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Roatan and Bay Islands Discussion List Archive
| Posted On: | 23-Mar-2005 |
| From: | Jennifer [family.crutchfield.....net] |
| Subject: | Re: [roatan] Re: Followup question to the crime topic.... |
Yahoo Melanie! That is possibly the best advice I have ever read for anyone contemplating living in the third world. Thanks for the posting. Jennifer On Tuesday, March 22, 2005, at 08:04 PM, Melanie wrote: > > > > Dear List, > > I just want to point out a few facts about police and judicial > procedures in Honduras. > > Hmmmm, where to start. First, it is important to remember that all > Honduran institutions are underfunded. If your local police > department in the US is possibly underfunded, think what kind of > chronic understaffing, lack of training, and lack of equipment there > is in Honduras. Ditto the judicial system. So, if some of the > following practices seem unjust and unfair, just try to understand > that it is not that people here don't want to advance, it's just > that they have a challenge each day to keep from backsliding. > > If you want to report a non-violent crime, you will be responsible > for transporting the police. They aren't going anywhere until you > buy the gas, unless someone was hurt or killed. In my work, I have > a need at times for a police report, or other assistance from the > police, and I always budget for their gas and if it is going to be a > long day, some food and soft drinks. Yes, there should be room in > the police department budget for fuel for the vehicles, but the car > won't move without gas. (That is a good tip for living in Honduras > long term -- don't ever try to argue the simplest facts). > > Then, if you want to prosecute a non-violent crime, you will have to > hire a lawyer. This is a figure in Honduran criminal law, > the "private accuser," which is a lawyer who represents a criminal > victim, and tries the case, as opposed to the Public Attorneys > (Fiscalia, Ministerio Publico). There are two ways to press charges > in any crime, one is with a private accuser and one is via the > Ministerio Publico, like the District Attorneys office. > > Can you guess which one is more effective? And either way, if you > go for the publicly supported route, you should still budget for > transportation, food if necessary. So neither option is free. > > There are four attorneys that work at the Fiscalia in Roatan. They > try all the criminal cases in Islas de la Bahia, except for those in > which the victims pay their own private accuser. Although it is a > very quiet and safe place overall, there are enough major crimes > (homicide, major drug trafficking busts) that I believe that all > four of those lawyers probably work hard all week and still don't > get everything done. > > So, if you are the victim of a crime against your property, and no > one was hurt, you will not automatically get any attention from the > police or the judicial system. If you want to press charges, you > will personally have to coordinate the whole thing, and pay all the > expenses. > > This is why people get let out of jail after 24 hours. If I were > asked to advise a person who found themselves in jail, that is > always the first advice -- sit tight, after 24 hours, if no one is > paying a private attorney, then no other procedures will be filed, > and the defense attorney shows up and asks that the imprisoned > person be released, since there is no ongoing criminal charges. > > If you show up at the police station or the Fiscalia seeking help > from them, for free, then the friendly ones will try to explain it > to you, and the unfriendly ones will laugh in your face. > > I also like to point out that crime affects everyone, the poor are > especially likely to be victims of crime. Ask some little lady in > Barrio Los Fuertes how many times a week she gets rolled for the 20 > Lps. she was going to use to buy eggs and tortillas. And her family > doesn't eat that day. And if she goes to the police or the > Fiscalia, they will laugh in her face. > > Honduras is a sea of necessities, with a trickle of resources. The > poor do not receive welfare. The sick do not receive health care. > Abandoned children live in the streets. And crime victims do not > get justice. > > Try searching the interet for information on Highly Indebted poor > countries. > > Ok, anyone still with me? The bottom line is, no one in Honduras is > going to help you, they don't have the resources. You have to do > everything yourself, which is kind of freeing once you actually > accept it. > > You have to protect your own belongings. I personally also advise > not having too much stuff, that is how I've avoided a lot of crime > in Honduras. And you have to accept that your belongings flow into > and out of your life, and sometimes theft is just a way to pare down > our material posessions, giving back to the universe. > > You can call me crazy for saying that, but ten years later, I can > still enjoy my time in Honduras, and look the people around me and > see that they are good people, and trying to do their best under > tough circumstances, and that no one is more upset than the Good > people of Roatan to see a crime wave. But if you are going to > demand immediate and effective action from public officials and > institutions, then I have to suggest that you not come here to > demand services. > > The newly imported foreign residents (to put it kindly) brought a > ton of wordly posessions with them, and have invested huge amounts > in homes. The government doesn't have the resources to protect this > influx of personal property. > > And a huge proportion of these transplanted residents are investors > and business owners, expecting to have economic gain from their time > in Honduras. > > So right in your budget you need to plan for your own personal > security protection, be it a dog, a watchy, a gun, bars on the > window, video cameras (so you can watch your stuff going away again > and again), private security companies, lots of outside lighting, > cell phones for every member of the family, locks on the windows, > etc. > > You could also try to help your local police, but that might be > pouring resources into a black hole. But it could be helpful, > especially donations of equipment. I also half suspect that if you > paint any building yellow and grey, the police will move in there > and open a post. Of course then you would have to feed them. But > you wouldn't have to pay for their gas anymore, if you made it close > to your house. > > That is my advice (since I've been asked). Take care of yourself. > If you came down here to make demands on the government, then that > is going to be a disappointment for you. > > (I'm just chatting and not proofreading, so if it sounds wrong, > maybe it is!!! and of course, much of this is just my humble opinion) > > Regards, > Melanie Wetzel > www.honduranlaw.com > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > http://www.roatanet.com To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/roatan/ roatan- : | |
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