Central America

I'm sure I could have posted this in my journal instead of bother you all, but I figured this was worth sharing. As you know, I have been here in Central America or a little more than 5 weeks now. Within the past few weeks, there has been a massive hurricane/Tropical Storm (Stan), and EArthquake and a series of very deadly mudslides. The hardest hit areas have been in the southern part of Mexico Chiapas), Guatemala, and El Salvador...with damage also being done throughout the rest of Central America, Including my beloved Honduras. While I have been fortunate here in Copán and have experienced nothing more than some massive quantities of rain, others have not even come close to being as lucky. Around Lago Atitlan, where I was planning my next trip, entire villages (mostly indigenous) have been washed off the mountiain, quickly turning themselves in to Mass graves. Roads have been washed out making any type of relief effort very difficult if not imposssible... RELIEF EFFORT, that's what saddens me... I have access to CNN, Internet, CNN ESPAñOL and other channels, and I have been bombarded with stories of Pakistan, The UStates and other matters. Please, I am not saying that those are not significant world events, but I am saying that I have seen little to no mention of Central America. How the hell did we manage to not make the news?! Where is the relief effort and pledges from President Bush and other nations to help the people that are quickly losing hope and life HERE?! Where's OUR millions of dollars? And don't think the people here don't
realize that they have somehow made it onto the backburner...if they are even there anymore. While you cannot believe every news story, there have been local reports that the damage done and amount of lives lost recently is greater than that done in 1998 during Hurrican Mitch....Remember Mitch...that's the reason that I first came down here in 2004 and 2005, to continue efforts to rebuild from a storm that hit SIX AND SEVEN YEARS EARLIER. So much has happened in the past few months, so many natural disasters, and so many lives lost..... the question is, who has a greater ability to recooperate and make a strong effort to rebuild...and how quickly? I have a hunch that it may be a very long time before the people here will be able to rebuild.
On that note, I thought I would mention that I will try to go to Guatemala tomorrow, friday or saturday. I still have some people to talk to first and am waiting for the librarian here to make up her mind (She used to live out on Lago Atitlan). I have intentions to go to Antigua within the next few days and then hop a bus the next day, if possible, to go to Lago Atitlan to help where and however I can. Of course, this is all dependent on traveling conditions and whether or not a bus is able to go there.
Wish me luck, and please keep the people of Central America in you thoughts as
well as those suffering in other parts of the World.
Alissa