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News of another caravan of Honduran emigrants fleeing northward to escape violence and economic insecurity did not surprise Heifer International Americas staff. Political tensions, violence and corruption can seem intractable in this Central American country where more than 66 percent of the population lives in poverty.
Heifer Honduras supports small-scale farmers and indigenous populations in rural areas, providing gifts of seeds, animals, equipment and training. But great need persists throughout the country.
Oscar Castaneda, Heifer International’s senior vice president for the Americas, said he and his staff are keeping an eye on not only on the progress of the caravan of Honduran people, but also on the humanitarian and political reception they get as they travel north.
While governments in Guatemala and Mexico are under pressure to close the borders, people, poor people, are organizing shelters and collecting food to feed the migrant caravan. A fantastic example of solidarity when bigotry rules. Oscar Castaneda, Heifer International Senior Vice President for the Americas
“While governments in Guatemala and Mexico are under pressure to close the borders, people, poor people, are organizing shelters and collecting food to feed the migrant caravan. A fantastic example of solidarity, when bigotry rules,” he said.
Emigration is prickly, complex and difficult to grasp. The movement of stressed populations over international borders can have hefty political implications. This potential influx of Honduran people is stoking the already hot immigration debate in the United States.
Castaneda recommends the internet news source Latin America in Movement for some helpful perspective from outside the United States.
Top photo by Russ Powell. Laurentino Sanchez Rivera (42 yrs) works in the family garden in Torola village, Honduras on January 17, 2017.
