Just arrived

Alexa McDonough with Johnny Mejia,

from Caritas Tegucigalpa, at the airport.

We arrived in Tegucigalpa to warm sunshine and only moderate cloud cover. The recent flooding that we had been warned about, left by Tropical Storm Felix, was not immediately apparent. But Caritas worker Johnny Mejia told us of the wave of apprehension that swept the country when it was announced that a category 5 Hurricane, Felix, was on its way. And then of the waist high waters that flooded downtown Tegucigalpa markets only 2 days ago, sweeping to her death a pregnant woman market vendor, after the Hurricane was downgraded to tropical storm.

We are here to investigate mining issues, and urge the Honduran government to ensure a just and responsible mining law. The latest near hit of Hurricane Felix is a reminder of the context of the introduction of the current unjust 1998 Mining Law. This law was introduced just weeks after Hurricane Mitch wrecked the country, and heavily indebted, the Congress quickly approved a law to attract investment that goes clearly against the interests of Hondurans.

As Johnny drives us up to Valle de los Angeles, a pretty wooded mountain town above Tegucigalpa, the precarity of wooden houses clinging to the hillsides, accessible only by goat track, reminds us that that vulnerability to natural disasters is still there. Our Honduran partners focus on getting their government to assume its responsibilities in terms of being prepared for such disasters as Mitch and Felix, and on ensuring that mining law puts the interests of Hondurans before those of Canadian and transnational mining companies.