The Issue of Immigration in Honduras

Thousands of people fled Honduras the course of a few weeks November 2018, raising the question; why are so many people fleeing Honduras? Honduras is considered one of the least established countries in Central America with an extremely high crime, and poverty rate. Bartolo Fuentes stated U.S. and Honduran official desire that this migration remains out of sight or that migrants die on the way, their dilemma unnoticed by the rest of the world. “But now that they’re going together, it’s a scandal.” In other words, the government attempted to ignore the fleeing refugees, but when they began to form caravans of thousands it attracted attention around the world and must now be acknowledged. The large groups trek hundreds of miles seeking refuge.

You may wonder, but why are they leaving Honduras? Well, The Center for Economic and Policy Research stated Honduras has “the most unequal distribution of income in Latin America”. Three years ago, the President Manuel Zelaya was overthrown and in the years after the coup almost all profits the government has made went to the wealthiest 10% in the country. About 66% percent of Honduras is below the poverty line while about $450 million dollars are lost every year as a result of fraud and tax evasion. 20% of citizens in Honduras live on about $1.20 American dollars. Violence served as another strong motivator for leaving Honduras. Honduras has one of the highest homicide rates in the entire world much of the violence is connected to gang violence and drug trafficking. Gangs take control of entire communities, keeping all of the residents under their control. Violence also results from collisions between rival gangs and police, Bystanders are often harmed by stray bullets or other objects. In addition, there have been 3,000 cases of femicide, or murder of a female, particularly by a male on account of her gender, in Honduras in the past few years. Only twenty-nine of these homicides were investigated and only one resulted in a conviction. In conclusion, masses are fleeing Honduras seeking refuge from poverty, injustice, gang-violence, and homicides.

Subsequently, I learned that there is a major economic struggle for the people in Honduras. I was not aware that one in five Hondurans suffers in extreme poverty. Jackie McVicar wrote that “… in addition to economic policies that have led to an increase in poverty, the migrant caravan is an expression of frustration with years of structural violence and impunity corruption and the militarization of Honduran society” The people in Honduras are suffering and receiving no aid, actually it is the opposite they are being stolen from by criminals and the government evicts them from their homes if they complain. I also learned that Honduras is one of the most dangerous countries for women in the world. Woman are treated with very little respect and it is common for them to be raped, abused and killed. It is rare that these heinous and illicit acts are even investigated, and they almost never convict someone for the crime. The article related how those responsible for protecting the citizens, the police, have been accused by citizens of being the perpetrators of these targeted killings. In addition, the crime rate in general in Honduras is much higher than I expected. Many people are harmed by gangs and police alike when they wish to have no part in these illicit deeds.