Honduras is one of the most violent countries in the world. Therefore, violence and many more hardships specifically poverty, refugees flee to seek safety and a better life. One of the main types of violence is fighting between gangs. Refugees are sent back to their country after an unsuccessful trip to another country. One of the main places refugees from Honduras flee is the US. As a result, refugees are fleeing Honduras and have nowhere to go that will keep them safe.
About the Nation
Honduras is located in the continent of North America with the North Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea bordering it. Honduras doesn’t have four seasons, it only has two, the rainy and the dry season with the land mostly mountainous. The president of Honduras is Juan Orlando Hernandez, he was elected by popular vote in 2013, and then got reelected in 2018. He is also the head of the state government. There are 9,182,766 people in Honduras as of July, 2018. Some main ethnic groups are Mestizo, Mixed Amerindian, and European. The main languages spoken in Honduras are Spanish and English. Christianity is the official religion in Honduras. In Honduras men and women’s rights aren’t exactly equal. For example, boys in Honduras receive more jobs and job opportunities than girls, including refugees.
Conflicts and Challenges
Refugees in Honduras have increased by 45,000 people from 2011 to 2018. They are fleeing because of poverty, violence, and economic problems such as the election last November that many people disputed. Some disputed the election last November because Juan Orlando Hernandez got reelected. A lot of people in Honduras got very injured, and even killed for protesting against Hernandez being president. He was also named co-conspirator for a huge drug trafficking case. This and the civil war were events that led to the refugee crisis in Honduras.
The civil war was an event that led up to the refugee crisis in Honduras. During the refugee crisis, children were fleeing from Honduras alone, and later becoming the world's most vulnerable refugees. But this isn’t a good thing, they are vulnerable because they have been through terrible hardships such as violence and crimes that include gangs. Not only have they been through all of this, but they have been through this alone. There are agency’s trying to help this crisis and the people in it, but their needs keep on growing. People in this refugee crisis have faced hunger, thirst, violence etc. Some ways that people have tried to help these refugees are by building camps, some are in the middle of the desert. Other camps are restricted and only accept refugees of a certain religion, and some have to have an ID, which is hard to get when you are a refugee.
Refugee Experience
Refugees that flee Honduras go to places such as the US and New York. To do this they travel by foot, boat, and sometimes by car, bus and train. Refugees risk their lives to leave Honduras for a number of reasons, one being an opinion about their country, such as there is gang violence and a ton of death. Therefore, many people die, either their boat sunk, they got too tired and thirsty, or just got very injured. Around 700 migrants leave Honduras a year. In Honduras, around 9 million people live in poverty. A reason for this, is that Honduras is one of the poorest countries in Latin America. Only 50 police officers watch over 189 neighborhoods.
In Honduras, no one returns there after leaving. But, no one has the chance to return, this doesn’t mean that people don’t want to. At least 500 people want to return to Honduras after leaving. Some people want to return to Honduras because they are disappointed in the caravan members and how they don’t follow the rules. The caravan started with 160 members, but then quickly added up to over 500. In 2018, 22,572 people have fled and applied for asylum in other countries. Of the 7,000 people that have traveled with the caravan, 2,300 are kids, or are under 18. After fleeing Honduras, 43% do not continue to live with their families. The UNICEF tries to help children refugees go to school, and helps people find an alternative living situation.
Moving Forward
People in Honduras enjoy social and religious freedom. Their current freedom rating is 4/7. They gained independence on September 15, 2018. But for their public transportation they have taxis and planes. The taxis stake people around Honduras’s cities, while the planes take them to different states, or countries that could otherwise be a long drive. Honduras is still in progress of being fulfilled, but thanks to agencies and other countries similar to the US, Honduras is working hard. An example of how the US helps is by addressing regional challenges that they have. In addition, the US foreign assistance takes a huge role in helping and supporting Hondurans’ safety. Also, 15% of Hondurans currently live in the US.
Conclusion
Refugees that are fleeing Honduras don’t have many safe places to go. Refugees that flee Honduras are fleeing because of violence and poverty. But once people leave Honduras, no one has a chance to return. Currently, people in Honduras enjoy social and religious freedom, but it is still in progress of restoring peoples’ freedom and independence rate. Perhaps if Hondurans improve their independence and freedom rate, fewer refugees will flee.
Works Cited
- Alfredo Corchado. “Central American Migrants Face Grueling Journey North”. The Dallas Morning News, http://res.dallasnews.com/interactives/migrantroute/.
- “Asylum Applications and Refugees from Honduras”. World Data, https://www.worlddata.info/america/honduras/asylum.php.
- “DHS Signs Deal to Send Asylum-Seekers from Honduras to Maine”. NPR, 16 Sept 2019, https://www.npr.org/2019/09/30/765834542/dhs-signs-deal-to-send-asylum-seekers-from-s-border-to-honduras.
- “Foreign Assistance in Honduras.” Foreign Assistance, https://www.foreignassistance.gov/explore/country/Honduras.
- “Freedom in the World 2018”. Freedom House, https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2018/honduras.
- “Honduras Holidays and Festivals”. IExplore. https://www.iexplore.com/articles/travel-guides/central-and-south-america/honduras/festivs-and-events.
- “Honduras Population 2019”. World population review, 27 Aug 2019, http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/honduras-population/.
- Mirrof, Nick. “U.S. Announces Asylum Deal with Honduras, Could Send Violence to One of the World’s Most Violent Nations”. The Washington Post, 25 Sept. 2019. https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/us-announces-asylum-deal-with-honduras-could-send-migrants-to-one-of-worlds-most-violent-nations/2019/09/25/cca94a86-dfb6-11e9-8fd3-d943b4ed57e0_story.html.
- Moncada, J. Roberto. “Honduras”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 21 Oct. 2019, https://www.britannica.com/place/Honduras/Plant-and-animal-life.
- Oyewole, Kemi. “Spotlight on Honduras”. Education Policy And Data Center, 12 Jun. 2019, https://www.epdc.org/epdc-data-points/epdc-spotlight-honduras.
- “U.S. Relations with Honduras.” U.S. Department of state, 8 Feb 2019, https://www.state.gov/u-s-relations-with-honduras/.
- “World Factbook”. Central Intelligence Agency, 26 Oct. 2019, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/ho.html.
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The Refugee Problem in Honduras.
(2022, October 28). Edubirdie. Retrieved April 19, 2024, from https://edubirdie.com/examples/the-refugee-problem-in-honduras/
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