I am forwarding some information about Honduras and Nicaragua from other
mailbase lists. Apologies for cross-postings.
Over the weekend BBC TV has been running trailers for a special report
on Hurricane Mitch on BBC1 (I think) at 7.30 p.m. on Monday 9th
November.
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Subject: FW: Urgent Action - Nicaragua and Honduras
From: "Lee S R V (LRC)" <[log in to unmask]>
Please find enclosed an urgent action in response to the disaster in
Nicaragua and Honduras. Please circulate as widely as possible. This
along ith many other articles is available on our weekly-updated website.
URGENT ACTION
Ask the Chancellor to cancel debts owed by Nicaragua and Honduras
Jubilee 2000 Coalition is calling on Gordon Brown to take a lead in
helping the people of Nicaragua and Honduras to recover from the
devastation of Hurricane Mitch, by cancelling the debts owed to Britain
and persuading others to do the same.
As aid agencies draw up emergency plans to bring relief to the region,
Honduras and Nicaragua together pay out more than two million dollars
(£1.4m) every day in debt payments. The huge debt burden is a strain on
Nicaragua and Honduras at the best of times. Now, when they have been
hit by disaster, it is a noose around their necks, slowly being pulled
tighter.
The Honduras Jubilee 2000 campaign was due to hold a Latin American-wide
Jubilee 2000 conference this week, but had to cancel following the
devastating floods. In an appeal today they called for the immediate
cancellation of Honduras and Nicaragua's debts. Francisco Marchado of
the Honduras Jubilee 2000 campaign said: "We need debt cancellation now more
than ever if we are to rebuild our devastated country."
It is extremely disappointing that the Secretary of State for
International Development, Clare Short, described debt relief as "an
irrelevance" in the aftermath of the hurricane (BBC Radio, 6 November).
Of course there is an immediate need for emergency relief. But cancelling
the
unpayable debts of Honduras and Nicaragua would release resources that
could be spent on rebuilding these devastated countries. Honduran
Commerce and Industry Minister Reginaldo Panting told the Washington Post
that
Honduras would like to see international creditors forgive "much of the
country's $4 billion foreign debt so that the nation can rebuild."
Entire villages in the north of Honduras are under water, and as many as
a third of the houses in the Honduran capital, Tegucigalpa, where 1
million people live, have been badly damaged or swept away by the raging
waters
of the Choluteca River. In Nicaragua over a thousand people were killed
following a mud and rock landslide caused by the overflowing of a lake
in a volcano crater.
Against this tragedy, is the huge burden of external debt. Honduras's
total external debt has tripled since 1980 and stood at $ 4.5 billion in
1996. Nicaragua's total external debt is $5.9 billion, and until
recently Nicaragua had the highest debt per capita of all countries in the
developing world. Both countries are in the Heavily Indebted Poor
Countries Initiative, but debt relief under the initiative is not due
for many years. Nicaragua will have to wait until 1999 before a decision on
how much debt relief it will receive, and then have up to three years
longer before receiving anything. Honduras, however, will not reach a
decision point within HIPC until 2001, and the IMF holds the view that
Honduras does not need full HIPC debt relief.
This natural disaster throws a new and tragic perspective on the scandal
of the international debt crisis, and the shame of creditor countries
and banks who continue to demand payment. Government resources in Nicaragua
and Honduras urgently need to go to the massive recovery programme.
There is no room for the servicing of external debt in the current
emergency,
and Jubilee 2000 calls upon the creditor countries and institutions to
recognise this reality and to cancel all due debt repayments from these
two countries immediately.
What you can do
Write to the Chancellor, Gordon Brown MP, 11 Downing St, London SW1A 2AB
and the Secretary of State for International Development, Clare Short
MP, DfID, 94 Victoria St, London SW1E 5JL.
Explain that, as long as Honduras and Nicaragua continue to spend
(respectively) 80% and 51% of government revenue on debt service, their
efforts to rebuild after the devastation caused by Hurricane Mitch will
be severely hampered.
Call on the government to cancel the debt owed to the UK by Honduras and
Nicaragua.
Ask Gordon Brown and Clare Short to call an urgent meeting of G7
colleagues and the World Bank and International Monetary Fund to
encourage cancellation of all unpayable debts owed by these two countries.
Express disappointment that Clare Short described debt relief as
irrelevant. Emergency relief is needed immediately, but cancelling the
unpayable debts of Honduras and Nicaragua would release resources that
could be spent on rebuilding these devastated countries.
Write to your MP as well and ask him/her to make the same call to the
Ministers too.
<<Honduras & Nicaragua action.doc>>
--------------------------------------------------------------
From: Vera Britto <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: Hurricane Mitch relief
> This message is occasioned by a number of messages and queries regarding
> the devastation of Central America by Hurricane Mitch. There is very
> disturbing news on two fronts. First, the human and economic toll of the
> hurricane is of incredible magnitude. Thousands were killed and entire
> villages and much of the national infrastructure was destroyed in
> Nicaragua and Honduras. Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, and southern
> Mexico were also affected, though I have seen few reports from these
> countries. Second, I have read unconfirmed reports to the effect that the
> Aleman government in Nicaragua is "pulling a Somoza," so to speak, with
> relief efforts -- confiscating and/or taxing materials sent through NGO's
> and funneling relief through government agencies controlled by Aleman
> family members.
>
> There are two parts to this message: first, how to contribute to relief
> efforts; second, reports from the affected areas.
>
>
> If you wish to make a donation, agencies involved in relief efforts
> include:
>
> American Red Cross, International Response Fund (P.O. Box 37243,
> Washington, D.C. 20013). Tel: 800-HELP-NOW. (Washtenaw County agency:
> 971-5300)
>
> CARE (151 Ellis Street NE, Atlanta, GA 30303-2426). Tel: 800-422-7385
>
> Oxfam America - Central America Relief Fund (26 West St., Boston, MA
> 02111). Tel: 800-77-O-X-F-A-M
>
> Save the Children - Hurricane Mitch Emergency Appeal (P.O. Box 975-M, 54
> Wilton Road, Westport, CT 06880). Tel: 800-243-5075
>
> Baptist World Aid, 6733 Curran Street, McLean, Va. 22101-3804, Tel: (703)
> 790-8980
>
> Catholic Relief Services (P.O. Box 17090, Baltimore, MD 21203-7090). Tel:
> 800-235-2772
>
> Church World Services (28606 Phillips Street, P.O. Box 968, Elkhart, IN
> 46515). Tel: 800-297-1516, ext. 222
>
> Doctors without Borders, 6 E. 39th St, NY NY 10016. Tel: 888-312-0392
>
> Doctors of the World, 375 West Broadway, Fourth Floor, New York, N.Y.
> 10012, Tel: (212) 226-7026
>
> Map International (2200 Glynco Parkway, PO Box 215000, Bruinswick, GA
> 31521-5000). Tel: 800-225-8550
>
> World Relief (P.O. Box WRC, Dept. 3, Wheaton, IL 60189). Tel: 800-535-5433
>
> Alternatives for donations to Nicaragua:
>
> The Nicaragua Network, 1247 E Street, SE, Washington, DC 20003; make
> checks out to "NNEF/AGJ" and include "hurricane relief" on the memo line
>
> Pueblito Canada, #304 - 720 Spadina Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M5S 2T9. Tel:
> 416-963-8846; fax: 416-963-8853; e-mail: <[log in to unmask]>
>
> 2. Effects of the hurricane. The full extent of the damage is still
> unknown, but these are the figures I have received to date:
>
> Killed: 6500 in Honduras (and 11,000 still missing), up to 3800 in
> Nicaragua, 240 in El Salvador, 200 in Guatemala.
>
> Left homeless: 500,000 in Honduras (specifics below), 70,000 in Nicaragua.
>
> Directly affected: 2,000,000 in Honduras, 750,000 in Nicaragua, 58,000 in
> El Salvador, 78,000 in Guatemala.
>
> Economic damage: In Honduras, estimated at $1 billion already, mainly in
> the banana industry; an additional $2 million/day in the maquiladoras;
> more than 70% of beans and rice crops lost; roads destroyed, populations
> isolated. In Nicaragua, over 2500 km of road have been affected, and over
> 64 bridges wiped out. In Costa Rica, major damage to the coffee crop. In
> Guatemala, $750,000,000 damage, 25% of the coffee crop lost, roads to
> remaining coffee production areas are inaccessible, and much of the sugar
> crop feared destroyed.
>
> More details on Nicaragua: 174 communities have been completely cut off
> and can only be reached by helicopter (the Nicaraguan army has only 7).
> Twenty-four major roads, 64 bridges, and approximately 5,100 homes have
> been destroyed by the storm. The cities of Matagalpa, Jinotega and Esteli
> have been completely cut off from communications.
>
> More details on Honduras: In Tegucigalpa, some 80,000 homeless. 75% of the
> population of 800,000 is isolated and cut off from means of communication.
> More than a dozen neighborhoods were wiped out by floods or buried under
> landslides. Choluteca/ South: 225,000 homeless; number of dead unknown.
> San Pedro Sula (north/ fastest growing city in Central America): 270,000
> living in emergency shelters; 70,000 homeless; 113 dead; 200 missing as of
> Sunday. El Progreso (north/ on border of Ulua river/banana town): 65,000
> homeless; 100,000 living in emergency camps; 5,000 waiting to be rescued
> from banana camps near the city. number of dead unknown. La Lima
> (headquarters of Chiquita): 30,000 living in community shelters; number
> of dead unknown. Puerto Cortes: 30,000 homeless; number of dead unknown.
> Colon, Atlantida, Bay Islands (coastal areas): 200 dead; 100 missing as of
> Saturday, Oct. 31. Lack of communication with communities in much of these
> areas has prevented more in depth and precise assessments of losses.
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From: Pat Noble <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: UK address for Hurricane Mitch relief
As a pendant to the last message on this subject, which gave US addresses
for appeals, the Disasters Emergency Committee in the UK represents 15
major charities and is co-ordinating their work. Donations should be sent
to:
Disasters Emergency Committee
52 Great Portland Street
London W1N 5AH
Cheques should be made payable to: Disasters Emergency Appeal.
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