“Remember that climate change, corrupt governments, and insufficient aid related to COVID-19 and natural disasters are critical migration factors and legacies of global colonialism and capitalism. Dismantle border policing and violence. Be in solidarity with migrants.” – The CentAm Collective
One of the most recent and devastating natural disasters that affected Central America was a category four hurricane called Hurricane Eta. It has laid damage to the following countries; Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, Belize, Panama, Mexico and more.
Panamanian officials report that there have been 17 deaths and 76 people missing in the flooding and landslides that came as a result of Hurricane Eta. While major news outlets have yet to cover this hurricane, it’s certainly better to know and spread awareness about it sooner, rather than later.
Any contribution to the following places, whether it is through money, self-educating or providing allyship and advocacy, will be a great source of aid to the families in Central America. They should know that they are not alone and are thought-about through these difficult times.
I have also linked great educational tools and resources on topics such as race and class equality as well as environmentalism. Having hard, but important conversations with your friends and families that focus on such topics can help bring about a ripple effect for allyship, change and progress here for immigrants in the United States, people living in Central America and elsewhere worldwide.
The first place you can go for obtaining more information about Central America and Hurricane Eta is a place called Beyond The Bubble. Beyond The Bubble is a resource created by a Honduras born and raised Villanova University Alum, a woman named Massiel Valladares. In addition to providing where Northern American and international donors can provide donations going towards relief in Honduras and Nicaragua, she breaks topics like environmentalism, intersectional feminism, anti-neoliberalism, anti-colonialism and radical self-love.
In her blog, you can find a list of books, podcasts, articles and essays about a variety of subtopics from environmental care to advocating for women’s rights in Central America and worldwide.
The second place for donating any amount of money to Honduran families is an Instagram page called Potracha, or as translated, Americanized Honduran. Not only is there a Gofundme page for ongoing donations to provide financial aid and news about Honduras, but the Instagram page itself also touches briefly on the history of the Spanish conquest. That piece of history can be a discussion point to engage in anti-racism and advocating for change and progress in an independent nation, also known as dismantling decolonization.
The third place that you can donate any amount of money going towards Hurricane Eta relief is a Gofundme page titled relief for communities affected by Hurricane ETA. The donation page was created and organized by a Honduran woman named Lourdes Fugon. The money donated is going towards materials such as wood and metal to rebuild homes lost in the hurricane as well as essential items from toiletries to mattresses.
Through this Linktree, organized by Nicaraguan-American activist Anais Catalinaou, you can find stories about topics such as the mismanagement of COVID-19 in Nicaragua and police brutality among others. Lastly, more donation initiative’s, like Danilo’s Care, can be found in this Google spreadsheet titled Aiding Honduras Post-Eta
No matter what, just keep building on hope, healing and loving one another. Your community of friends, allies and I are with you always in building not only Central America but each other up.