A Window of Opportunity for Honduras

By Ben Udy
The local politician's rally cry here in Honduras is, “looking forward”. The election is behind us and, all things considered, I think it went very well. As a long term resident and father to three Honduran children, what I saw on November 29, and have seen since on the local streets, gives my children very real reasons for being extremely proud of their “Patria”. However, I think the many citizens who voted that Sunday, as well as the many who did not, would all agree that there are many serious issues still left to be addressed. I know many are hoping President Pepe Lobo can pull several rabbits out of his “soon to be” new hat.

Even the poorest Honduran homes now have more than 50 channels of cable TV and access to Internet-ready cell phones. This in-and-of-itself is creating completely new learning curves right across Honduran society.

I firmly believe that, at this particular moment in it's history, Honduras has a window of true opportunity to...

1: Significantly improve the current reality and future hopes of the nation's poor.
2: Raise the hopes and aspirations of all the nation's youth.
3: Significantly improve the nation's international image.
4: Become a working model of sustainable eco-friendly development and true reduction of poverty.

... And a shining example of a developing democracy, all at the same time, without significant cost to the national budget, and without any serious or traumatic changes to the current political, social, business and financial dynamics.

We may need to look at the problems from a couple of new perspectives but all the ingredients for the development story of the century are in Honduras right now. We have the world's attention and there are literally millions of people all over the planet just waiting to find out how they can help. The whole world is waiting to see what January 27 will bring to Honduras. And to Pepe; Your new hat is absolutely full of rabbits, all you need to do is pull them out!

We need to realize there is the new global reality, sessions of the Honduran Congress can now be seen on Youtube, people all over the world were watching blow by blow reports of the national election procedures, from any and all political perspectives, on their cell phones, and Honduran school children were talking about it on Skype with teachers in The Netherlands.

The marketing and public relations potential of Honduras's current global media position is astounding. Doing something impressive about the country's problems can only enhance it. This is the time for the business and political elite to get very honest with themselves and have a little more empathy with the country's poor. Take a step back and look carefully at the almost limitless untapped resources available within Honduras. Ask yourself; How can we help the poor become more productive? What new eco-friendly businesses can we get the population involved in? Remember, all our children's futures are at stake from those on I-phones in City Mall to the half-naked ones running happily barefoot through the hills.

First, we need to admit that the current “asi es” in Honduras is not working very well for many Hondurans. Then we need to admit that the drastic changes in global access to real-time information is something we can't control. Hondurans for Honduras! Take pride in the fact that you have just proven to the world that you will not bow down to international pressure (no matter from whom and no matter what the potential consequences) where your consitutional democracy and sovereignty are concerned.

Now, let's prove to the world we can work in a united, cooperative and transparent manner with others all over the world on some of the most pressing international issues which we all need to face together. How hard can it be for Hondurans to change “asi es” into “asi puedemos hacer”. I don't know, I'm not Honduran but I am here ready and willing to help if you let me.

It is now possible for children in Honduras to exchange information and opinions with all sorts of other people around the world in real-time and in an amazing number of multimedia formats. I don't think anyone is ready for the social trauma this could create if we ignore it and I don't believe we have any chance of controlling it no matter how hard we try. I see only one logical option, from a governmental point of view, and that is to make the required changes to the education our children are receiving to help them question and fully research the information available. We, as parents, need to answer the basic question of “Why do we send our children to school in an age when they can access a full academic curriculum 24/7 on an I-phone?” And all the world governments need to consider very carefully what they really want or need their schools to produce. Honduras is no exception. What future return does the nation really need from the millions that are invested in education on a monthly basis?

Even the poorest Honduran homes now have more than 50 channels of cable TV and access to Internet-ready cell phones. This in-and-of-itself is creating completely new learning curves right across Honduran society. While we might have some control over their access to information when our children are in school, we do not have control the rest of the time. How we equip our children to evaluate and utilize global communications and instant access to unlimited thoughts, opinions and information will be a major factor in the future development of Honduras. Our children are also growing up overdosing on misinformation. Has anyone really assessed the function of our schools with this in mind?

Many traditional pedagogical models rely on strictly controlling the information and opinions that are available to children as they progress through school. Even some of the world's current political systems rely very heavily on strictly controlling the information available to the general citizenry in order to maintain social control. This is also true of many religious groups. Fortunately or unfortunately, and regardless of political perspectives or religious beliefs, the epoch when any one group of people could control another group of people by limiting the information they were able to receive is well and truly over. This is having an incredible and intense effect on individuals, families, social groups and governments all over the planet. The social groups, businesses and governments who can be first to make the right changes to take full advantage of this will be the real winners as the century unfolds. Those who hang on to “business as usual” or “Let's just wait and see” will definitely be able to look back and say; “I wish we had done something about this then”.

It will take careful planning and possibly a few significant bureaucratic changes, but there is no reason that the word “Catrachos” cannot become synonymous with; “A group of united people who with intelligence, imagination and hard work took less than a generation to turn one of the poorest countries in Latin America into a shinning example of a prosperous democracy where poverty has become only part of their history". Instead of looking at other countries and trying see who we want to follow, why t look at the current global picture and see where we can lead. There is so much to gain, and what do we really have to lose?

Honduras is in an extremely enviable global position right now in history. It has an abundance of untapped natural and human resources. Its population-to-land-area ratio is very comfortable. It is a tropical paradise with incredible bio-diversity. It has a large population of basically honest, peace-loving and hard-working people who have not yet learned to enjoy the shopping at City Mall. It already has good Internet communications networks. It has “projecthonduras.com”, a cutting edge Internet-based networking infrastructure in place. And, although a lot of the energy emanates from both Washington, DC and Tegucigalpa, this network already functions both “transparently” and without government assistance or intervention.

There are literally millions of people all over the planet, ready and willing to help Honduras reach its full potential. Many of these people are prepared to do so without any financial return. The recent political struggles have expanded this number exponentially. [Side note: This alone should turn Zelaya into a true national hero and fully deserving of both a pardon and a statue.]

If the political powers that be in Honduras really want to “look forward” to seeing the day when one of their grandchildren takes over as president of Honduras as a peaceful and very prosperous tropical paradise, now is the time to do something about it. All it would take is facilitating the available global assistance instead of trying so hard to control it. If I were a member of one of the political/financial power groups in Honduras, I would see the current situation as an incredible opportunity. It is a chance to have some of the country's' social problems taken care of without upsetting the current political/social status quo and without significant financial investment from within Honduras. It is also a chance to give Honduras a tremendous boost in world stature, and it should be an opportunity for good and savvy local businessmen to think about being able to trade in their Hummers for Lear Jets and make serious improvements to both the current living conditions and future opportunities for the poor in Honduras.

All that said, change is probably the hardest thing for most human beings to accomplish. It requires a united and dynamic leadership. It needs an active and participatory citizenry. The enthusiasm, energy and active minds of the country's young people is a critical element and needs to be both organized and focused. We will have to figure out how to keep the bureaucracy and “Honduran system” either out of the way or fully occupied. It will not be easy or painless, pero vale la pena.

Note: The author of this article is the founder of the Cofradia Bilingual School.

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