Honduras
Note: This page may contain out-of-date information and/or missing references. We are working on updating the whole MultiCSD site in 2022. When this page has been updated, this message will be removed and the update will be noted below the content. While we are working on this process, please email us at mabs@pdx.edu if you find anything needing revision.
Honduras is a nation in Central America.
Immigration
“Although approximately 80,000 Hondurans try to reach the US annually, only 25 percent succeed. To reach the United States they must undergo a dangerous journey across Guatemala and Mexico, a process to date under-researched by social sciences. As new undocumented migrant streams continue to expand within global economies, scholars and practitioners who work on their behalf should understand the pre-migration values and expectations because they shape the way migrants adjust and develop new cultural patters in the receiving countries” (Makdissi & Wodon, 2004; p.187).
Honduras is one of the poorest nations in the southern hemisphere, with more than half of its population living below the poverty line. Many families send a member of their family with the highest wage-earning potential to the United States for them to send remittances back home to support the family. Annually, 1 million undocumented migrants join the approximately 10 million undocumented laborers already working the United States. Although this undocumented labor force is depicted by the United States as unwanted and law-breaking, many employers in the US help perpetuate it by seeking out and using undocumented workers.
Migrants from Honduras are aware of the labor demand north of the US-Mexico border and risk their lives through countless dangers during the crossing including “suffering of dehydration or hypothermia in desert areas, getting lost or losing one's children, being robbed, raped, apprehended by border patrol officials, or even killed by gangs, border bandits, or coyotes (human smugglers)” (Makdissi & Wodon, 2004; p.189).
Motivations for Migration
According to Sladkova (2007)12), some motivations behind Honduran migration include but are not limited to:
Labor
Politics and unstable governments
Self-development
Aspirations for children
Pursuit of studies
Expectations of the United States
While some migrants express a perception of the US having a better economy with a large Hispanic population and many educational and work opportunities, many migrants are aware of the hardships that undocumented immigrants may face. Many migrants from Honduras only expect to stay for 2-5 years until they can make enough money to return to Honduras. Makdissi and Wodon (2004) cite some of the difficulties that undocumented immigrants may face including:
Limited freedom of movement due to fear of detention and deportation
Discrimination against Latino immigrants
Loss of native language
Possible decline in social status
Discriminatory labor practices for undocumented workers
U.S. Communities with High Percentages of People of Honduran Ancestry
Since the 1960s, Hondurans have primarily migrated to the U.S. to Miami, New York City, and Los Angeles. In the 2000 census, 217,569 people in the U.S. claimed Honduran ancestry. The top 10 communities in the U.S. with the highest percentage of residents who claim Honduran ancestry in 2000 included:
1. Wallace, North Carolina 10.80%
2. Rose Hill, North Carolina 5.86%
3. Chelsea, Massachusetts 4.51%
4. Newton, Texas 4.23%
5. Gray Court, South Carolina 3.72%
6. Morristown, New Jersey 3.44%
7. Miami, Florida 3.34%
8. New Brunswick, New Jersey 2.99%
9. New York, New York 2.65%
10. Hempstead, New York 2.56%
People of Honduran Ancestry in Oregon
According to the NCSL, between 1990 and 2000, Oregon saw a 144% increase in persons of Hispanic origin (i.e. Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Dominican, Costa Rican, Guatemalan, Honduran, Nicaraguan, Panamanian, Salvadoran, Argentinean, Bolivian, Chilean, Colombian, Ecuadorian, Paraguayan, Peruvian, and/or Venezuelan origin).
Specific information about the number of people of Honduran ancestry in Portland is not readily available; however, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, the Portland-Vancouver area is one of the top 10 metropolitan areas in resettling new immigrants.
The People
Demographics and Ethnic Diversity
Currently, the population of Honduras is close to eight million people. Just over 50 percent of the population is under 18 years old. Although roughly half of the population lives in rural areas, the country is experiencing rapid urbanization rates in Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula.
Over 90 percent of the population are mestizos (persons of mixed European and Central American Indian ancestry). Approximately five percent of the population claim to be Amerindian, two percent are white and one percent are black.
The following chart describes Honduran ethnic groups:
Religion
Honduras is an overwhelmingly Roman Catholic country. A poll from 2002 found that 63 percent of Hondurans reported themselves as Catholic, 23 percent as evangelical Christians, and 14 percent as other. The majority of Amerindian religious traditions are no longer practiced in urban areas, aside from magic and witchcraft. A few religious ceremonies are still practiced in rural areas.
Language
Spanish is the official language of Honduras; however, other languages spoken mainly by indigenous groups include:
Lexicon
Most of the vocabulary used in Honduran Spanish is common to Latin American Spanish spoken in other countries; however, as with other countries in Central America, Honduran Spanish has its own unique vocabulary. The following are a few examples of words unique to Honduran Spanish:
chamba - job
cheque - cool, all right, okay
cipote - kids, children (used more in the cities)
jálon - a ride (as in Me da un jálon? “Will you give me a ride?”)
mírave - literally, look-see, used when something is being explained, not to point something out
paila - pickup truck
pisto - money
puchica - an interjection to show surprise, like “wow!” or “man!”
vaya pues - used after nearly every sentence, as an all-inclusive “okay” or “understood”
Phonetics and Phonology
Honduran Spanish uses a faster, softer cadence than typical Latin American Spanish, similar to the Spanish spoken in Nicaragua and the Caribbean. Words are not as strongly enunciated and are often cut off at the end, with one word running into another.
Some characteristics of Honduran Spanish phonology include:
/s/ at the end of a syllable or before a consonant is pronounced like h (silent)
the letter j (pronounced as the velar fricative /x/) is aspirated, it is as soft as /h/ in English
the phonemes /s/ and /θ/ are both pronounced as /s/
In general, the consonants and vowels are the same as those used in typical Latin American Spanish.
Pronouns and Verb Conjugation
Two distinctions mark the differences between the Spanish spoken in Honduras and general Latin American Spanish.
1. Pronoun Use: The pronoun vos is used instead of tú for the second person singular. The conjugation of the present tense follows the pattern of replacing the final -r if the infinitive with an -s and adding an acute accent to the previous vowel, for example:
Infinitive: venir
Tú: vienes
Vos: venís
The pronoun usted is used when addressing older, unfamiliar or respected persons, as it is used in all Spanish speaking countries; however, in Honduras it is frequently used with younger people, between husband and wife, and friends.
Honduran Spanish uses the pronoun ustedes instead of vosotros for the second person plural, like most other Latin American dialects. Although usted is the formal second person singular pronoun, its plural ustedes has a neutral connotation and can be used to address friends and acquaintances as well as in more formal occasions.
For example, see the conjugation for the verb amar in the present tense, indicative mode:
First person, singular: yo amo
Second person, singular: vos amás
Third person, singular: él ama
First person, plural: nosotros amamos
Second person, plural: ustedes aman
Third person, plural: ellos aman
2. Verb Phrase Replacement: Another distinction is the use of a verb phrase in replacement of future tense conjugation. This verb phrase is formed by the verb ir (“go”) followed by the preposition a (“to”) and the main verb in the infinitive. This is similar to the English phrase going to + infinitive verb. For example:
Creo que descansaré un poco → Creo que voy a descansar un poco
Mañana me visitará mi madre → Mañana me va a visitar mi madre
Culture and Education
According to the Honduran constitution, free primary education is obligatory for every child between the ages of seven and fourteen. However, due to lack of schools, understaffed schools, the high cost of materials needed for these schools, and the poor quality of public education, the reality of the educational system is much more bleak. Obtaining a good education is still largely the privilege of the few who can afford to send their children to private institutions.
According to the Ministry of Education, more than 40 percent of the total population and more than 80 percent in rural areas are illiterate. A significant percentage of children in rural areas do not receive formal education because schools are not readily accessible. When accessible, schools often consist of joint-grade instruction through only the third grade. Schools are so understaffed that teachers may have up to eighty children in one classroom. Of children enrolled in public schools, only 43 percent complete the primary level. Of all children entering the first grade, only 30 percent will go on to secondary school, and only 8 percent continue to the university level. The quality of instruction in Honduran public schools is greatly impaired by poor teacher training, which is worsened by the extremely low wages, lack of effective and current instruction materials and teaching methods, poor administration, and lack of physical facilities.
Since 1970, private schools have begun to flourish due to the deficiencies of public education. Currently, private education is popularly viewed as a profit-making enterprise and there is skepticism regarding the quality of the education that private schools offer. The National Autonomous University of Honduras (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras, UNAH) is the primary institution of higher learning. The university is located in Tegucigalpa and has approximately 30,000 students, with branches in San Pedro Sula and La Ceiba. In addition, Honduras maintains three private universities: José Cecilio del Valle University in Tegucigalpa, Central American Technological University in Tegucigalpa, and the University of San Pedro Sula.
Perceptions of Healthcare
The health system is made up of public and private sectors. The public sector consists of the Ministry of Public Health and the Honduran Social Security Institute (IHSS), the National Water Supply and Sewerage Service, and the National Institute for the Prevention of Alcoholism, Drug Addiction, and Drug Dependence. The estimated coverage for the Ministry of Public Health was 60 percent, social security covered between 10-12 percent, and the private services covered 10 percent of the population.
The quality of and access to health care are directly tied to income levels. Adequate health care is expensive and only available to those able to afford it. Health care is extremely limited for the urban and rural poor and indigenous groups who are more isolated from the rest of the population. In 1990, an estimated 1.3 million Hondurans were without access to health care. In more isolated regions of Honduras, there are almost no physicians. In 1984, the ratio of doctor to population was one to 1,510. Government clinics often lack adequate personnel, equipment, and medicines.
Widespread malnutrition is responsible for 34 percent of children experiencing stunting of growth between two and five years of age. In addition, most of the population lacks access to running water and sanitation facilities, which contribute to the country's high infant mortality rate (36 per 1,000 live births) and to a relatively low life expectancy rate (64.9 years) reported in 1992.
The leading causes of death are vector-borne diseases including malaria and dengue hemorrhagic fever; diseases preventable by immunization including whooping cough, tuberculosis, influenza, and cholera; communicable diseases including tuberculosis; acute respiratory infections; nutritional/metabolic diseases including anemia and malnutrition; cancers; and leptospirosis. These diseases are often fatal, due to a lack of preventative measures, and inadequate heath care services. Alcoholism, drug addiction, and the rapid spread of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) are also of great concern to Honduran health authorities.
In 1959, the country's national public health system was created and the Honduran Social Security Institute (Instituto Hondureño del Seguro Social, IHSS) began to operate. However, the proliferation of health services to all regions of the country was painfully slow and the majority of people had to travel to Tegucigalpa to obtain public health services. Although the government made an effort to expand public health care during the 1970s and opened a medical center in San Pedro Sula, the third largest city in the country, El Progreso was without IHSS services until 1992. Factors including population growth, the policies supporting the reduction in spending by the government in the 1990s, and the present lack of adequate facilities seem to suggest that public health services in Honduras are likely to remain insufficient in the near future.
Attitudes about Disability
“In Honduras, persons with disabilities are defined as those who, due to any restriction (result of a deficiency), do not have the capacity to carry out activities considered normal for non-disabled persons of the same age or gender under the same socio-cultural circumstances” (JICA, 2002).
In 2002, it was estimated that 2.6 percent of the population, or 177,516 individuals, are people with disabilities, including 97,867 men and 79,649 women. The needs of individuals with disabilities have traditionally been addressed through a charitable approach rather than a human rights approach. Therefore, Honduran law has not yet established a disability rights framework or a central agency to deal with reports on human rights violations against people with disabilities.
Honduras has established several national laws that specifically protect or benefit people with disabilities including:
Military Junta's Decree 962; 1980: founded the National Council on Comprehensive Rehabilitation to coordinate and supervise disability services.
Legislative Decree 86-45; 1984, proclaims the last Friday of April as the “Day of Solidarity Toward the Handicapped”, to be observed every year.
Legislative Decree 184-87, also know as the “Training and Rehabilitation of the Handicapped Person Act”; 1987, guarantees equal rights for people with disabilities and mandates the provision of comprehensive rehabilitation services for the social integration of people with disabilities.
Legislative Decree 17-91, also known as the “Promotion of Employment for People with Disabilities Act”; 1991, encourages the integration of people with disabilities into the open labor market or other appropriate occupational alternatives.
Agreement 1662-EP91 between the President of the Republic and the Ministry of Public Education; 1991, establishes the Policies on Special Education of the Ministry of Public Education.
Executive Agreement STSS-116-01; 2001, approves the Safety and Occupational Health Regulations for underwater fishing, aimed at preventing disabilities by establishing minimum health and safety requirements.
“Members of the disability community note that compliance with these laws is often low. For example, despite its legal creation, the National Council on Comprehensive Rehabilitation was never an actively working entity. There are no penalties for noncompliance, and few people are aware of the full extent of the existing laws”.
There are no valid data available on the current number of children with disabilities. However, based on the low number of students with disabilities identified by the Instituto Nacional de Estadística. (National Statistics Institute), there are most likely a large number of children excluded from the educational system due to their disability. 17 Special Education Centers exist in Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula. These centers were established by private organizations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). “Most of these centers work with pre-school and elementary-school children, and aim to integrate these children into the mainstream educational system. The centers also sometimes provide vocational training for adolescents who have been unable to integrate into the regular system”.
Implications for the SLP
The position of “Language Therapist” exists as part of the field of disability workers; however, there is no training or qualification program in place within Honduras (JICA, 2002). This, along with the exclusion of children with disabilities from the educational system may result in unfamiliarity with speech and language services within the traditional school setting.
The U.S. National Council on Disability and Mental Disability Rights International co-hosted a panel discussion event at the United Nations in New York, during which issues of implementation of the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities were discussed. The panel sought to provide practical applications of support for persons with disabilities.
Here are some things to keep in mind when working with families from Honduras:
Because of the powerful role that parents play in the lives of their children, involvement of the parents is a crucial piece of serving families of children with disabilities from Honduras.
Because of the unfamiliarity with speech and language services within the traditional school setting as mentioned above40), it is important to explain to the family the services that are provided by a Speech-Language Pathologist, their rights according to the IDEA and the Americans with Disibilities Act, and that the services for their school-aged child are free.
For older clients, it is important to explain which services are provided by a Speech-Language Pathologist, their rights according to the Americans with Disibilities Act, and what services are available to them with their insurance
It is important to explain to families the importance of active family participation in American culture and that their opinions are encouraged and will contribute to a more dynamic and effective application of services.
Original contributor: Leila Raphael; Winter, 2010.