Saturday - November 14, 1998.
O Ma R's Daily Report is momentous:
The authorities have accused sub lieutenant Roberto Carranza Quintanilla of sending a truckload of aid out of the proper storage facilities to an unknown location. He is currently being held in custody. New orders from above have stripped the Armed Forces of Honduras of the task of distributing aid. It will all be channeled now through Non-Government Organizations and Churches.
This is a measure that many of you readers will greet with joy. Unfortunately, it does have immediate problems. Due to these changes, people who are hungry will have to wait even longer. To fulfill red tape requirements, aid distributing organizations are now requiring names of people prior to providing aid. This is absolutely ludricrous in those cases in which access is extremely difficult. For example, Yoro is isolated, completely unorganized and difficult to reach. By the time a census is taken and returned for food to finally be distributed, some people may have died. Yoro is completely cut off from the rest of the world, and often times unreachable due to adverse climatical conditions, i.e. the choppers can't fly through the mountains when it's too cloudy. The government needs to fix this problem right away!
Another example is the supplying of the banana field plantations. Aid has been too slow in the distribution pipes, and precious boat time is also lost. As reported earlier, a Royal Netherlands Marine Corps contingent is now stationed under the Democracy bridge in El Progreso. They are making supply runs in outboard motor inflatable boats, but without supplies from the new distribution channels, they remain idle.
The bottom line is, the government and aid distributing agencies need to quickly fix their distribution channels and communication lines ASAP!!!
Thank goodness the Yoro situation is being fixed. The area has finally been penetrated and supply trucks have reached the town via land and rough terrain (after almost two whole weeks of complete isolation). Olanchito is still isolated, but there have been helicopter drops there and they should be fine for the immediate future.
The armed forces has now been lending its equipment and personnel for supply missions that are being coordinated by churches and NGOs (non governmental organizations).
Curfew hours have been changed to commence at eleven pm and the dry laws have been suspended. So this evening the night life resumed in San Pedro Sula, and the establishments were packed.
We took a road trip into the Santa Barbara area. The town of Santa Barbara is reachable only via the southern highway and the road that goes around Lake Yojoa - through the town of Pito Solo. This area is still subject to small landslides, everyday some more mud and rocks slides down onto the road. We went along the western highway - the one to Guatemala, and took the road that leads to Santa Barbara. Literally a few feet beyond the turn off for Colinas, the river washed away the whole bridge, effectively severing this route. People are crossing the river in a small outboard motorboat taxi.
Update on Guanaja from Ken Carter:
My radio contact in Guanaja, Deon Kelly, reports that squally weather yesterday and last night with rain and strong winds. It has
cleared today. Wind is currently East-Northeast at 5 to 10 knots.
The generator from Roatan has arrived and there is now electricity on the Keys (Bonacca Town). Telephones at the Hondutel office and at homes nearby are now operating from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
Click Here for Next Day's Reports
Thank you for your support, please check back
with us often and be a part of HONDURAS.COM
Powered by:
© HONDURAS.COM All rights reserved.
© 1996 - HONDURAS.COM - Your complete resource for Honduras destinations, Tips for hotels and restaurants, resorts, diving, real estate, photos, forum and chat, eco tours, news and weather. Country Facts and more in Honduras. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy - Powered by Hondunet - Noticias de Honduras