Esperar: to wait; to hope

We continue waiting today as the holiday weekend here in the US has passed; we find ourselves standing in solidarity with the people of Honduras in curiosity and anticipation of what is yet to come.

Last week, the OAS (Organization of American States) met and decided to grant the current interim government in Honduras 72 hours to concede to the return of Zelaya (the ousted president). On Saturday, after waiting and hoping for the interim government to act, the OAS suspended Honduras from the coalition as a result of failure to allow Zelaya to return to the country. (This is the first time the OAS has taken such a measure since the removal of Cuba in 1962.)

Yesterday (Sunday), Zelaya decided to take action a bit more into his own hands by attempting to fly back to Honduras, accompanied by the Presidents of Argentina and Ecuador, as well as the head of the OAS. However the military (in support of the current interim government) as well as anti-Zelaya protestors, lined the runway in Tegucigalpa and prevented the plane from landing. Zelaya was diverted to Nicaragua, from where he would proceed to El Salvador.
The country seems quite split in this political arena, as many pro-Zelaya supporters were also present there in Tegucigalpa, rallying for Zelaya's return.

According to BBC world news, the interim government in Honduras, spearheaded by the appointed (interim) president Roberto Micheletti, offered that they are open to negotiation with the international community; what they are not open to is the return of the deposed president Zelaya.

Zelaya has commented that he will attempt again today or tomorrow to return to his home country, though there are also some news reports that say Zelaya may possibly head back to Washington to continue conversing with international leaders before taking more action.

From here in Philadelphia, we continue speaking with Ubil and the volunteers in Honduras on a near daily basis, ensuring their safety and health as the days progress. They all seem in good spirits, though more than ready for this current situation to come to an end, for fellow volunteers to return to the hogar, the colegio (high school) boys to return to school (all public schools have been closed since the ousting occurred over a week ago), and life to assume a welcome state of "normalcy."

So once more, we wait to see what the days will bring and how things will proceed.

*An interesting note: in Spanish, the words “to wait” and “to hope” are the same: esperar. There is perhaps comfort to be found in this simple reminder of God’s presence and plan for all of us.

With continued prayers for tranquility, the restoration of peace and the return of democracy to Honduras, thanks for reading.