First Independence Day Abroad

Saturday was the first day in nearly a week without a six o’clock curfew. Since Monday everyone in Tocoa (as well as Colón Department) has been forced to be inside their houses because of an order of the new government under Roberto Micheletti. People have told me that the curfew started at 6 PM in Colón Department rather than 9 Pm for the rest of the country because A) Colón is locally know to suffer from a high level of delinquency (e.g. robbery, assault, etc.); and B) Colón department is thought to be a Zelaya stronghold.

Through government order, four constitutional rights have been suspended to assist curfew enforcement. Among those suspended are the right to see a judge within twenty-four hours of arrest, and the right not to be arrested without charge.

I had seen quite a few police vehicles on Sunday and Monday. People were picked up by local police and carried to the local jail, and released the next day. My neighbors, who seemed to at first defy the curfew on a nightly basis, have been spending their evenings indoors after 3 young women were arrested on their own front porch.

It has been quiet since Tuesday. I have not seen any police trucks on Calle Chela, though this is because I have not been looking for them, being accustomed to the curfew. On Friday afternoon there were rumors swirling around Tocoa that there would be a twenty-four hour curfew, in conjunction with Exiled Mel Zelaya’s return to Honduras. I thought a twenty-four curfew sounded crazy, and was especially skeptical, because curfew rumors had been spreading throughout the week.

It turned out to be false. Saturday is the first day without a 6 PM curfew since Tuesday. I had no class to teach, so I slept in, taking advantage of the weekend. This is the first Fourth of July outside of the United States for me. It is just another day in Tocoa, aside from the political climate. Surprisingly, many Hondurans are aware that this is the American day of Independence, though I have been asked several times from whom did the colonies declare their independence.