I’m spending four weeks in the murder capital of the world, but I’m feeling very much at peace. When I wake up in my Bed and Breakfast in the town of Copan Ruinas, I don’t see a newspaper containing disturbing stories of the turmoil in Washington and the revolving door of presidential appointees. In fact, since coming to Honduras I have missed the entire tenure of White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci.
Now don’t get me wrong. I love my country and will be happy to be back in the United States when I finish four weeks of Spanish language immersion. But this time away has been very peaceful and refreshing, in large part because I am insulated from the roar of current events. As the Hondurans would say, it’s been “muy tranquilo” — very quiet.
In mid-July, I flew to Honduras to take classes at the Guacamaya Spanish School in Copan Ruinas, located in the western part of the country near the Guatemalan border. Violence is terrible in the big cities of Honduras, with members of gangs connected to the drug trade constantly killing each other. But Copan Ruinas is a tourist town with many shops, restaurants, and cafes, located near an archaeological park containing Mayan ruins. Visitors can stroll the steep cobble-stone streets of the town without fear of violent crime.
Every day, I’ve been walking to my classes without thinking about President Trump’s tweets. Instead, I’m trying to remember irregular Spanish verbs and how to use the prepositions a, de, and en. In the afternoon, I drink coffee and do my homework, without having to watch American politicians being interviewed on television. When I take a minute to check Facebook, I scroll quickly past the political material, feeling as though it is 3000 miles away. Which it is.
Now Honduras has enormous problems, to be sure. The president has just changed the rules to allow him to run for an unprecedented second consecutive term. His wife bought a $2-million home in Miami, saying that she earned the money largely by selling Mary Kay and Avon products. They live in a country where 50 percent of the population is under the poverty line, with the most frequent gross salary for Hondurans being about $4,000 per year. To his credit, the president has taken action against drug traffickers and gangs, and the murder rate has fallen in recent years.
But turmoil in the capitals of Honduras and the United States has not disturbed my sabbatical from politics. I’m learning Spanish so that I can go back to my work as pastor of Fairfax Presbyterian Church in Virginia and have conversation with the church’s Latino neighbors. I’m also visiting with friends here in Honduras who are partners in mission projects at a Christian camp, school, and medical clinic.
Just last weekend, I was part of a team that made visits to families in the town of La Entrada who need help with clothing and school supplies for their children. We met two small children who had witnessed the murder of their mother. A teenager told us about going three days without food. Some families in the poorest homes struggle to get by on $100 per month. The stories are heartbreaking, but the smiles of the children light up the room when the kids learn that they will be able to go to school or get a uniform for the dance team.
I’ll remember those smiles when I get back to Virginia and see the grimaces of politicians on the front page of The Washington Post. And I’ll try to hold on to some of the tranquility that I have found in this poor but quiet place.
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Henry Brinton and maestro Enrique Carrillo