Melissa's Story

Melissa was my interpreter for the two days I was in Talanga.  She is 21-years-old, a high school graduate, speaks English rather well, and does not have any children -that is something to brag about around here.  Melissa has an older sister, and a younger sister who is still in high school.  Their mother died when Melissa was very young, and after that, her father did not care about the three girls much.  When her older sister was 14, a Mexican woman said she could get her work in Costa Rica, and would take care of Melissa and her younger sister.  Their dad, eager to get rid of them, agreed.  The Mexican woman sold Melissa’s older sister to a man who got her pregnant, and then sold the baby in Costa Rica.  Once the baby was born, the lady sent Melissa’s sister back to Honduras.

Melissa and her younger sister were trafficked, and sold into child pornography.  Melissa told me that she was only about 5-years-old at the time, but remembers some things and knows that it was really bad.  I’m not exactly sure how long Melissa and her sister was held captive because I did not want to press her on information.  I do know that it had to have been a several years though.  Luckily, someone helped her and her sister get out, and they were placed in INFHA, which is the Honduran child services.  Melissa and her younger sister were then put the Good Shepherd children’s home, which is where I had a chance to visit earlier in my trip.  She and her sister stayed at the children’s home for about seven or eight years – until Melissa turned 18.  Melissa’s sister did not want to stay there by herself, so she left with Melissa, and they both went to live with their older sister.

Melissa’s older sister now has three children – all by the same father.  Unfortunately, he is a very violent man, and Melissa pleaded with her sister to move away from him.  She said she would rent an apartment for the three boys, and the three sisters to live in if her sister would leave her husband.  Now Melissa, 21-years-old, supports her older sister, her sister’s three boys, and her younger sister.  The older sister does not work because her youngest son is still an infant.  Her younger sister, now 16-years-old, is still in high school.  She tries to get interpreting jobs when she can, but the rent and bills are all mainly Melissa’s responsibility.  Can you imagine being 21-years-old and having to take care of three nephews, and two sisters?  I’m not sure how big their apartment is, but I have a feeling it’s a fraction of the size of my two-bedroom/two bathroom apartment in Philadelphia.  Situations like this make me realize how lucky I truly am.

The good news is that Melissa has a great head on her shoulders, and once her older sister can go back to work, she wants to save up money to go to university.  She hopes to get her degree in English.  We are now Facebook friends, and I promised to keep in touch with her, and to come back to Honduras and see her again.  I’m hoping to see her a couple of more times before I leave Honduras too.

This is Melissa and me with Colonel Osorio of Talanga, Honduras.

My Trip to Talanga, Honduras!

Buenos!

First of all, I want to apologize for my lack in blogging.  I have not had access to the Internet since last Thursday evening, so I couldn’t post anything.  I know that some of you have been calling my parents non-stop because you haven’t heard from me.  If you could stop the threatening them, I would really appreciate it.  They’re old, and all they want to do is sit on their back porch, drink some sangria, and knit/smoke a cigar.  Thank you kindly!

As I mentioned before, last week I had the opportunity to travel to Talanga, Honduras and meet with Gracie Murphree, who runs The Heart of Christ organization, and a women’s refuge.  Even though I was only there for two days, it felt much longer, and the things I saw and heard will never leave my memory.  I have several stories of young girls I want to tell, but let me preface with a few statistics Gracie gave me that are specific to Honduras.

·      In 2005, a woman was murdered every three days.

·      In 2010, 400 women were murdered, which means more than one woman per day

·      90% of Honduras has no police, phones, or vehicles – how is anyone, let alone a woman, supposed to get help?

·      Only 12% of special crimes (domestic violence, family violence, rape, murder, child pornography, human trafficking, sexual exploitation of minors, and child abuse) ever make it to court

·      Only 1% of special crimes ever get finished in court because the preservation of evidence is horrible

·      More than 50% of women will give birth before the age of 18

·      1 in 3 girls will be sexually abused by age 12

·      50% of women will have had sexual violence committed against them by the age of 18

·      More than 50% of all households have violence in them

·      Less than 10% of domestic violence victims report it to the authorities

·      70% of all households have single mothers

·      70% of all women and children who migrate illegally to the United States fall into human trafficking

*These statistics came from the UN report on violence and the National Institute of Women, as well as the World Bank.

Now that you have some background information, I’m going to make you more depressed.  I cannot apologize for this though - these stories need to be told.  I hope you are moved as much as I was.

Gracie and me before I left last Tuesday!