The Cufew Parts II & III

September 23rd 2009 11:00pm

September 22nd - The Curfew Part II

Knowing that I wouldn't have a lot to do during the day, I tried to sleep in as late as I could yesterday, which resulted in me sleeping until around 9:00am. I got up and bummed around the apartment, changing channels back and forth between news and various movies in Spanish.

I got some breakfast, and checked the internet, and realized that my day would be filled with spontanious power, cable, internet, and phone outtages. Around 10:30, I heard some chanting from the streets, but couldn't see anything from my balcony. I decided to head up to the roof to see what I could see.

The scene was very odd. The whole city looked like something out of a zombie movie or something. There were no cars on the streets, no people on the sidewalks, no sounds of machines, animals, anything. Everything was very still.

I came back down to my apartment, ate a peanut butter sandwich for lunch, and went out on the balcony to practice some more of my Spanish. I read some of the Old Man and the Sea for a while before coming back inside. I tried watching television, but the stations only came in half the time. There was little to no news on what was happening here.

Marisela called me around 3:00pm and shared a lot of information with me. Around 3:00am the night before, the military went in and busted up the people breaking curfew outside of the Brazilian Embassy supporting Mel. About 30 people were hospitalized. She also let me know that the curfew was extended until 6:00am this morning.

I slept for a while in the afternoon, and then made myself another peanut butter sandwich for dinner.

Shortly after dinner, Marisela called again to let me know that the curfew was extended again until 6:00pm today. She sounded very worried. Her family was running out of water, and her 18 year old son already risked breaking the curfew by running to the local store to look for some. They were all out. I mentioned before, that most areas of the city only get water 2 or 3 days a week, and without the trucks delivering water, some people were in real trouble.

She asked if I had enough food, and with over half a loaf of bread, peanut butter, and some cereal, I felt grateful to have the amount of food that I did have. I had some in the refrigerator, but I knew I couldn't rely on the electricity to keep it cool, or to be able to cook any of the food later.

When I got off the phone with Marisela, I checked my own water supply. I had finished off the last of my bottled water in the morning, and didn't think much of it. I checked the shower first, and it didn't work. My heart sank. The water from my kitchen sink sputtered to life, and I quickly began boiling it and pouring the clean water into whatever containers I had. I began stocking up, and trying to figure out how to ration out my bread and cereal.

Around 7:00, the the dogs all over the city erupted with barking, and it sounded like the "Twilight Bark" from 101 Dalmations. I went up to my roof to listen, and found that I was not the only one from the apartment complex with the idea. There was a couple and the manager up there, and we all stood and stared in silence at the city.

At 7:30, I could hear yelling and gunshots in the distance. The yells turned into chants, and the guns were fired every few minutes or so. My night was moving very quickly. I continued boiling water, and preparing. I tried to type out a blog entry, but my internet wouldn't stay up for long enough.

Around 8:00pm, people started calling to check in on me. Kevin, the previous Global Missions Intern to Honduras was probably the most helpful. He was able to fill me in on some of the more subtle nuances of the political situation, and served as a good sounding board for ideas and questions. I also found out that apparently one of the tactics employed by the Honduran government was to shoot some high frequency waves towards the Brazilian Embassy. I wasn't really sure what the goal of that was, but it helped to explain the "Twilight Bark" effect.

Marisela and Freddy both called expressing their worry. Marisela told me that the government said that it was not going to go into the Brazilian Embassy to retrieve Mel, but none of the people believed it. Freddy told me that the Mel supporters were out breaking curfew and starting fires and causing road blocks all over the city. Both were worried about a pending clash.

By 9:00, the gunshots were getting closer to my apartment. The yelling too. I stood on my balcony and watched smoke rise up from several points in the distance. Lightning returned to the Tegucigalpa night sky once again. It began to flash with increasing frequency and intensity. Thunder rolled over the mountains and into the city.

Around 9:30, I could see smoke rise up close enough to my apartment that I could see the fire. I clearly heard the voices of "la resistencia" shout over the rumble of the thunder, and I saw them feed the fire as is flashed and flickered. The natural storm grew more intense with almost incessant lightning, and a seemingly constant boom of thunder. It matched the growing anxiety within the city and within me.

I tried to watch the news, but the channels were cut, and my power went out. I went to the balcony around 10:00 and could still see the fire burning brightly, though the voices had faded slightly. Four large military trucks sped down the highway towards the fire, and I went inside for the rest of the night.

I lay in bed wondering what the morning would bring.


September 23rd - The Curfew Part III

Around 9:00am, I bolted upright out of bed at the sound of two helicopters which flew by very close to my window. I quickly got dressed, and went outside on my balcony to see one news helicopter, and one military helicopter circling the city. A part of their arch around the city included flying directly over my apartment building.

I tried to boot up my computer to check the news, but it didn't work. Neither did the local channels. CNN decided to spend their time covering the UN meeting, and the Toronto Film Festival.

At 10:00am, I was pouring myself a small bowl of cereal when I heard shouting outside. I looked out my kitchen window and could see a line of people walking down the high way. Roughly 150 protesters processed closer and closer to my apartment, and even walked down the very street that I lived on. They marched their way to the Pedagogical University located a couple of blocks down my street towards Plaza Mira Flores, where they met other protesters and began their route all over the city.

I caught bits and glimpses of the news and saw some of their clashes with the police. I could hear them outside of my window.

At 11:00, Marisela called me and urged me to stay indoors. She told me that the curfew was still in effect, but that there was a group of Pro-Mel protesters nearby, and a group of Anti-Mel protesters at the UN building within the city. She was very worried that the two would confront one another.

Shortly after I got off the phone with Marisela, Felix called. It was very nice to hear his voice, and he checked up on my situation, gave me some good ideas, and got my Dad's phone number to give him a call, since he knew that my internet was not working and I couldn't make phone calls out of the country from my room.

Except for the internet, the power was more reliable today, and I was able to watch some television. There were about six times throughout the day when the cable channels were cut and the national media made announcements on their own stations.

I found the situation rather comedic, because the station I was watching would go off, I would flip to the local channels, and they would play roughly 30 seconds of upbeat Honduran fiesta music while showing pictures of beautiful places and festivals all around the country. Then a very deep voiced announcer would came on and told me who was about to speak. Sometimes it was the president, other times it was other significant people within the government. When they were done, the deep voice would thank me for listening, and then they would play the same upbeat music while showing the same photos from around the country before returning me to my regularly scheduled programming.

I slept some in the afternoon, and got a phone call from Marisela letting me know that there was a two hour window where people could go out and buy food and water if they needed. The streets were crazy. I knew I didn't need more food, but I was getting tired of peanut butter sandwiches and cereal.

I tried to make my way to Plaza, but it was closed and so I resolved to go to a local store which specialized in "American Food." I went in hopeful, but was disappointed by the perception that "American Food" meant lots of twix, snickers, and milky ways, and little in the way of actual food.

I purchased a few things, and made my way back to the apartment quickly. Freddy called me when I got back and let me know that the curfew was extended again and will be in effect until 6:00am tomorrow, but that the government has promised that everything should be back to normal tomorrow during the day.

After making some dinner, and watching a little bit of Law and Order SVU, I went up to the roof to look out on the city. It was so quiet. So still. And then, gunfire. In the direction of the fire from yesterday. I went back down to my apartment, and watched the neighborhood where the fire had been.

I hear gunshots and the pops of mild explosions from that area every minute or so. Freddy called again to make sure that I know we are planning on going to the office tomorrow right on time. He let me know also that he is not sure that the worst is over. "It may get rougher" he said.

Tomorrow is a new day.