A Perspective on Crime in La Ceiba

It is common to hear shots at night in La Ceiba. This is most often guards shooting into the air as a warning. Yes, people are killed here daily -- most because they are into "bad stuff". Gang members and drug trafickers have short lives.

By David Ashby
We have five programs helping more than 200 children and teens in the La Ceiba area of Honduras. Except for our orphanage, these youths live with their caretakers, who may be parents, single moms, grandmas, aunts, etc. Some live in high risk areas. We also have local board members, a contractor, teachers, housemothers, maintenance men, volunteers, and work teams. Our nurse lives here, as does one of our volunteers. We help 18 teens in various high schools in the city and in the mountains. Those in the mountains ride bikes to the city to buy supplies and visit the orphanage. We take many children and teens, especially from the orphanage, on outings to the beach and various rivers, to Trujillo, to concerts and movies, and to visit family members in the countryside.

All of our work, facilities, and programs are made up of a very large population of adults, teens and children. Except for some minor incidents and one teen who was robbed of her money on the street, we have not experineced any crime or violence in several years. Are we immune from crime and violence? I hardly think so.

I would be remiss if I did not mention one special case. One of the girls in our orphanage ran away and got involved with drug traffickers and hit men belonging to a gang. For a number of weeks, new-model stolen cars with no plates drove by our orphanage with armed men inside. They undoubtely wanted money, but we didn't make contact or respond. They finally gave up. Nothing happened.

It is common to hear shots at night in La Ceiba. This is most often guards shooting into the air as a warning. Yes, people are killed here daily -- most because they are into "bad stuff". Gang members and drug trafickers have short lives.

I have seen no deliberate targeting of foreigners. Robberies when they occur are often crimes of opportunity, so we do our best to limit those opportunities. Large groups have been here over the past year, with our organization and with other charities, and some travel all over the country. There may be incidents, but I have not heard of any in groups with which we work.

In the end, it is a matter of perspective and being aware of your surroundings... as it has always been. We don't go or take our children where we know there may be danger. I realize that one feels much differently if they have been the victim of violence, but so far we have been blessed with peace. This has been the case for me personally during more than 30 years in this country. (1/26/12)

Note: The author is the founder and president of Helping Honduras Kids in La Ceiba, Honduras.