Source:http://hondurasweekly.com/editorial/2972-insights-on-honduran-citizenship
Author: Marco Caceres, Honduras Weekly Editor
Original Blog / Document‘s Date [DD.MM.YYYY]:03.10.2010
Contributor:honadmin
I just came across an article written by Marco Cáceres, someone with whom I happen to share many common ideas and who, just like myself, happens to ”live Honduras“ – as he describes it - outside its geographical boundaries.
Before sharing his statement, I would like to complement it with my own thought:
The most valuable members of a society are those who can properly and factually answer the question: what have you done, and continue to do, for your fellowmen ? - independently on how long or how proudly one can respond to these other questions: how many resources do you have ? how knowledgeable or intelligent are you ? What professional or personal achievements and honors have you reached ?
Here is Marco’s article, entitled “Rethinking Honduran Citizenship”:
I have wanted to write this piece for a long time, but I did not know exactly why until recently when yet another in a long line of people suggested that since I did not actually live in Honduras I could not truly understand the reality of life in the country. The implication was that even though I was born in Honduras, most of my family lives in Honduras, I speak and write Honduran Spanish, I spend all my waking hours (and some of my sleeping ones) engaged on Honduras, and I may have good intentions, the fact that I was not now bodily present within its territorial boundaries somehow made me less Honduran or my opinions less valid. I confess that this debate tactic is annoying to me, because it feels arrogant and shallow. Worse of all, the attitude restricts the conversation because suddenly no matter how well you craft your points, you sense that the other person is not fully hearing you because he or she thinks of you as an outsider who could not possibly know. There is always the threat of that nasty trump card... "Ah, but you don't live here, do you?" And so the conversation becomes almost meaningless.
One of the problems that all countries have is that people have an extremely limited view of what being a citizen of their country means. If you happen to be born within a country and you reside in that country your entire life, then you are unquestionably a citizen of that country. Any variation on that formula subjects you to lesser opinions of your citizenship. For example, if you are a US-born citizen who happens to chose living in France, you may still be a US citizen, but your rank and loyalty is now more suspect because you are physically outside of your natural geographic borders.
Articles 23 and 24 of the Honduran Constitution specify how one is classified as Honduran by birth or by naturalization.
Article 23 defines Hondurans by birth as those born within the national territory with the exception of the children of diplomatic agents; those born abroad of a Honduran father or mother by birth; those born on board Honduran vessels or aircraft of war; those born on merchant vessels while they are in Honduran territorial waters; and infants of unknown parents found on the territory of Honduras.
Article 24 defines Hondurans by naturalization as Central Americans by birth who have resided in the country for one year; Spaniards and Ibero-Americans by birth who have resided in the country two consecutive years; those other foreigners who have resided in the country more than three consecutive years; those who have obtained naturalization papers decreed by the National Congress for extraordinary services rendered to Honduras; those immigrants that formed part of selected groups brought in by the government for scientific, agricultural or industrial purposes, who after one year of residence in the country fulfill the requirements of the Law; and those foreign persons married to Hondurans by birth.
It is interesting to observe how much emphasis is allocated to location and time. Obviously, I appreciate the importance of being present in order to understand the culture, the history, and the language of its people. But I see location and time as starting points from which to grow in one's citizenship... not end points on which to gloat and rest. In other words, the fact that one happens to have been born and happens to live somewhere on Earth, as opposed to somewhere else on Earth, should confer no special merit to a person. It was purely chance.
The real mark of citizenship in Honduras, or in any other nation, has less to do with birth, naturalization, or residency, and much more with what you do with that privilege. If all you do is sit back, complain, and criticize, then you do little to deserve citizenship. If you do not regularly give of yourself and your resources to help your fellow citizens in need, then you do little to deserve citizenship. If your actions and words focus on creating division and hatred within your country, then you do not deserve citizenship at all.
The greatest example of citizenship is constant service through quiet volunteerism. Without this, citizenship is empty. What does it matter where you landed or remain on this planet? Think more about "living Honduras" than merely living in Honduras. Otherwise, you're missing the most important element of being Honduran.
Foto-Source-URL:http://hondurasweekly.com/editorial/2972-insights-on-honduran-citizenship
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