Honduras
Located in middle Central America, Honduras
is a tropical country named after
the depth of the water along the northern
border of the Caribbean Sea (Lexis
Nexis). Nicaragua to the South and
Guatemala and El Salvador to the West border
Honduras. The climate in
Honduras varies depending upon the region. Along the
coast the weather is hot
and dry, yet, in the mountain ranges it stays cool the
whole year round.
Honduras is the third poorest country in the world. There are
few
corporations, universities, and land for the citizens to settle on
in
Honduras, causing many citizens to immigrate to other countries to
find new
opportunities. Due to the lack of employment, education, and land,
Honduran
citizens immigrate to the United States in order to find a better
life. Honduras
is a very racially diverse country. Their backgrounds,
housing, and economic
patterns differ greatly than those of Americans. Ninety
percent of the residence
on the island are Mestizo or Ladinos while the other
ten percent are poor groups
known as the Garifuna and the blacks of the West
Indies. The Garifuna and the
blacks of the West Indies make up the problem of
emigration in the states. By
the 1980’s there was economic and political
crisis in all of Central America
and the number of emigrants shot up. In
Honduras, at this time, there was a"national economic plan" (American
Immigration Cultures 395). This plan took
away much of the land from the
common folk, and Honduras economy was so bad that
there were no jobs to
offer. This sparked the spike in emigration to the United
States. At this
time there was also a spike in the tuition for college and
considering that
there are only a few universities in the country. Emigration to
the U.S.
started subtly. Much of the emigration is connected to the UFCo and
the
Stanford Fruit Company, which at one time monopolized all the banana
trade.
Because bananas or one of the main exports of Honduras, many
workers, managers,
and their families were granted entry into New York, New
Orleans, Boston, and
New Jersey. Even through World War II Hondurans were
being sent to the U.S. to
work in factories and housekeeping (American
Immigration Cultures 395). It was
not until the 1960’s and 1970’s that "most
Hondurans arrived as students,
tourist, or family reunification quotas"
(American Immigration Cultures 395).
The emigration patterns mostly rose
in the upper middle class and among single
persons of both genders. The main
ages that the emigrants were entering the
country was twenty to thirty four,
and four and under fifteen (American
Immigration Cultures 395). These
ages reflect that of a working class and their
families they bring with them.
At these ages many were excited about the new
working experience and those
that did not have families with them were excited
about starting them. When
the U.S. has tried to take a census many of the
Garifuna and the blacks
for West Indies have been mistaken for African
Americans. Some of the
most accurate studies were performed in the 1980s "that
placed a total of
15,000 Hondurans in Los Angeles, 30,000 to 60,000 in New
Orleans, and
5,000 to 10,000 in Houston in 1985. Considering that New York City
had at
least as many as New Orleans, and that Boston had at least as many as
Los
Angeles, this leaves an estimated 95,000 to 160,000 first generation
Hondurans
in those cities alone in the United States in 1985" (American
Immigrant
Cultures395). Even more studies show that in 1976 there were a
total of 31,150
Honduran citizens according to the census and an
additional 16,039 illegal
aliens living in the U.S. (Harvard Encyclopedia of
American Ethnic Groups 210).
Once in the United States, the unfamiliar
settlers find their way to their
permanent home or a secondary settlement.
Many of the Garifunas have made their
permanent home in different burrows of
New York. The Hondurans live mostly in
the South Bronx, which is home for
many Dominican and Puerto Rican emigrants.
Also there is a considerable
number living in Harlem and Brooklyn where many
African-Americans have
settled. The Hondurans that live in New York often end up
working in health
care or in building maintenance. The Mestizos have made their
homes
throughout city in burrows like Long Island, Queens, and Brooklyn.
These
emigrants often find work as domestics, construction, restaurants, and
day
labor. The third group that has emigrated is the Blacks of the West
Indies. They
made their homes in neighborhoods in New Jersey and surrounding
the Boston area.
Unlike the fortunate emigrants who find their homes and
settled down, the new
emigrants have to live in places known as secondary
settlements. Secondary
settlements are places where Honduran emigrants go
before they find their place
of permanent residency. In Houston and Los
Angeles such settlements have
expanded considerably. In Miami where usually
middle class Hondurans settle,
there has been a growth in secondary
settlements as well. There are numerous
reasons Hondurans emigrate to the
U.S. to live in cities or secondary
residences. Many emigrate to receive and
education in the colleges they have
always dreamed of attending. Unlike many
American kids that take college for
granted, Hondurans know how valuable and
education is and how fortunate they are
to receive one. Another reason for
emigrating is the hopes to make enough money
to build their own house and
start their own businesses. After they have
established themselves they
usually move their families to their new homes. The
majority of the emigrants
that move to the states stay here to live their lives
while others return to
Honduras for vacations and short visits. There are a
select few, which earn
enough money to return to Honduras and live a life that
they desire. As for
the emigrants that remain in the states, their social
cultures "reflect this
traditional system and their relationship to the race/
class system of the
cities in which they live"(American Immigration Cultures
399). Once the
emigrants are settled and working, it is hard for them to move up
in the
social hierarchy. Depending on where the Hondurans settle will determine
what
they will do with their life. The people who settle in a Hispanic
or
Honduran area will find themselves not learning the English language
because
they don’t have a use for it. This never puts them in main stream
America and
therefore, they struggle to make a life for themselves. The
emigrants who grew
up in New Jersey and Boston were surrounded by main stream
America. They often
grow up to be professionals such as doctors, lawyers, and
teachers. The main
reason that many Honduran emigrate to the U.S. is to find
more economic
benefits. There are a few Honduran restaurants, travel
agencies, and shipping
agencies that exist. But many Hondurans can be seen
selling food at the athletic
games, working making tapes of birthdays and
weddings, and childcare. Also many
rely on the factories as their main source
of income but since many factories
have moved to other countries many
Hondurans have been left to either go back to
Honduras and working the
factories there or find new jobs in America. There is
only one exception that
exists. A family in New York that has an ice cream
company that sells ice
cream to the Spanish community. The emigrants who enter
into the country
legally and graduate from college find themselves working as
professionals.
They usually live in middle class cities and work blue-collar
jobs. Whether
through working or living in a community Hondurans have brought
their culture
with them. Hondurans, especially mestizos and Garifuna, excel in
the arts
around New York City. Secondly, there are many festivals that honor
the
Honduran culture. These festivals bring together dancers, bands, and
Honduran
food. These celebrations attract many even if they are not
Honduran.
Additionally there is a big Spanish language media. There are
many Spanish
journalists that are highly respected that work in New York.
These Spanish
reporters started a monthly newspaper and magazine called the
Nosotros los
Latinos that focuses on the arts. The Honduran journalist
also print a paper
called El Sol de Las Americas, which focuses on the
Honduran community as a
whole. The success to the Spanish media is related to
the strong drive that
holds their culture together. Although Honduran
emigrants keep their culture
alive they seem to show a different view on
American politics. This can be
attributed to the lack of legal emigrants that
have applied to get their visa.
Many don’t even think about the fact of
voting or getting involved in
politics. The second reason involves the way
the Honduran government runs. Many
citizens do not get the chance to vote or
do anything for their country. So it
is almost second hand for them to not
think about the future for our country.
Hondurans have made a life choice
to come to America to start a new life. Once
they arrive they have many
decisions to make: the jobs they want, the places
they choose to live, and
the way they associate the culture in their lives. When
the emigrants
culturally blend with the others and they show America some of
their culture
they feel right at home. Although some remain in the United States
and some
return to Honduras, each has shed their personal culture into our
country. We
take them weak and strong and our arms are always open to the
emigrants from
Honduras.