I visited Honduras in 1980 i.e., more than four decades ago. I was then undergoing the Professional Training in Agriculture (PTAD) organized by the FAO (Food & Agricultural Organization) in Rome.At the close of the training, FAO wanted each of us trainees to suggest the name of a country of their choice for visiting rural development projects.
Being
a student of Genetics, I was eager to visit Mexico, wherein CYMMIT, famous as
the seat of the green revolution, was located. The FAO also permitted me to
visit an additional country nearby, without any extra cost. Thus, the name of
Honduras was added.
The Country I had, till
then, never heard the name of Honduras, nor knew where it was located. I learned that Honduras is a country
situated in Central America, consisting mainly of mountains, with narrow plains
along the coasts. It encompasses La Mosquitia (lowland jungles)enfolding
the world-heritage site of Río Plátano
Biosphere Reserve in the northeast, and the thickly populated lowland Sula
valley in the northwest. The region is considered a bio-diversity
hotspot because of the many plant and animal species found nowhere else.I
was told that it was perhaps the poorest country in Latin America.
Honduras gained independence from Spain in 1821 and was a part of the First
Mexican Empire until 1823, when it
became a part of the United Provinces of Central
America. It has been an
independent republic and has held regular elections since 1838.
Travel to Honduras : My air-ticket indeed was a
thick document showing connections to various places to be visited- Rome to
Colombia- Colombia to Panama, Panama to Mexico, Mexico to Honduras, Honduras back
to Panama, (private visit) -Panama to Chicago- Chicago toOmaha, Omaha to Grand
Island. On the way back the same route up to Chicago, Chicago to New York and,finally,
New York to New Delhi! In fact, the staff at the checking counters were
breathless reading the ticket and often expressed their surprise at the long
list of names.
I have already written a blog on my
sojourn in Mexico. From Mexico I flew to Tegucigalpa(locally known as "hills of
silver/ homes of the sharp stones”), the capital city of Honduras, since 1880. It is
the largest and most populous city in Honduras. It has a twin city called
Comayagua (earlier capital); together they form the Central District.
I reached Tegucigalpa late in the evening. The
airport was very much like the ones in North-eastern India- small and unremarkable.I
went outside and searched for a taxi.Luckily for me, an English-speaking driver
turned up. He knew something about India
and spoke highly of Mother Theresa. I requested him to take me to a modest
hotel. But I found it not up to the mark. Thereafter, he took me to a modern
place, which was indeed clean.
To my dismay I found that all the
staff in the hotel spoke only Spanish. I communicated with them in broken Italian,
which I had learned while in Rome. I remember going to the bar and asking for a
glass of milk and a cheese sandwich, because I knew only those names in Italian!
That part of the city was dotted all
over by Mayan ruins---faces, small monuments, artefacts. I remembered that Honduras was home to several important Meso-American cultures, most notably the Maya, before the Spanish colonization in the sixteenth century.
I finally reached a somewhat busy square. All
of a sudden, a hybrid between a jeep and auto rickshaw stopped in front of me.
The contrivance was over- full, with men sitting in front with the driver, and women
and children at the back.On the top were large baskets full of vegetables or
chicken and sundry articles. “Get in”-cried the driver. “How to? “I wanted to
ask. Somehow, I squeezed myself in. When the vehicle started moving, I got
placed on the lap of a fat woman.Luckily, she didn’t object. Perhaps,being
small and thin, I was like a mosquito on her! The scene reminded me of the
tempo rides back in Patna in India, though not so adventurous!
Ms. French: The vehicle at last stopped before a
tall concrete and glass building. The girl at the reception took me to the
office of the FAO Representative. When the door was opened a pleasant middle-aged
woman-the lady representative- stretched her hand with a smile and asked me to
be seated. “My name is French, but I am Greek”-this was how she introduced
herself to me (her name was Mary French). She asked me where I was staying.When
she heard the name of the hotel she wasn’t impressed.She sent her own car,
collected my bags and shifted me to the hotel next door. Although expensive, I
felt safe.
She explained to me the arrangements
for my visits to the Oil Palm plantations. Next day I was to fly to a distant
area, accompanied by an officer Mr. K(Kagao?) and learn about rural poverty in
Honduras.
During the day I had lunch with the
family of a person of Dutch nationality (I forget his name) working in FAO. I
being a total vegetarian, he and his wife had taken special care. Besides bean
soup, bread and salad, I had cheese and milk imported from Holland. I found the
food delicious.I thanked them profusely.
The same evening Ms. French had
invited me for dinner.She ordered a huge platter of fruits for us that
contained locally grown bananas, pine apple, watermelons and Cantaloupe (Musk
melon), as also apples and grapes. Both of us couldn’t do any justice to it.
Over coffee Ms. French spoke at length about the glory of both Greek and Indian
Civilizations. Her husband, a Nobel laurate on two subjects (perhaps Chemistry
and Economics), had worked in India.
Next day morning in her office, she
presented me a monograph on Goats written by her husband. In it he had argued
that the goat is the best domesticated animal suited to poor people in
developing countries, as they could be maintained without any expenditure and
readily supplied much needed milk to the children. He had also dealt with the
aspect of destruction of vegetation by goats. Ms. French requested me to sign a
memorandum addressed to the government for protection and promotion of goats. I
readily obliged.
Oil Plantation: Next day morning we flew to a distant
destination to visit the oil palm plantations. We stayed in a small hotel. By
way of introduction Mr. K told us that he was married four times. He said” I
don’t know where my first child is now”.
I said in India people rarely have more than one spouse. When I
expressed my surprise at Mr. K having four wives, he retorted “I wonder how
people can have only one husband or wife in India.”
Honduran society is
predominantly Mestizo (mixed race); however, there are also
significant Indigenous Americans, black and white communities in Honduras.I was told that the Spanish
introduced Catholicism as well as the Spanish language, along with numerous customs that became mixed with the indigenous
culture.
We went around the plantations which
stretched for miles together, saw the oil-extraction process, interacted with
the workers and had lunch with them. I ate rice and beans, which is the staple
diet of the local people. All of them spoke only Spanish.
Economy: The Honduras
economy is mostly based on agriculture. It is primarily a ‘banana economy’. The
name ‘banana republic ‘is said to have originated while referring to Honduras.
Fruit companies from the United States set up large plantations and came ‘to
exert extraordinary influence over the politics of Honduras and its neighbours’.
I learned that well- to- do Americans
have invested in oil palm plantations too. As the oil from the palms is not
only consumed by the population as a food item, it was also used in cosmetics
and other industries on a commercial scale.The local people were desperately
poor and were only left with their wages.Rest of the funds were taken out of
the country by the American investors. But the other way of looking at this was
that the plantations provided the locals much needed employment.The lands were
infertile and locals had no means to cultivate it.No proper irrigation systems
were available. No investments were forthcoming from the country’s government.
After spending two full days there, we returned to the headquarters.
Before leaving I met Ms. French to
thank her. I was indeed happy that I met her. She was a formidable woman and
she made such an impression on me with her knowledge, compassion and generosity
that I had not forgotten her, even after forty long years. I soon bid fare-well
to Teguchigalpa.
Honduras today: Back
in India I often wondered about Honduras and its people. Like in other
countries Teguchigalpa and other cities have grown.However, infrastructure has
not kept up with their population growth.
I
read that the economy of Honduras is still significantlybased on agriculture,
which accounts for 14% of its gross domestic product (GDP)
in 2013. Coffee is one of the chief items exported. Banana cultivation was
virtually wiped out by Hurricane Mitch
in 1998 and could recover in 2000 only up to 57% of pre-Mitch levels. Cultivated shrimp is
another item exported, which is also especially vulnerable to natural disasters.
The people of Honduras are still among the
poorest in Latin America; gross
national income per capita (2007) is
US$1,649; the average for Central America is $6,736. Honduras is the
fourth poorest country in the Western
Hemisphere; In 2010 50% of the population were below the poverty line; in
2016 it was more than 66%.
What I learnt: A
brief visit like mine can provide only a glimpse of the country visited and its
people. Nevertheless, it changes your vision forever. Although people differ in
their culture, customs, costumes and languages, after a visit to a distant land,
however brief it might be, one finds that the people are no longer ‘they’ but ‘us’.
It strikes you that people’s lives areessentially the same everywhere, and they
are all connected by the invisible thread of humanity, in all its shades.
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