they had a vehicle pulled over, and so the OIC instructed the driver to take the vehicle to that checkpoint.
The checkpoint was being held at a main thoroughfare, consisting of one police truck and the crew inside. While one of the officers was questioning the civilian that they had whistled to the side of the road, the remaining elements of the team were standing on the street corner watching and waiting for any more traffic to appear. After some questioning, the driver was told to continue home and reminded of the curfew hours.
We loaded back up into the truck, and continued on with our patrol. I noticed that we kept passing groups of people walking down the road, yet we never stopped and questioned them. I asked the OIC why we did not stop to question those individuals. He told me that they were employees at a local business that were just getting off of work, and that there was no need to question them. Since they were returning back to their homes after work, they didn't present a risk and that they are allowed to continue with their business. The people they were looking for were drunks, vandals, and troublemakers.
With the streets quite, the OIC decided to take the patrol to the poorest neighborhood in his area of operation. It was interesting how once we left the commercial district and better off neighborhoods and continued to the poor neighborhoods, the amount of graffiti on the buildings dropped drastically, almost to the point of being non-existent. During the patrol, the truck had it's lights in operation, but once we entered the poor neighborhood, the lights were turned off. They explained that they shut the lights off in this neighborhood so they do not create a scene. In the past, they have patrolled with their vehicle lights on, and some of the residents began throwing rocks and glass bottles at the vehicle. They were not their to disturb the residents, and so we continued through the neighborhood without any incidents.
Close to the end of the patrol, we returned to the original checkpoint, where they had pulled over a teenager who was out past curfew. The teenager was out with his friend just cruising around, with full knowledge of the curfew. The police looked at the teenagers personal and vehicular documents, and made the decision to bring him back to the police station where he would remain until the cessation of the curfew. It was a little after midnight at this time, and the OIC told the team at the checkpoint to escort the teenager back to the police station and call it a night (the teenager did not leave his vehicle abandoned in the street, he was allowed to drive behind the patrol truck to the station).
On our way back the OIC explained that they had been pulling the checkpoints off the streets around midnight every night. They manned temporary posts to show their presence, but would not remain on the streets for the nights entirety.
Back at the station, the other patrol trucks began showing up, where the teams would remain for the duration of the night, ready to be dispatched at a moments notice. I thanked the OIC for allowing me the opportunity of the ride along, and was given a ride back to my hotel for the night.
Curfew restrictions were lifted today in Tegucigalpa, showing one more step to normalcy.
Friday night I had the opportunity to do a ride along with a local police force in Tegucigalpa to witness the enforcement of the curfew. Curfew hours were from 11:00 PM through 04:30 AM. A little after the commencement of the nightly curfew, I was able to load up in one of the police trucks and take off on patrol.
The streets were quite well before the beginning of the curfew. The officer in charge (OIC) called each of the checkpoints on the radio and asked for a situation report. One of the checkpoints called in they had a vehicle pulled over, and so the OIC instructed the driver to take the vehicle to that checkpoint.
The checkpoint was being held at a main thoroughfare, consisting of one police truck and the crew inside. While one of the officers was questioning the civilian that they had whistled to the side of the road, the remaining elements of the team were standing on the street corner watching and waiting for any more traffic to appear. After some questioning, the driver was told to continue home and reminded of the curfew hours.
We loaded back up into the truck, and continued on with our patrol. I noticed that we kept passing groups of people walking down the road, yet we never stopped and questioned them. I asked the OIC why we did not stop to question those individuals. He told me that they were employees at a local business that were just getting off of work, and that there was no need to question them. Since they were returning back to their homes after work, they didn't present a risk and that they are allowed to continue with their business. The people they were looking for were drunks, vandals, and troublemakers.
With the streets quite, the OIC decided to take the patrol to the poorest neighborhood in his area of operation. It was interesting how once we left the commercial district and better off neighborhoods and continued to the poor neighborhoods, the amount of graffiti on the buildings dropped drastically, almost to the point of being non-existent. During the patrol, the truck had it's lights in operation, but once we entered the poor neighborhood, the lights were turned off. They explained that they shut the lights off in this neighborhood so they do not create a scene. In the past, they have patrolled with their vehicle lights on, and some of the residents began throwing rocks and glass bottles at the vehicle. They were not their to disturb the residents, and so we continued through the neighborhood without any incidents.
Close to the end of the patrol, we returned to the original checkpoint, where they had pulled over a teenager who was out past curfew. The teenager was out with his friend just cruising around, with full knowledge of the curfew. The police looked at the teenagers personal and vehicular documents, and made the decision to bring him back to the police station where he would remain until the cessation of the curfew. It was a little after midnight at this time, and the OIC told the team at the checkpoint to escort the teenager back to the police station and call it a night (the teenager did not leave his vehicle abandoned in the street, he was allowed to drive behind the patrol truck to the station).
On our way back the OIC explained that they had been pulling the checkpoints off the streets around midnight every night. They manned temporary posts to show their presence, but would not remain on the streets for the nights entirety.
Back at the station, the other patrol trucks began showing up, where the teams would remain for the duration of the night, ready to be dispatched at a moments notice. I thanked the OIC for allowing me the opportunity of the ride along, and was given a ride back to my hotel for the night.
Curfew restrictions were lifted today in Tegucigalpa, showing one more step to normalcy.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Update
I've been working on a couple different things down here and so posting will be light through this weekend. I will be updating when I can.
Pajamas TV has sent a correspondent to Honduras.
Pajamas TV has sent a correspondent to Honduras.
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