Turns out although Mexico gets most of the press, violence is other Central American countries is actually, in some cases, much worse. According to a recent article in the LA Times, Honduras has a murder rate that is 15 times what it is in the U.S., and (are you paying attention?), four times what it is in Mexico.
You can read the rest of the article by clicking HERE. There’s an article today in a Spanish publication out of Honduras. You can see that by clicking HERE.
Bad press had an impact on our internship program this past summer, with only 3 interns braving Mexico City’s peaceful streets. More students went to Guatemala and Honduras. Missionaries living there know…in most big cities in countries to our south, murder and kidnapping are increasingly common realities.
Just imagine this scenario…a policeman stops you and you’re really not sure if he is a good guy or a bad guy. You experience a robbery…and hesitate to call the cops for fear that they might see what the inside of your house is like and come back to finish the job. You go to the police station to report an express kidnapping, and recognize one of the criminals seated at the first desk you encounter. This last story is true. The other ones certainly could be.
At the end of the day, all of this goes back to a respect for the law, and ultimately a respect for the Lawgiver. The rule of law, as the U.S. enjoys, is one of the privileges we inherited from the Pilgrims, the Puritans, the Awakenings under Jonathan Edwards, and many godly men throughout the last 225 years, who together created a salty society. As Christ’s values are devalued, don’t be surprised if you can’t trust your local policemen. It all, after all, goes back to the Bible. Democracy is much more than giving people a vote, it implies that people have a conscience as well. Otherwise, it is just another method of manipulation, another way of dominance and control.
I want to finish this post by mentioning that we have never had a problem here with safety. Not once. Most of the craziness is centered in the northern border with the U.S. Ultimately, however, our lives are in God’s hands, no matter where we happen to be.
