Jail Fire Injustice

The people of Honduras, specifically Comayagua, have been hit with a blow of negative emotions. A few days ago the local jail had a fire breakout inside. Prisoners and guards alike were only concerned with the fight to survive. We don’t know the cause of the fire but there are rumors circulating. Some say the fire was started by the government as a way of mass executing the prisoners. There have been four other fires recently and the locals use this as proof for their accusations. There were over 300 people killed in the fire. Some were killed by smoke inhalation and others by the fire itself. Over 100 people are unaccounted for. This could mean that they are among the dead and have not been counted yet or it could mean that they have escaped and are now roaming around Comayagua. This jail was designed to hold 500 prisoners and it was packed full with 800. The living conditions were much less than ideal. It’s been reported that there was a riot inside the jail before the fire broke out. Was fire thrown at the prisoners? No one knows.

I was teaching in eleventh grade today. We finished our lesson about ten minutes early. One of my students asked me how I felt about the fire. This sparked a conversation about what we all thought was the cause and reason behind the fires. They, my students, are convinced the Honduran government is the reason that so many people died. I gave my opinions with much reservation because I didn’t want to offend or say something I would later regret. There are pictures of the fire and the people who were killed in it. I was shown one such picture on a students phone this morning and it made my stomach turn. The best thing I can relate it to is the Holocaust. There was a stack of people at the end of a hall pilled on top of each other. It looks like they were using each other to try and escape the flames before they were engulfed.

People have mixed feelings about this event and rightly so. Some feel sad that it happened but justify it by saying that those killed were mostly criminals who deserved it. What about the people who were innocent? What about the people who were in there for stealing and not killing or raping? Do these people deserve to die? Most people see the injustice in this situation. Although most people at MABS (Maranatha Adventist Bilingual School) are not personally affected there are a few.

A student from sixth grade has a story that really affected me. Bianca, another missionary here, was teaching him Bible class. She told the class to make cards for the families of those affected by the jail fire. This boy raised his hand and asked if he had to. She asked why and the boy started to tear up and he ran outside. She followed him to find out what was going on. The boy told this story. His uncle did not want all of the prisoners to die in a fire. He ran in and started helping some of them escape. Sadly, the boy’s uncle did not make it out alive. He died trying to save men who society had branded as criminals and who the government had branded as ‘worthy of death.’ This boy cried his heart out. His story made us all think of this fire in another way. The people who died were not just prisoners. They were people like you and me.

The school has a cloud over it. As more information comes out about the fire people get more and more upset, hurt, and sad about this tragedy. This is the biggest jail fire here. Comayagua made history this week. Sadly, the story that unfolded was not a happy one. We are continuing to pray for the families affected by the fire and also for the safety of Honduras. There are potentially many escaped prisoners out on the loose. Two prisoners were found at a school near the jail recently. Lauren and I planned on going to Santa Barbara this weekend but due to this turn of events decided to use caution and remain here. We wont be the only ones wanting to travel on the buses.

Will we ever hear the true story of what happened? Probably not.