lagatamontesa

Your crinkly smile brings back childhood memories

of Fourth of July barbecues

swimming pool birthdays

The blistering summer sun —

Freckles and feasts under infinite skies

Tall tales and flashlights

in tents of faded dreams

when did you grow so big?

Your heart would sing

Tanned shoulders glistening from

Firefly hunts

and freeze tag

Innocence Robbed for that papier vert

now your jaw locks and heart blocks

and you slave away in studio basements, shaved head and turn-table in tow

forgetting the Curly-Haired Boy

you used to be

By Katherine Karmen Trujillo

In Honduras, a person dies from a violent death every 74 minutes. But you wouldn’t know it based on what little coverage this Latin American country received during President Obama’s recent visit to the region for the Summit of the Americas. Much of the summit focused on the region’s economic development, trade agreements, and strategies to fight drug trafficking. Nothing was said of recent statistics that show Honduras, a country of 8 million people, is now the murder capital of the world.

A surge of violent crime and deaths has taken place in Honduras since the June 2009 coup against President Manuel Zelaya. Coupled with the overflow of violence ushered in by Mexican drug cartels entering the country, murder has become commonplace throughout Honduras, creating a situation of impunity that has made life unsafe for all Hondurans, especially journalists and human rights activists.

As a result of the political unrest following the coup, the Front of Popular Resistance (FNRP) mobilized against the military and those responsible for ousting President Zelaya, who advocated for increased rights for members of poor communities, including efforts to promote agrarian reform. This movement prompted many rural farmers to occupy land in the Bajo Aguan region, where various peasants and land rights activists have been killed.

But murders are not limited to the countryside. Hondurans who have taken to the streets in protest have also faced extreme political violence, often at the hands of the military or police. Journalists and human rights activists who call attention to these instances of impunity have also been targeted. Many have been killed, kidnapped, assaulted and threatened. According to Reporters Without Borders (Reporteros sin Fronteras), an organization that strives to promote and defend free press throughout the world, there have been 9 cases of attempted murders and threats against journalists and activists in Honduras since late April of this year. These include stories of men like Elder Joel Aguilar, a reporter for Channel 6 in Tegucigalpa, whose car was hit by a missile while on the highway, and Selvin Martinez, a news correspondent for Televisora JBN, who was shot in front of his home as his three and five-year-old sons played nearby.

The level of inaction in redressing this situation of impunity is shocking. For instance, human rights activist Dina Meza has been harassed since February for her coverage of land conflicts in the Bajo Aguan region. She has received threatening phone calls and text messages with graphic language of the harm that will be done to her. She has also seen men near her home taking pictures of her and her family. Despite reporting these threats, no serious measures have been implemented to protect her.

Nineteen journalists have been killed since the 2009 coup, including 2 in 2012 alone. And yet, the United States has done little to hold the Honduran government accountable or to press for further investigation into allegations of police and military corruption.

We need increased attention from the United States and the international community toward the abuses of the Honduran police and military forces! Let’s advocate for better conditions for human rights activists and everyday citizens fighting for their rights in Honduras and help ensure it no longer remains the murder capital of the world.