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On the Day of the Dead in Honduras, the general cemetery, located in the neglected, gang-riddenChiverito neighborhood of the country's capital's turned into a heavily militarized area in order to secure families' safety during their celebrations. According to the tradition, families spend the whole day in the cemetery with their deceased loved ones.
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“I really miss them. I only come for the Day of the Dead, Mother's Day and Father's Day. This is a very dangerous place to go to,” said Maria del Rosario Gomez to teleSUR's correspondent while other people were cleaning graves in the background.
“When my father died 20 years ago, it was not that dangerous, I used to come here every Sunday with my mother,” she added.
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What was initially built as the resting place for former presidents, artists and prominent figures of the country is now part of the territory controlled by the Mara 18, a violent criminal organization.
Paintings on the graves sometimes represent their control of the territory, picturing symbols of the Maras, while the military units sharply contrast with the families offering gifts and flowers.
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The crime rate in Honduras reaches an average of 14 homicides per day, with a staggering 96 percent impunity rate. Militarization has increased since the government of Juan Orlando Hernandez in 2013, failing to properly address crime and violence while human rights violations by security forces have skyrocketed.
Families that still have some of the very few plots are advised to do their burials before 3:00 pm and the administration does not take responsibility for their safety.
Most families visit their loved ones on this one day, Nov. 2 when their security is guaranteed so they can clean, fix and paint the graves and bring a new funeral crown. They will have to wait a whole year to come back.
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