Although this blog entry is labeled "Honduras Living - The Yahoo Group", this post isn't about Honduras Living. It's about another Honduran related Yahoo group. One that doesn't (how do I say this without offending people?) . Judging by the fact that I was temporarily blocked from it for posting my opinions about foreigners and their employers abusing the Honduran labor laws in the tourism industry, they don't like me or my point of view much either. I have met cool people that frequently contribute to that group, but it is the right wing polar opposite to HL. The following set of posting are about the "migra", in Honduras, raiding an area dominated by foreigners and dive shops. The thread started with people looking to confirm or inquire about the raid.
The thread took a wrong turn when I responded to:
"Let's not forget that there are 500,000 illegal Hondurans living and working
in the US and double that in Mexico, Guatemala and El Salvador."
with:
Let's not forget that those Hondurans working in the counties you mentioned get
paid peanuts for work no one else will do, while all the foreign dive
instructors are here doing something they love and getting paid well for it. So
illegals in the States sing slave songs, while illegals in Honduras whistle
while they work.
Does this qualify as culture shock? I never imagined I'd hear about N. Americans
and Europeans hiding from raids. This is hilarious to me, to a certain degree.
My personal opinion is that immigration is a human right, but you have to adhere
to laws no matter what.
This was funny to me because when I left L.A., "La Migra" and police were raiding Latin communities and businesses to weed out the illegals. In the process of doing so, they were beating and harassing even US born Latinos. Old ladies, handicapped, they were all complaining about the unnecessary force used during those raids. I didn't hear any similar complaints from the Gringos "harassed" in that town. If those same cops were raiding Honduran criminals, someone would have shed blood for sure. So don't whine next Semana Santa.
Obviously offended, the same guy responded with:
Let's not forget that any Honduran can walk into any dive shop in Roatan or
Utila and get their certification to become a PADI Instructor for FREE, but
99.99% of them cannot pass the written exam sections of the PADI course.
I wanted to tell him that if businesses like his actually paid taxes like they are supposed to instead of keeping two sets of books, one to tell him what his business is actually doing and one to tell Tio Sam only what he thinks he should know, our educational system may not be doing so poorly. That would have resulted in a childish volley of jabs so I ignored it, but it did sting having him insult 99.99% of Hondurans like that. His statement is completely false. I think maybe one dive shop actually sponsors people for free. I'm considering doing a bookkeeping trade for certification, and that still doesn't cover the entire cost. Dive shops aren't exactly comfortable places to be in if you're a Spaniard (the Honduran kind). As soon as you walk in all the people there pause, stare, then proceed to slowly gather their cigarettes, cell phones, wallets and other personal belongings they are usually comfortable littering around a dive shop setting.
Becoming a dive instructor is officially on my list of immediate goals. I overcame my fear of swimming and now I hope to work illegally in other countries! As another group member posted in the same thread:
"there is NO better job then a PADI instructor! especially on a caribbean island."
Why wouldn't I want to do that myself? Because then I'll only eat beans and rice for a while. Hmmmmmmm?!?!?!
I did get a job offer from the following request in that thread, but that person's last name is Gonzales, so no points for that group.
Can you send me your resume off group please
Resort Manager
This group isn't all bad, just mostly.
The thread took a wrong turn when I responded to:
"Let's not forget that there are 500,000 illegal Hondurans living and working
in the US and double that in Mexico, Guatemala and El Salvador."
with:
Let's not forget that those Hondurans working in the counties you mentioned get
paid peanuts for work no one else will do, while all the foreign dive
instructors are here doing something they love and getting paid well for it. So
illegals in the States sing slave songs, while illegals in Honduras whistle
while they work.
Does this qualify as culture shock? I never imagined I'd hear about N. Americans
and Europeans hiding from raids. This is hilarious to me, to a certain degree.
My personal opinion is that immigration is a human right, but you have to adhere
to laws no matter what.
This was funny to me because when I left L.A., "La Migra" and police were raiding Latin communities and businesses to weed out the illegals. In the process of doing so, they were beating and harassing even US born Latinos. Old ladies, handicapped, they were all complaining about the unnecessary force used during those raids. I didn't hear any similar complaints from the Gringos "harassed" in that town. If those same cops were raiding Honduran criminals, someone would have shed blood for sure. So don't whine next Semana Santa.
Obviously offended, the same guy responded with:
Let's not forget that any Honduran can walk into any dive shop in Roatan or
Utila and get their certification to become a PADI Instructor for FREE, but
99.99% of them cannot pass the written exam sections of the PADI course.
I wanted to tell him that if businesses like his actually paid taxes like they are supposed to instead of keeping two sets of books, one to tell him what his business is actually doing and one to tell Tio Sam only what he thinks he should know, our educational system may not be doing so poorly. That would have resulted in a childish volley of jabs so I ignored it, but it did sting having him insult 99.99% of Hondurans like that. His statement is completely false. I think maybe one dive shop actually sponsors people for free. I'm considering doing a bookkeeping trade for certification, and that still doesn't cover the entire cost. Dive shops aren't exactly comfortable places to be in if you're a Spaniard (the Honduran kind). As soon as you walk in all the people there pause, stare, then proceed to slowly gather their cigarettes, cell phones, wallets and other personal belongings they are usually comfortable littering around a dive shop setting.
Becoming a dive instructor is officially on my list of immediate goals. I overcame my fear of swimming and now I hope to work illegally in other countries! As another group member posted in the same thread:
"there is NO better job then a PADI instructor! especially on a caribbean island."
Why wouldn't I want to do that myself? Because then I'll only eat beans and rice for a while. Hmmmmmmm?!?!?!
I did get a job offer from the following request in that thread, but that person's last name is Gonzales, so no points for that group.
Can you send me your resume off group please
Resort Manager
This group isn't all bad, just mostly.
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