Meet the President, Get Robbed: Just Another Day in Honduras

2009-10-13T16:40:33-04:00

2009-10-10T16:00:11-04:00

2009-10-13T16:40:33-04:00

http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/648/066/thumb/bworm.jpg 91 NJ

DRENK

Stylin' Park 648706

24 HAHAHAHA im from honduras, got family there, still wouldnt walk around by myself. Use your head idiot!! The countries going through political turmoil, thats just given criminals, like those that robbed you, a feeling that they can get away with more, like they did. Common sense bro! 7238210

2009-10-13T12:38:17-04:00

http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/414/46/thumb/30092009594.jpg 691 BR

Raven1971

Manaus 41666

23 After all the concern surrounding whether this match would even take place on Honduran soil, I'm glad to see it went so smoothly, with your one exception, Grant. As for the politics behind Zelaya, it's easy to sit back at home and watch these events unfold on TV and formulate opinions; it's quite another if you see what this man intends to become, as I have with Chavez. I work with the Amazonian indians, and am currently starting an ethnographic study on the indigenous soldiers who fill the ranks of the Brazilian Army's Special Frontier Platoons. As such, I spend a considerable amount of time during my visits in military posts on the border; ironically, the most dangerous segment of the border in the last ten years has switched from the Brazil-Colombia border to the Brazil-Venezuela border, as that populist dung beetle Chavez gives shelter and weapons to FARC rebels and free use of airfields and ports to Colombian drug traffickers. When I say dangerous, I mean for a soldier - civilians don't even think of going to some of these remote areas. I myself wouldn't consider it were I not former military myself. There are, literally, bodies floating down the river from Chavez's side of the line. Zelaya, an admirer of Chavez, played his part, allowing flights from Venezuelan airspace to land without passing through customs (Brazilian and American tracking radars confirm this). Letting this man return to power would be a disaster for Honduras - and I doubt a World Cup qualifier would come off as smoothly for the USMNT. Enough on politics. 7232303

2009-10-13T00:14:54-04:00

queensgirl

No City 888634

22 Hi Grant. I'm the person at Chase that helped you when your credit card was stolen, just checking to make sure you arrived alive. Also enjoyed reading your commentary. It would be nice if the whole world could stop talking politics for 90 minutes and watch a game together. Take care. 7225167

2009-10-13T00:12:13-04:00

queensgirl

No City 888634

21 I'm the woman from Chase that talked to you when you had your credit card stolen. Just wanted to make sure you made it back alright. Enjoyed reading your commentary too. It'd be nice if the whole world could stop talking politics for 90 minutes and watch a game together. Take care. 7225163

2009-10-10T17:40:36-04:00

NYAztec

Queens 592840

6 Did you really have to throw in that Micheletti said that the robber was probably a Zelaya supporter? I know it's tough to get robbed, but I doubt his intent to rob you had anything to do with politics. As for Micheletti, what better way to appease the masses than using the veil of nationalism. Sure he can be a fan, but man Honduras needs more than a soccer fan president. If he didn't want to deal with the Zelaya incident maybe he shouldn't have ousted the president then. At least in light of the match, a win would be good for a country that needs a boost. 7200854

2009-10-12T21:35:04-04:00

699

serotonin

No City 37039

Did you really have to throw in that Micheletti said that the robber was probably a Zelaya supporter? I know it's tough to get robbed, but I doubt his intent to rob you had anything to do with politics.

20 Gee, you think? (get a sense of humor, dude) 7224060

2009-10-10T21:24:59-04:00

Tshalla

No City 560158

10 Unless you met Zelaya, you didn't meet the Honduran president. 7202161

2009-10-12T21:32:22-04:00

699

serotonin

No City 37039

Unless you met Zelaya, you didn't meet the Honduran president.

19 This guy also probably thinks Obama deserves the Nobel Peace Prize he was nominated for only 11 days into his term. 7224021

2009-10-10T20:40:06-04:00

yeahdawg

Elmhurst 21745

8 Grant - always a fan. I should note, though, that as a Nigerian-American, I find it insensitive to the point of stereotype to suggest that working a week in Nigeria alone constitutes a "hairy situation". Surely, many of the 150 million folks spread around that country go by week after week, with nary a hairy situation. As with any where else, some parts are safer than others - and many, many parts are absolutely, positively peaceful and safe. The absurdly cheerful lot that Nigerians are, I bet you met a lot of kind and smiling faces. It is not fair to dismissively drop in this sort of a reference without any context as it only serves to perpetuate stereotypes. I will take the liberty to say the same holds true for a "drive across Mexico". Its 2009 and "yes we can" do better. One Nigerian fan's 2 cents. 7201921

2009-10-12T21:30:33-04:00

699

serotonin

No City 37039

A bunch of our soccer team (Gooch, edu) are from the place so it can't be that bad right?

18 Here's a thought: Maybe you should wonder why Gooch and Maurice's parents *left*? Nigeria, like most of Africa's countries, suffers from intermittent to-the-point-of-routine turmoil. Nigeria continues to experience longstanding ethnic and religious tensions. Both the 2003 and 2007 presidential elections were marred by significant social irregularities and violence. Sure, there are parts of the country which are no doubt reliably peaceful, and the country isn't continually war-torn or suffering from genocidal tribal conflicts (unlike some of its neighbors). But Nigeria has had a rough enough recent history, relatively speaking, that Wahl's off-hand comment is not unjustified. Besides, #8 doesn't even have any idea where Wahl went in Nigeria, or when. As I said, strife in Nigeria has been recently common enough that Wahl could have easily been there during a troubled period, thus justifying the wary tone of his recollection of the event. #8 accuses Wahl of being insensitive, but I would accuse #8 of being oversensitive. 7224005

2009-10-10T16:41:03-04:00

stevie in GP

Washington 764104

1 Nice last paragraph, brother. Now please: take care of yourself. 7200602

2009-10-12T21:15:11-04:00

699

serotonin

No City 37039

Interim president Micheletti apologized for the robbery and said that it no doubt was a Zelaya supporter.

17 lmao. 7223918

2009-10-12T11:34:52-04:00

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Big Chaco

Los Angeles 36694

16 Great column. When I was in Honduras, I thought it was the most beautiful country I've ever walked on. I like how your columns maintain to be apolitical. Its a great feature. 7215194

2009-10-10T21:24:59-04:00

Tshalla

No City 560158

10 Unless you met Zelaya, you didn't meet the Honduran president. 7202161

2009-10-12T01:41:46-04:00

http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/383/39/thumb/SpongeBob.jpg 48 XX

Sleeper

Vangroovy, BC 38503

Unless you met Zelaya, you didn't meet the Honduran president.

15 You must be an Obamaniac. Completely unaware of international affairs. Zelaya was removed as per the country's constitution. 7210499

<style></style> TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras -- For a few minutes on Friday night, Honduran interim president Roberto Micheletti sounded happy to be talking with a reporter about something other than the political crisis which has engulfed his country. Micheletti is a soccer fan, and tonight in San Pedro Sula, the Honduran national team plays its most important game in 27 years, a World Cup qualifier against the United States. If Honduras wins, it will almost certainly clinch a World Cup berth for the first time since 1982. And Micheletti, for his part, thinks his Catrachos will do more than just win. "Honduras 4, United States 0!" Micheletti told me in Spanish. "The heart of the Hondurans is bigger than ever!" Micheletti has a lot on his plate these days. With mediation from the Organization of American States, his aides met this week with representatives of Manuel Zelaya, who was deposed as president on June 28. Zelaya snuck back into Honduras on Sept. 21 and has been holed up in the Brazilian embassy here ever since. No other countries, including the U.S., have recognized Micheletti's regime. Even though no resolution to the standoff has been reached, Honduras will put aside politics for 90 minutes tonight to support their national team. "Soccer unites all Hondurans," Micheletti explained during our 10-minute conversation, "without distinction among classes, political parties, religion or race. Soccer brings everyone together." "We still remember our national team from 1982, and we Hondurans all live with the dream of returning to the World Cup. Let's hope that God gives us the opportunity to achieve this goal, which we'd do by beating the Gringos and the Salvadorans [on Wednesday]." A fan of two Honduran clubs (Real España and Motagua) who says he still plays soccer once or twice a year, Micheletti won't be at the stadium tonight, but he did say that he would be watching the game in his living room at home. "I have to watch at home because I scream a lot at the TV," he said. The de facto president is no dummy: He knows that a Honduras win tonight will be good from him politically. But he also seemed to be a genuine fan, naming off several of his favorite Honduran players, including Carlos Pavón, Carlos Costly, David Suazo and Ramón Núñez, and he seemed more than a little bullish about tonight's game. "We have players from international clubs on our team, and therefore we have a lot of confidence, hope and faith that we will achieve this victory," he told me. "But I want to wish both teams luck, that they play a clean game and that for a moment we can forget any sadness [in the country] and enjoy a great soccer game." And if Honduras qualifies for the World Cup? "I'll call a national holiday," said Micheletti. "We are going to celebrate!" *** Friday was an odd day for me. One moment I was speaking with the man who runs Honduras, and another moment I was being robbed at gunpoint in Tegucigalpa. My idea had been to drive from San Pedro Sula about 150 miles southeast to the capital, stopping to interview people along the way about the significance of the Honduran soccer team's success during a time of deep divisions within the country. And that's exactly what I did. I spoke to businessmen in San Pedro Sula, gas-station workers in Comayagua and even <a href="http://img27.yfrog.com/i/g7w.jpg/" target="_blank">a clown</a> that I encountered on the side of the road in a dusty town outside Tegucigalpa. (The man, whose nom de clown is Chiquitón, said he'd be watching the game. He also said that he clowns at birthday parties, Christmas celebrations and even funerals.) Along the way I discovered that Honduras is a beautiful country, with forest-green mountains, gorgeous lakes and friendly people. Except, perhaps, for one. On Friday afternoon, I ventured to the embassy district of Tegucigalpa, where hundreds of gun-toting police have surrounded the Brazilian embassy (and its occupant Zelaya). The police chief gave me the clearance to interview some soccer-loving police officers, whose scowls melted into smiles as they talked of getting a few hours off from work to watch USA-Honduras. After we finished, I started walking back to my car, which I had parked a few blocks away in what appeared to be a safe part of town a stone's throw from the U.S. embassy. And then, in broad daylight, with hundreds of police officers only a couple hundred yards away, a 20-something male ran up behind me, pulled out a gun, and threatened to kill me if I didn't give him my things. I've had experience working in some hairy situations -- from a week in Nigeria to a drive across Mexico, from a story near the Israeli-Lebanese border to a road-trip with hardcore soccer fans in Argentina -- but I had never been threatened with a gun before. I gave him my wallet and iPhone, and thankfully he disappeared down the aptly named Avenida de Paz (Peace). But I did survive, chastened and a bit embarrassed. Interim president Micheletti apologized for the robbery and said that it no doubt was a Zelaya supporter. Check back before and during tonight's game to Grant Wahl's live commentary from San Pedro Sula on <a href="http://twitter.com/GrantWahl" target="_blank">Twitter</a>.   80761 http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/194/315/thumb/wahl_grant.jpg 11 MD

Grant Wahl

Baltimore 194615