I attended the gathering of NGOs working in Honduras held at the Honduran Consulate in Atlanta last week. It was held in the Latin American Center on Buford Highway; a modern building which houses the consulates of several Central American countries. The meeting was quite good, in reality. There were well over 100 people there, and more than 30 NGOs represented. The Consul General from Atlanta is an impressive lady. Down to earth and clearly wants to be helpful to the NGOs helping Honduras She greeted EVERY attendee personally at their tables with a brief chat and handshake. There were a few people I knew there, but most were new to the Guffeys, Lou and I. All but one of the speakers were Hondurans involved with the government. The flavor of the gringos' attitude quickly became evident with very pointed questions about filling out tariff forms for donations. I felt a little sorry for the poor young woman who possibly had no idea how complex the government forms really are and how long it takes the gov't to respond to queries, and the complete lack of effective assistance to NGOs. Stories of MONTHS of waiting for signatures on required forms and months of waiting for Customs clearance received nods of agreement and frequent applause.
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| Some who attended the conference at the Consulate |
No one was rude, but it was obvious that all the folks attending were less than pleased with the lack of support by the Gov't for people that are doing work in Honduras that the gov't is clearly not able to do. The first speaker gave many straight answers to specific question. WHO can sign these forms? What is YOUR number and extension? In your absence just WHO can sign the forms. How long should the process take? (she guaranteed a total of 5 days and to call HER if it takes longer).
The second speaker was from the Nat'l Police discussing the security situation in Honduras. The speaker was very high in the police hierarchy but I don't remember his name or rank. Their opinion is clearly that the current violence in Honduras is almost all drug related, and because 90% of the drugs end up in the US, we Americans have a major responsibility for it. (agreed!!!). He contends that within two weeks, there would be major events and changes. MY gut is that the US will be playing a more active supporting role. He promised that the country would quickly respond to "199" calls from missioners, (like 911 here), and that all the police would be more attentive to mission groups. We were advised to contact the Consulate with itineraries for each mission so that they can inform the National Police to watch out for us. We were also advised to inform the US Embassy of our presence in HN.
The Consul promised to make herself and her staff more accessible to NGOs. She promised a dedicated phone line for NGOs at the consulate. After the short first day, apparently the speakers were in touch with the Government of Honduras and their Embassy in DC. I surmise that they realized how frustrated the NGOs are in dealing with the HN Gov't bureaucracy. Every speaker indicated their appreciation and the importance of the work we do. They understand that we may be the only source of help for a major portion of the country. They all repeatedly promised to be helpful and accessible.
On the second day of the conference there were speakers from several secretariats of the Gov't including women's rights, taxes, national planning, the new welfare program for the ultra poor, etc. Of note was the absence of any official from the HN Customs office. They however told us to contact the Honduran Embassy and Consulate if we get the run-around in dealing with our container. AHMEN was not the only NGO tormented by Customs red tape in HN.
This was the first time that an event like this had been held and there were rough spots, like no written agendas for attendees, no list of the speakers and their contact info, and translation services that were not nearly as good at Copan. But, as I said, this was the first time that the Honduran Gov't had attempted anything of this sort. I fully expect that this type of thing will be held again, and possibly at other consulates in the US.
Last night, I talked with Marco Cáceres from Project Honduras about the Atlanta meeting. His opinion is less than optimistic about changes. He has heard the promises before.
One thing certain is that the Atlanta Consulate is now fully aware that NGOs working for Honduras are unified in their expectations of action by the government. One NGO member even said that he had been told by another Central American country that they promised NGOs would never be taxed or hindered in their country. Essentially would give red carpet treatment to NGOs if they will come to their country instead of HN. This was a concerning thing to the Consul. The NGOs are universally tired of the way things have become in HN and they want to be treated better considering what they do. Not that they are demanding special treatment, but simply assistance in negotiating the maze of red tape and molasses-like bureaucracy. The theme of the NGO questions seemed to be "why is Honduras making it so hard for us to help you?"
We were repeatedly told that there was to be a meeting in Tegucigalpa on Tuesday to discuss the Atlanta meeting. The President of Honduras is scheduled to be there as well as members of Congress and Ministers from various departments of the government. I will certainly be watching my email for the promised notifications and improvements in policy, in hopes that this conference was more than just lip service.
I will certainly attend next year, or whenever it is held again. I intend to suggest that similar events be held at the other Consulates of which there are 6 or 8 in the US.
It was an extremely worthwhile event, both for NGOs and the HN Gov't. I'm sure that Guffy will also have something to say about the meeting also.
