You got to fight, fight for your right to publish

Jennifer Ávila kicked off her northwest tour to spread awareness on the threat to freedom of press in Honduras at Coeur d’Alene’s Human Rights Education Institute.

Ávila spoke to students, teachers, and other journalists about the violence and repression citizens are facing as a result of a corrupt government.

“Honduras was rated the most violent country in the world in 2009,” Ávila said while presenting images of people who have developed skin ailments due to contaminated drinking water in a small mining town.

This highlights the problem of privatization of public resources, a major issue in several other Latin American countries under U.S. control. It’s contribution to corruption is prevalent in many of these places.

“Youth have no access to a way of life,” Ávila said. “There are sixteen different armed authorities, all of which are militarized [against youth, women, and the LGBT community.]”

“In between 1994 to 2008, there have been 235 registered murders in the LGBT community, of those only 48 have been investigated. Those numbers have gone up recently from 2009 to 2018 in which 292 were murdered, and so far only 22% of all cases have been investigated,”

The Berta Caceres act was introduced to Congress in 2016 for the purpose of implementing basic human rights for its citizens. It promises to break apart the structures that are repressing the citizens of Honduras and allow freedom of speech without subjection to violence.

For more information go to witnessforpeace.org.