Honduras: A group called Grupo de Soporte al Indio Damnificado (Group of Support to the Indian [Disaster] Victims) and reports of discrimination against indigenous persons in the distribution of relief supplies after Hurricane Mitch in El Progreso, Yoro (November 1998)

Information on a group with the above or similar name and area of activity, or reports of discrimination against indigenous persons in the distribution of relief supplies could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

El Progreso was one of the areas most affected by Hurricane Mitch, with all the low-lying areas of the municipality covered with water (La Prensa 1 Nov. 1998), and its department of Yoro remaining cut off from other areas of Honduras into at least mid-November 1998 (ibid. 18 Nov. 1998; ibid. 23 Nov. 1998).

Initially, the shelters proved insufficient and all food supplies were exhausted, as no means of transportation could arrive in El Progreso (ibid. 1 Nov. 1998). Disaster victims lodged in public schools and in private buildings serving as shelters complained of having received no food since they abandoned their homes (ibid. 5 Nov. 1998). In the first week of November two Air Force helicopters delivered medical teams and food in some areas of El Progreso to persons who remained trapped on the roofs of their houses for nine days (ibid.). For the supply of medicines, the Municipal Emergency Committee (Comité de Emergencia Municipal) had resorted to loans from the local pharmacies (ibid.).

In a description of the problems with relief supply in various departments, with specific references to Yoro and El Progreso, La Prensa later reported that the mayor of El Progreso decried a "false expectation" (falsa expectativa) with the foreign relief donations and protested that the government had not shared any of it, adding that all the food supplies received in his municipality had been provided by CARE and the World Food Program of the United Nations (ibid. 18 Nov. 1998). La Prensa also reported that all the relief supplies received in remote departments, including Yoro, had been provided by religious and private institutions, while the supplies earmarked by the government remained in storage in the capital (ibid.). La Prensa also reported that throughout the most affected departments there was a widespread perception that most relief efforts were being channelled to disaster victims in the capital (ibid.).

In a widely critcized measure, supplies arriving to the government through different ports of arrival, such as San Pedro Sula, were being forwarded to the capital for official accounting before distribution, instead of being accounted for on site and forwarded to affected regions from there (ibid.). Non-governmental organizations had also criticized indiscriminate restrictions on traffic imposed "to conserve gasoline and avoid congestion," but which delayed delivery of supplies (Central America Report 13 Nov. 1998, 3).

Early after Hurricane Mitch, President Flores replaced the national military-controlled emergency committee with another authority, which "gradually took important decisions out of the colonel's hands" (Latinamerica Press 19 Nov. 1998, 2). Flores also "cleared the way for outside assistance, allowing non-governmental organizations to bring in donations and supplies with few restrictions" (ibid.). On 19 November 1998 the President of Honduras announced that the National Emergency Commission (Comisión Nacional de Emergencia) and the Regional Emergency Committees (Comités de Emergencia Regionales) would channel relief supplies directly to shelters through churches and non-governmental organizations, and that these would be responsible for the management of shelters (La Prensa 20 Nov. 1998).

By December 1998, the supply coordinator of the Regional Emergency Committee II based in San Pedro Sula and responsible for the departments of Yoro, Cortés and Santa Bárbara, reported that donations had been decreasing and supplies for the disaster victims could run out in one month (La Prensa 2 Dec. 1998). The source stated that only the World Food Program, CARE, Caritas, the International Red Cross and some churches had continued to deliver supplies, although the majority of these were being given to the municipalities in Cortés, while the other two departments were receiving a smaller portion of the supplies (ibid.).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Central America Report [Guatemala]. 13 November 1998. "Honduras: Six Days Set Country Back 20 Years."

Latinamerica Press [Lima]. 19 November 1998. "Rebuilding Begins After Mitch."

La Prensa [Tegucigalpa]. 2 December 1998. "Coder sampedrano sólo tiene ayuda para suplir necesidades en diciembre." [Accessed 30 May 2001]

_____. 23 November 1998. "Programa Mundial de Alimentos dona 6,750 toneladas a damnificados." [Accessed 30 May 2001]

_____. 20 November 1998. Carlos Rodríguez. "Ordena presidente Flores: iglesias distribuirán ayuda humanitaria a damnificados." [Accessed 30 May 2001]

_____. 18 November 1998. "Todavía no llega ayuda se quejan en el interior." [Accessed 30 May 2001]

_____. 5 November 1998. "Mil personas se encuentran desaparecidas en El Progreso." [Accessed 30 May 2001]

_____. 1 November 1998. "Unas doce mil personas atrapadas en los techos de El Progreso." [Accessed 30 May 2001]

Additional Sources Consulted

Central America Report [Guatemala]. Oct. 1998-Jan. 1999.

La Prensa [Tegucigalpa]. Searchable archives. May 1996-May 2001.

Latin American Regional Reports: Central American & the Caribbean [London]. Nov. 1998-Feb. 1999.

Latinamerica Press [Lima]. Oct. 1998-Jan. 1999.

IRB Databases.

REFWORLD.

Internet Search Engines and Websites.

Note: This list is not exhaustive. Country-specific publications available at the Resource Centre are not included.