Honduras Crisis

Honduran Consulates Closing in the U.S.

The morning of June 28, 2009 was a catastrophic day for Honduras. I remember, it was a normal Sunday having breakfast with my family while watching television, when suddenly my mother received a phone call from Honduras. I could see from the expression of her face that it was not a good news, then I got worried and nervous.

From that moment on our lives changed forever. I immediately turned on the news and there it was, breaking news, a coup d’ etat that was not only astonishing to Honduras and all the countries in the world, but also to my own family.

On May 2006, my mother, Yolani Dubon got appointed to work for the Consulate General of Honduras in Houston. It was the first time Dubon would work for the Honduran government and was honored to serve the Honduran people in Houston.

More than three years later my mother is not only serving and helping Hondurans who live in Texas but Hondurans who live all over the United States. After the coup d’ etat the United Nations, the Organization of American States, the United States and most countries in Latin American countries are against the coup and have stopped any foreign aid and started cancelling diplomatic visas, as well as tourist and student visas. Because of this situation eight of the ten Honduran consulates in the United States are closed and only Washington D.C. and Houston’s consulate are open. I am concerned because being a diplomat and living in the U.S. could bring serious problems for me if the Honduran crisis is not solved rapidly.

That is why I decided to go to the Honduran Consulate in Houston and find out what all the people from Honduras would do if the consulate would close. Houston is one of the cities where most Honduran illegal immigrants live. I found out that the immigrants couldn’t apply or renew their passports or identification cards. I went to the consulate a Friday at 7 a.m. and there was already a line of people waiting for the door to open at 9 a.m. when the consular agents arrived. There where people who drove from all over Texas, and Louisiana because the consulate of New Orleans is closed. Also Hondurans from Kansas, Oklahoma and New Mexico came to Houston because all the Honduran consulates in those cities are closed.

When the consular agents opened the door of the consulate, the immigrants started taking their seats one by one. They are seated according to what they need. I introduced myself and helped with asking what was there purpose of being there so they would let me take pictures of them. I also asked for their permission and told them that I am from Honduras and working on the Honduras crisis. When all the Hondurans were seated and waiting for their names to be called I entered the reception area of the consulate where the Hondurans are asked for any identification card, birth certificate and a document with a picture given either from the Honduran government or the United States government like the Temporary Protected Status, residence or green card and U.S. driving license.

While the consular agents were helping the Hondurans I asked myself, what would all these people do if the consulate would close? How would they get help from their native country? Where would they go? As I asked myself all this questions Hondurans were being called to the passport office to get their pictures taken.

As I was walking through the hallways of the consulate I found myself in the receptionist office where Hondurans from all over the United States where calling and asking why where there consulates closed in their states and how could they get their documents if only the Washington D.C. and Houston consulates are open.

When I continued walking I found a picture that immediately captured my attention. It was the picture of the two political leaders that had caused this crisis. President Roberto Michelletti who was the President of the Congress is now the President of Honduras but only recognized by a percent of people in Honduras and next to him President Manuel Zelaya who was the president of Honduras until June 28, 2009 when the Honduran Army, under orders of the Supreme Court, violently entered the presidential residence, arrested President Zelaya and sent him off on a military plane to Costa Rica. It was so ironic to watch them together on that picture smiling and more than three years later fighting to stay in power. What was most interesting to me was that next to the picture of the “two” presidents that Honduras currently has was a letter in the wall informing that the new president was Roberto Michelletti and that the Honduran Consulate in Houston was under the orders of him.

I continued to walk and at the end of the hallway was the office of the Consul of Honduras in Houston, Vincenzo Balletta. I was thankful with him for giving me the opportunity to take pictures of inside the consulate and let me interview the consular agents and Hondurans at the consulate that day. It was a learning experience for me because I realized the importance of having a consulate. Consular grounds are legally considered foreign territory and should remain that way because Hondurans living in foreign countries have the right to have their legal documents.

Three weeks have passed since my visit to the consulate. Happily it is still open and I a can continue my education and Hondurans can continue visiting the consulate. The crisis in Honduras continues but is getting better with open dialogues from both political leaders.

Alan Delon

Honduran Consulate in Houston

I Miss Honduras

Whenever I go back to Honduras the first thing I do is eat a baleada. A baleada is not only the most original and popular food but it is a typical Honduran snack that consists of a flour tortilla, with refried beans, shredded Honduran cheese and mantequilla (our own cream). Other foods I cannot get enough of when I visit home include chicharron (pork) with yucca which are pork rinds with cabbage, red salsa, and pieces of the vegetable yucca, enchiladas which consists of a fried corn tortilla topped with cabbage, tomatoes, ground beef, shredded cheese, slices of boiled eggs, and red salsa.

During weekends home, I enjoy spending the day in the beach. It can either be Cortes (Honduras main sea port and considered the most important sea port in Central America), which is just 30 minutes away from my hometown, or Tela that is 45 minutes away. In Honduras we also have the beautiful island of Roatan. Roatan is the largest of the Honduras Bay Islands and has the second largest coral reef in the world (Australia having the largest). The water is clear and the sand is soft and white but its natural charm is what makes it unique. It is soothing to sit in a hammock, listening to the waves and drinking agua de coco, which is coconut water.        

What I truly miss most from home is family. In Honduran culture family ties are very sacred and spending time with family is what I enjoy most. We often have dinner parties with close family and friends and these gatherings are very lively. Everyone is socializing and sharing funny anecdotes and once dinner is over we finish the night with endless dancing to merengue and punta music which is the music played by what is left of the ethnic group of mixed ancestry that live along the north coast of the country. Garifunas make their own instruments with objects found in the beach. Irreplaceable elements from home such as these are the reason for my special esteem for Honduras that keeps me longing to return.

Review II

Fast & Furious is a film with fast cars but left me furious. The film fails in substance and racial stereotypes are excessive throughout, thus the decent action scenes and stunts are the only solace left for the audience.

 Director Justin Lin reunited Paul Walker (Brian O’Conner) and Vin Diesel (Dom Toretto) to hit the streets of Los Angeles with Michelle Rodriguez (Letty) and Jordana Brewster (Mia Toretto).

 The opening scene, the hijacking of a gasoline truck that goes wrong, fails to grab my attention and lacks in significance. There is also the introduction of new characters like Reggaeton singers Tego Calderon and Don Omar, an attempt to engage with the notorious Reggaeton scene of Dominican Republic into the mainstream. Fast & Furious forgot about the fast cars and street races; instead it brings up a revenge plot similar to the one Vin Diesel starred in Man Apart (2003).

 Dom a fugitive ex-con is out for revenge when a drug deal went bad and his girlfriend Letty is killed in a car pursuit. While trying to get to the killer Dom meets again with FBI agent O’Conner, portrayed as the legal white superior that is Dom’s salvation from prison. That is when the plot starts as Dom and O’Conner team up in order to confront the same enemy (a heroin importer). The movie does have some thriller moments in the Mexican dessert and tunnels that serve as commentary on the recent Mexican Drug war. Although the new cars are faster, exotic and extravagant it is nothing compared to the first Fast & Furious or Fast and the Furious Tokyo Drift.

 If you are in the mood to see fast cars and action/adventure scenes this is the right movie but  absolutely not to go on a date or with your family. It is certainly aimed to the young minorities in the U.S. in romanticizing their illegal activities. More importantly the movie is missing more cars, races and guns to make it more exciting.

Alan Delon

Communication senior

Reviewing

I Love You, Man Movie

I Love You, Man is a film with great actors that make you laugh from beginning to end. It has hilarious scenes that only Paul Rudd (Role Models) and Jason Segel (Forgetting Sarah Marshall) can perform at their best.

 With the actors mentioned above there is no need to say this film is a great comedy. Revealing how important it is for a woman to get married and how easy it is for a man to propose until he (Rudd) finds himself with no best man and his fiancée Rashida Jones (The Office) has chosen her bridesmaid.

 Directed, screen written and produced by John Hamburg  (Along Came Polly 2004) I Love You, Man explains the situation most couples face when they are engaged (why are we doing this?) and all the questions and doubts couples have before the “big day.”

 The well-written story starts when Peter Klaven (Rudd) overhears his fiancée and her friends laughing at him for not having friends or “boys’ nights” and catalogue him as a “boyfriend” kind of guy.  In order to become a “man’s man” Peter starts going out on “man dates” and has a fair share of awkward, embarrassing and hilarious experiences. The film becomes funnier and entertaining as Zooey (Jones) gets jealous of her fiancée’s new best friend Sydney Fife (Segel.).

 I Love You, Man is a good comedy/romance targeted primarily to men for a dudes night out because of the gross language but good enough to go on a date and enjoy a nice and sweet story. Like many romantic comedies are considered “chick flicks” I would certainly put this movie down as a “dude flick”, romantic enough for women to watch, funny enough to keep men interested and not dread the trip to the movies.

Alan Delon

Communications Senior

Presidential News Conference

President Obama on border drug violence

Of all the things said Tuesday on the Presidential News Conference, President Obama’s response to the border drug violence caught my attention. Not only because I am living in Houston and many of the violence and killings are happening in the Texas border but also because I am from a country which is also facing drug wars and Mexican drug cartels are migrating to Honduras for more power and control.

 President Obama will send millions of dollars for more effective high-tech surveillance to secure the border as well as hundreds of people to help. The administration is sending $700 million to Mexico and helicopters to help control the drug trafficking.

 Texas Gov. Rick Perry requested that 1, 000 troops should be sent to protect the border security in his state.

 The Obama administration agency will send 500 agents and send about 350 additional personnel from the Homeland Security Department for support. Also 100 more people form the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to the border.

 “We need to make sure illegal guns and cash are not flowing to these cartels,” said President Obama, “ this is what makes them more dangerous.”

 President Obama is coordinating effectively with the Mexican Government. The president is helping the Mexican Government with a tough problem and is willing to do more if the problem continues. 90 to 95 percent of all the traffickers’ high-powered weapons are purchased at gun shows, gun shops and from independent dealers in the United States and are then smuggled into Mexico.

 “President Calderon is very courageous in taking on these drug cartels,” said President Obama.

 Cartels in Mexico have launched a wave of violence against Mexican President Felipe Calderon since he began hunting down the cartels in 2006.

 “Drug cartels are completely out of hand,” said President Obama.

 The cities of Tijuana and Ciudad Juarez are the most dangerous and where most of the violence, killings, illegal guns and drug trafficking are happening. These cities are dangerous for journalists. Since 2000, 25 journalists have been killed and since 2005, seven journalists have disappeared. Many reporters refuse to write stories about the cartels and the related incidents; many newspapers have stopped any kind of news concerning the drug cartels.

 So the question is if the situation in Mexico is a national security threat to the US? The answer is yes because it is threatening to enter the US if something is not done immediately.

 

 

Visit to the Chronicle

Trip to the Chronicle

 Tuesday’s trip to the Chronicle was amazing. Not only where we in the main news conference room but we also visited the room where the editors meet every day and decisions are made on what will be published on the newspaper.

 In that same room we were seating with Managing Editor of the Houston Chronicle, John Wilburn. As he explained why all the important newspapers of the United States were posted on the wall he asked for each of us to introduce ourselves.

 Professor Berryhill gave a short introduction of what we are doing in our opinion writing class and how important it is to know how to write and report. As soon as Wilburn heard the word reporting he smiled.

 “Every editorial we publish has as much reporting as possible,” said opinion director John Wilburn.

 That is when I understood why Professor Berryhill tells us in every class that the foundation of opinion writing is reporting, reporting, reporting.

 “We also use reporting from other people,” said Wilburn. After saying that he explained that in the room we were sharing with him is where the editors pitch ideas and debate about the different pieces before being published.

 For a moment I felt like a professional because that is the same method we are using in our opinion writing class. Each Tuesday and Thursday we pitch ideas during our class time and then write a piece about what we discussed.

Overall the visit to the Chronicle was a very good learning experience because we now have more confidence in our writing and understand the importance of reporting in our pieces.

 Alan Delon

 

 

Honduras or United States?

Should I go back home or stay in the U.S.?

 Immigrants are returning home in greater numbers but not just to India and China also Honduras. Highly educated people are not returning just to be close to family and friends but to have a better quality of life and apply all the knowledge acquired in the most developed country in the world, the U.S.

 ”If I had stayed in the States, I’d be much wealthier,” said MIT alumni Jaime Rosenthal. “Most of my former classmates have more money than I do.”

 Rosenthal graduated in 1958 with a civil engineering degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and studied at MIT’s Sloan School of Management. He is currently one of the richest persons in Honduras who decided to go back.

 The University of Houston has over 35,000 students and is considered the second most ethnically diverse university in the United States (Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey-Newark number one.)

 “The knowledge base I have acquired will be the most valuable asset I can take back to Honduras with me,” said double major in political science and economics Giancarlo Delon.

 Delon, 20, is a junior in UH and considers UH a great learning experience. He is one of the immigrants who are taking advantage of all the benefits UH offers but wants to go back to Honduras as soon as he graduates.

 How many cougars will go back to their native countries? Why are students not staying in the United States after graduating? These are questions we don’t have certain answers because each person has different goals and dreams in life but wasn’t the United States the place where you could achieve the “American Dream” and the land of opportunities? Times have changed and with countries developing at a fast rate now it is better to study in the U.S. and when your student visa is expired you go back home and help your country grow.

 One cougar I know will go back to Honduras is my brother. Although we come from the same mother we think differently. My brother wants to meet as many people in UH as possible and take as many classes he can before his visa expires.

 “One of the top reasons I came to the U.S. to study is because of its diverse networking capabilities,” said Delon. “I can meet people of many different countries and business backgrounds that will be beneficial when I decide to go back to Honduras.”

 On the other hand, I am one of the immigrants who came to study to the most important country in the world and want to live and work in the United States. People who have family business go back to their country and work in their business. Other people like me don’t want to work in family business instead start a new business.

 Every person should be able to receive an education but sadly not everyone is able to. We should be grateful to be part of a university that let’s us express our opinion and decide if we want to go back home or stay in the U.S.

Alan Delon (713) 591-9432

Communications senior

 

SEA

UH Student Economic Association

The Student Economic Association (SEA) is an organization within the University of Houston which goal is to promote a professional atmosphere for students interested in the field of economics. The SEA meets every Thursday and the location varies depending on the amount of people that RSVP. All UH students (includes graduate students) are allowed to participate.

The SEA began in fall 2007; the economics club has had many names prior to this year. The organization is conformed of approximately 49 members. Fatima Maniar is the current president of the SEA after being appointed by the former president Fidel Menjivar.

Maniar, 24, born in Houston, Texas speaks English, Spanish and French and is part of the army reserve.

An important goal of the SEA is to help students prepare for either private sector or graduate school and to bring recognition to the UH Economics department.

“The university of Houston should bring more attention to the department since many companies are now opting to recruit Econ majors. We have great faculty sponsors, Dr.Thornton and Dr.Prodan that help guide us,” said President Maniar.

Being part of the SEA you can enjoy many benefits. The SEA creates resume books and passes them out at career fairs. You can get your own account with the SEA (name@seauh.com) email address. You get membership to the Houston’s Economic Club. You get to attend professional/career development events (ie. recruiter from P&G event, resume workshop.)

“Our next meeting will be a professional event where we have Ed Hirs speak about the benefits of an Economics degree, and give us insight on the Gas/oil field,” stated Maniar.

You can find more information at the SEA website where you can learn about the organization and sign on new members. www.seauh.com

Alan Delon