STATEMENT: Congresswoman Ramirez Discusses Democracy, Human Rights, Migration with Grassroots, Indigenous Communities in Honduras
Chicago, IL – Today, Congresswoman Delia C. Ramirez (IL-03) released the following statement after returning from a six-day delegation to Honduras with other Congressional offices to meet with and learn from grassroots and Indigenous communities, and civil society.
“I recently returned from a trip to Honduras, where I had the privilege to listen to and learn with grassroots and indigenous groups about the root causes of migration. I want to express my gratitude for the time, wisdom, and generosity of local leaders and communities. We who care about human rights, land defense, environmental protection, and democracy-building in the United States have much to learn from the organizers and movement leaders across Honduras.
While we may be thousands of miles apart, the fights for justice across Latin America – struggles that drive migration to the U.S. southern border – share common roots with the movements and organizing in Illinois’ Third Congressional District. Whether it is the struggle to ensure community control of land, resist displacement, expose corporate influence’s destructive impact on our environment and politics, or build solidarity economies and cooperatives, we cannot deny that our efforts, stability, and success are interconnected.
It is also impossible to visit with the Garifuna, the Lenca, the Campesinos, the land defenders, and those who mourn assassinated leaders and disappeared loved ones and not face the US’ complicity in creating conditions that drive the migration of hondureños. For too long, American interests have treated Honduras and other Central American countries as our “back patio” and our free market playgrounds. For decades, US companies that participate in human rights violations and the destruction of the cultural, political, and environmental inheritance of the Honduran people have acted with impunity. US dollars, influence, and leadership have been used to privatize, displace, extract, intimidate, and silence those who would dare to defend their ancestral land rights, their collective economic models, and their precious natural resources.
Congresswoman Ramirez visits Berta Cáceres Flores’ resting place in Honduras.
I sat both with Juan López’s compañeras and with the leaders who rose up after the assassination of Berta Cáceres Flores. Justice must be realized for environmentalists Juan and Berta. Protection must be implemented for all those who continue to experience grave threats as they fight for their democracy and human rights. Land restoration must be delivered for the Garifuna, Campesino collectives, and Lenca people.
Is there more that must be demanded and delivered by Honduras’ own government? Absolutely. As a US Congressperson, I am concerned that the United States’ own policies and practices reflect a commitment to the dignity, sovereignty, and self-determination of the Honduran people.
As a founder of the Global Migration Caucus and the Vice Ranking Member of the Homeland Security committee, it is clear to me that to address the global crisis of migration, we must protect the sources of life for people across the globe – the land, the water, the air, the forests. We must use our influence and resources to ensure that everyone has not only the right to migrate, but the right to remain, free of persecution, violence, economic deprivation, and corruption.
I am working every day to deliver policies in Illinois’ Third Congressional District that encourage community control of land, resist displacement, expose corporate influence’s destructive impact on our environment and our politics, and build solidarity economies and cooperatives. I want nothing less for the people of Honduras.”
For photos of the delegation, CLICK HERE.