More than 500 Honduran youths murdered in 2007 - swissinfo

More than 500 Honduran youths murdered in 2007 - swissinfo: "More than 500 Honduran youths murdered in 2007

TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - More than 500 children and youths were murdered in Honduras in 2007, a fifth more than last year, victims of gang violence, death squads, drug hit men and even police shootings, a rights group said on Friday.

Almost 4,000 children and youths under 22 have been murdered in the poor Central American country over the past decade, said rights group Casa Alianza, which works to protect minors in Mexico, Honduras, Nicaragua and Peru.

'Hit men, death squads and even police officers are killing the children and young people. State security forces are incapable of stopping these murders,' said Casa Alianza's Honduran representative, Manuel Capellin.

Many murdered youths, some as young as 12, are members of Honduras' violent gangs and are caught up in rival killings.

Some police officers are accused of killing youths after gangs attacked officers, Casa Alianza and other rights groups say. Honduran police deny the charges.

Some 40 percent of the 7.5 million people in Honduras are 14 or younger.

(Reporting by Gustavo Palencia, editing by Eric Walsh)"

Zero tolerance for the child gangs of Honduras - Telegraph

Zero tolerance for the child gangs of Honduras - Telegraph: "Family life has broken down. In a country of seven million people, half the population is under 18, and hundreds of thousands of children fend for themselves. Fathers are often away, working illegally in the US. Sixty per cent of children never finish primary school, and only one in every 100 will go to university. Child physical and sexual abuse is rife. Street children often have homes to go to, but choose not to. They spend their days scavenging for survival, and their nights high after sniffing glue and paint thinner. Barefoot Jose Antonio, 11, sleeps by the bins at a busy Esso garage. He said he knows how vulnerable he is, and fears that adults will come to rape and kill him, but he will not go home. Many Hondurans see children like Jose Antonio as little more than vermin, prime targets for execution because of public outrage over child crime. The country is awash with guns, with an average of six firearms per household, and Hondurans often have more faith in summary justice that the due process of the courts. Fear of child criminals may be justified. There are four times as many gang members as police officers, and youth gangs are responsible for extortion, rape and mass murder, with some gang leaders as young as 12."

Waiting for Felix

Twenty minutes before midnight, Monday, with more than apprehension hanging in the air. Everyone knows that a hurricane is to hit us soon: will it be a bigger or smaller brother of Mitch -- that is the question on everyone's mind.

I went to buy gas this afternoon at 3 pm. Waited for 30 minutes. Those after me waited much longer. Felix is not supposed to be here for another 36 hours. People are getting worried. The line in the pharmacy was longer than I have ever seen. A friend of mine waited an hour in line to buy some groceries. No one has panicked -- yet. But the air has a greasy feel to it, like some sort of used motor oil slathered through it like an arid vapour. I bet it has a low flashpoint.

But here at Casa Verde, we have our foodstuffs, 15 gallons of fresh drinking water, a BBQ and whisperlite stove, medicine, two stories and a concrete building. But for the first time in the six months that I have lived here, I am wondering what the roof looks like.

Photo Links

For the latest of photo links for Sophia, Darlene and I, take a look at the following two links. Both have different photos and since I am trying to determine which one I prefer, feel free to add your comments.
Flickr
Picassa

Sophia's Photos

Sophia's Photos

EIS Teacher Survey Results

These results are from a recent survey of teachers at the EIS high school. 21 out of 35 teachers responded. No changes have been made. The results and comments are published exactly as they were written. Some of our teachers second language is English, so please do not confuse grammatical errors for inability. Feel free to comment or direct your questions to "dschult at seishn dot com".

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Words of Wisdom

Stephen Colbert
Comedian
Knox College, Galesburg, Ill.

You are about to start the greatest improvisation of all. With no script. No idea what's going to happen, often with people and places you have never seen before. And you are not in control. So say "yes." And if you're lucky, you'll find people who will say "yes" back.

Now will saying "yes" get you in trouble at times? Will saying "yes" lead you to do some foolish things? Yes, it will. But don't be afraid to be a fool. Remember, you cannot be both young and wise. Young people who pretend to be wise to the ways of the world are mostly just cynics. Cynicism masquerades as wisdom, but it is the furthest thing from it. Because cynics don't learn anything. Because cynicism is a self-imposed blindness, a rejection of the world because we are afraid it will hurt us or disappoint us. Cynics always say "no." But saying "yes" begins things. Saying "yes" is how things grow. Saying "yes" leads to knowledge. "Yes" is for young people. So for as long as you have the strength to, say "yes."

And that's The Word.