Honduras, where the level of widespread violence is similar to that experienced in a war: it also happens in Guatemala and El Salvador

ROME – The violence people experience in Honduras is similar to what is experienced in war zones such as Syria, Yemen or Ukraine, reads a statement from the Norwegian Refugee Council. Brutality and abuse permeate the social fabric of these countries and force tens of thousands of people to flee their homes. Without the support and protection of the international community, these populations cannot even live in safety and dignity. The emblematic case is that of a school in La Lima that had five thousand students until five years ago – writes the organization. Today of those students there are only 1,200 left as thousands have dropped out and many more have fled to the United States.

The lack of security. Throughout the North-Central America region, groups of heavily armed bandits, drug traffickers and transnational criminal organizations are fueling corruption and gender-based violence, especially to the detriment of migrants, both those from surrounding areas and those in travel from Africa and Asia. Furthermore, the area is increasingly exposed to the consequences of climate change and extreme weather events, which make life and the possibility of accessing resources even more difficult. If we consider only Honduras, the data speak of 3.2 million people in need of help and in many cases also of food assistance.

Murders and rapes. North Central America has one of the highest homicide rates in the world. Entire communities are displaced by internal conflicts and weather disasters and the most serious consequence is that many children stop going to school and are recruited into criminal gangs. The problem has reached such alarming proportions that in March of this year Honduras promulgated a law to support internally displaced persons and deploy all the necessary resources to combat violence and forced recruitment, especially of children.

Violence against women. Rates of sexual assault and femicide far exceed those globally. Many families assisted by the Norwegian Refugee Council in Honduras told how criminal gangs used violence to take over their lands and homes and threatened to kidnap and recruit children. Women are continually exposed to domestic abuse, including rape and sexual assault. In 2022, one woman was killed every twenty-eight hours in Honduras, reports Swiss Info.

The crisis increases, the support decreases. Although people’s needs are growing, funding levels last year were inadequate to meet needs. El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras – denounces the Norwegian Council for Refugees – have received less than half the amounts they actually needed. 70 percent of all funding for the region in 2022 came from the United States, while Europe, the Gulf countries and the large Asian economies were almost completely absent.

The data released. 9.3 million people are in need of aid across the region, including 3.2 million in Honduras, 5 million in Guatemala and 1.1 million in El Salvador. In 2022, El Salvador received the lowest levels of funding in the world: just over a quarter of actual needs. Honduras was given 43.6 percent of what it requested and Guatemala 36.9 percent.