In Honduras, U.S. Aid Contributes to the Violence
To the Editor:
Re “No Longer the Most Violent Place on Earth” (Sunday Review, Aug. 14):
Sonia
Nazario’s article paints a rosy picture of American aid transforming
Honduras and poses a rhetorical question: “Who says American power is
dead?” For the people of Honduras, however, American power is deadly.
Our
faith partners in Honduras tell us of the negative effects of American
project funding: fanning divisions in communities and undermining local
initiatives by creating rival groups. Most important, focusing on small
projects diverts attention from what’s really needed to transform the
country: major change in American policy.
The
article is silent on how American political and economic support serves
to strengthen the rampant corruption, impunity and militarization
underway. Death squads thrive; activists are targeted for repression;
and millions have been siphoned from the public health system to the party of President Juan Orlando Hernández. My eyes were opened when I visited Honduras.
If
we ignore the big picture there, American policy will keep contributing
to the violence consuming the country. The best violence prevention
program is the Berta Cáceres Human Rights in Honduras Act, H.R. 5474, calling for the suspension of American security aid.
DEBORAH L. KERN
Belmont, N.C.
The writer, a Catholic nun, is a member of the South Central Community leadership team of Sisters of Mercy of the Americas.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/22/opinion/in-honduras-us-aid-contributes-to-the-violence.html?_r=1
