Solidarity Among Hondurans in Wake of Hurricane Eta
Written By: Melissa Vida
Screenshot of the YouTube video of Noticias Telemundo of Honduran images, November 5, 2020
This story by Melissa Vida originally appeared on Global Voices on 9 November 2020.
Global Voices — When Hurricane Eta ravaged Central America, it hit an already severely battered region. What had sprung as a Category 4 hurricane soon turned into a tropical storm and as of November 9, 235 people have been reported dead due to floods, mudslides, and crumbling houses. The numbers, however, are being updated every day.
In Honduras, 1.6 million people have been affected and thousands are in need of shelters. On the ground, people are feeling a “combination of anguish, indignation, and solidarity”, according to Maite Matheu, Honduras’ country director for the humanitarian organization CARE. Speaking with Global Voices by phone from the capital Tegucigalpa, she said, “There is quite a lot of solidarity among Hondurans, among families, people helping other families get them out of the water, even the little animals.”
Matheu explained that there is a pervasive feeling of indignation because Honduras — like the rest of Central America — saw the hurricane weather forecasts a week before the storm hit the ground. Yet, it appears that the state did not take preventive measures, or evacuate people ahead of time.
On Twitter, journalist Jennifer Avila explained:
“As is the case every year, the authorities are not prepared for the rains, #ETA surprises us like any other tropical depression. Every year, families are looking to save their lives. When the rain stops we will see the politicians there doing their campaigns. Read this thread 🧵”
For its part, the media focused on the damage in the north, where most of the country's free-market economic activity — including the maquiladoras (factories) — are located.
CARE, meanwhile, is focusing its attention on the most vulnerable communities in Honduras’ Dry Corridor, in the south and southwest of the country, which has been devastated by drought for the last five years. At the time Matheu spoke with Global Voices, there were still as many as 200 women, children and elderly people who had been on rooftops for more than 30 hours in that region. She said the situation was so dire that local Hondurans were renting private boats to save them.
Hurricanes are a natural weather disaster made worse by human-caused global warming, and Central America is one of the regions most vulnerable to climate change. Many small family farmers throughout northern Central America have trouble growing food, pushing them to migrate to Mexico and the United States due to food insecurity.
The COVID-19 pandemic has also exacerbated poverty and extreme poverty. as the economy shrinks and the inequality gap rises, CARE is concerned about a mass exodus of displaced people. Matheu explained, “If the poorest and most marginalized populations are not prioritized in the recovery, there will be thousands of people in caravans going the north.”
The ghost of hurricanes past
The force of Hurricane Eta has been compared to a 1998 hurricane that destroyed entire neighborhoods and claimed more than 20,000 lives: “The images we have seen have reminded us of Hurricane Mitch,” Matheu said.
Analysts believe that the devastation of Hurricane Mitch was a crucial factor in Honduras’ impoverishment, the consequences of which are still felt today. The United States Temporary Protection Status (TPS), of which 83,836 Hondurans and Nicaraguans are beneficiaries, was originally intended for victims of Hurricane Mitch.
Questions over governance
To deal with Hurricane Eta, the Honduran government requested that the Inter-American Development Bank advance part of its funds — to the tune of 35 million United States dollars — originally earmarked to deal with the climate crisis. However, allegations of corruption regarding the use of international funds intended for COVID-19 assistance already plague President Juan Orlando Hernández's administration.
Misusing funds for disaster relief is not unheard of in the region. The former President of El Salvador, Francisco Flores, was investigated for allegedly misusing millions of dollars from Taiwanese funds meant for relief from earthquakes and Hurricane Mitch. He died while under house arrest in 2016.
Honduran politics have been increasingly unstable since the 2009 political coup which saw the ousting of leftist Manuel Zelaya. The United States, along with other Latin American countries, had eventually recognized the new government.
In 2017, President Hernandez was sworn in for a second term amidst a backdrop of heavy fraud allegations and protests — including allegations by US prosecutors that he is a co-conspirator in drug-trafficking schemes. In 2019, his brother, Tony Hernandez, was convicted for trafficking cocaine to the United States.
Because human rights activists, analysts, and journalists consider Honduras to be co-opted by organized crime and corporate interests, local solidarity is key for most Hondurans’ survival.
“HONDURAS
The Honduran people face Hurricane Eta
with a wave of solidarity in the face of an absent state”
“I don't know if you knew about this but I saw the need to post it.
Honduras is sinking, people on the roofs of houses shouting for help, the government is conspicuous by its absence and the world still does not know about this. #ETAinHonduras #PrayForHonduras #HondurasResists”
“The image that represents the goodness that exists in the hearts of most Hondurans. 😭💙”
Local organizations and the Honduran diaspora have also been active in fundraising. The funds are reaching affected communities that are difficult to access due to power outages and floods.