The Day the Cell Phones Died...

Two weeks.  It’s been two weeks since cell phones in Honduras went silent.  No calls in.  No calls out.  No internet access via cell phone.  Nothing.  Nada.  Zip. Zilch.

And it’s not just one cell phone company -- it’s all three of them.  (I often forget that Hondutel, the Ma Bell of Honduras, offers cell phone service.)

So what is causing all of the trouble? The government.  I rarely get political in my posts, but there’s no way to avoid it with this one.  It’s the government that is blocking cell phone service.  Or, more accurately, it’s the government that has mandated the block.

Back in December, 2013, the then-Congress and then-President signed a law that cell phone signals in the vicinity of the 24 prisons in the country would be blocked.  The move was deemed necessary to combat the contraband cell phones that are abundant in the prisons.  Even though they’re in prison, gang members and “crime bosses” have been able to run their organizations from behind bars.  Make a phone call, “push a button”. (Did you notice the gratuitous reference to The Godfather?)

The blockade began on Friday, February 7.  And that, my friends, is the day the cell phones died…

The thinking behind it was to cut off communication with the outside world.  The problem with that is that the majority of prisoners receive their daily food and water from family members or friends (just like at at public hospitals, but that’s a post for another day), which is, of course, how most of the cell phones make it inside.  So, if family and friends are providing the daily bread, there is STILL contact with the free world.

Another HUGE problem is that the blocked vicinity is a one-mile radius around each prison.  That ends up effectively being most of the cities where the prisons are located.

The net effect has been that almost no one can make or receive phone calls.  

Need the police?  Nope. 

Is your house burning down?  Oops.  So sorry.

Medical emergency?  You’re outta luck.

Want a pizza delivered?  Get off your butt and walk across the street to Pizza Hut.  (OK, for the record, I’ve never called Pizza Hut to deliver.  Yes, it really is just across the street from us.  I much prefer Little Caesar’s, anyway!)

The problem with all of this is that the government did not think about the consequences of their implementation.  Many businesses ONLY use a cell phone, so they are hurting.  The full economic impact has yet to be seen.

I actually have cell signal when I'm at the university each day.  Unfortunately, because everyone I would need to call is within the restricted zone, it really makes no difference.  

So, for two weeks we’ve been without cell phones (and still having to pay for our phone plans, I might add).  And, for those same two weeks I’ve been sounding like a broken record, telling anyone who would listen that the technology to block calls JUST at the prisons is relatively simple.  I’ve also been saying that it would ultimately be the cell phone companies themselves who push for the solution since they are losing money hand over fist.

Lo, and behold, an article in La Tribuna newspaper two days ago said that’s exactly what’s going to happen: the 3 cell phone companies are going to buy the needed equipment and put it in place at the 24 prisons.  THEN cell phone service for the rest of us will be restored.

When is all of this supposed to happen?  In 15 days. (Spanish, for two weeks.)  So, 15 days in Honduras is more likely at least a month.  Although, since the phone companies are losing so much money, there’s hope that they’ll get the equipment right away and dispatch those engineers to get it all up and running.

And, in other news, because of all of this, some of the more connected the “crime bosses” on the inside are getting their hands on satellite phones.  I guess when you’ve got to push a button, you’ve got to push a button.  And you find the technology…

Have a Beer. Or Two...

Yesterday I walked over to Maxi Dispensa, which is a Wal Mart affiliate store.  It’s a grocery store, plus some limited clothing, electronics, hardware, etc.  Even the grocery offerings are limited.  I guess I’ve gotten spoiled by how much Del Corral has grown as a “super market” now.  But Maxi Dispensa is great to buy a few things until my next trip to Corral.

So, anyway, yesterday I walked over to Maxi Dispensa to pick up just a few things we needed in the house.  I put my empty backpack in the little lockers and grabbed a roller basket for my groceries.  The produce at Maxi can be hit or miss, but yesterday it seemed generally okay.  A watermelon, a cantaloupe, a few oranges, tomatoes, some green peppers, blah, blah, blah.

I made my way over to the checkout lines and found the open one. I was just getting in line when a gentleman got in line right behind me.  I looked and saw that he only had 4 cans in his hands so I asked him if that was all he had.  Then I offered to let him go in front of me.

As the guy passed in front of me, I saw that his 4 cans were actually 4 cans of beer.  Yes, in Honduras you can buy single cans of beer at the grocery stores.  So, the guy puts his beer on the conveyor and I saw that, not only was it beer, but it was three cans of Port Royal and one can of Barena.  It struck me as a bit odd that he had three cans of one brand and one can of another, but, to each their own.

I started putting my food on the conveyor, and then someone got in line behind me.  He had a pretty full roller basket, so there wasn’t even a thought to let him go first.  Then I saw it: the guy behind me reached down into his basket and pulled out a bottle of beer.  A Coors Light.  He then proceeded to open it and chug, all while waiting in line.  I don’t think it took him more than 5 or 6 seconds to drain that bottle.  Wow!  That’s one thirsty dude.

As he finished the beer, I was standing there wondering what he was going to do with the empty.  It wouldn’t have surprised me a bit if he had just put the empty bottle on the shelves among the candy bars.  He didn’t.  He put the bottle back in his basket.  Then he started putting his stuff on the conveyor, behind mine.  That’s when I saw that he had 2 six-packs of Coors Light.  Well, not exactly.  He had 10 bottles of Coors Light.  The second six-pack container only had 4 bottles in it – and one of those was empty.

The girl at the register started ringing up my things and I started bagging them.  Then I saw the guy behind me open up a 2^nd beer and down it, almost as quickly as he had the first.  Was he trying to get a buzz on before he even walked out of the store?  He placed that empty bottle in the container, as well.

I was done paying and still bagging my things when the girl started to ring up “beer guy”.  The girl asked him how many beers (as if she couldn’t see them right in front of her) and he said, “Six.  Uh, no, eight.”  Then the girl asked, “Ten?”  “Yes.  Ten.”  I guess technically he was correct that he only had eight beers, since he had already consumed two of them.

I finished bagging my groceries while he was still checking out.  Then I dragged my heavy bags – remember the watermelon and cantaloupe, plus two bottles of Coke for Rosy – over to the counter behind the registers.  I retrieved my backpack and loaded it with the groceries, careful to place the tomatoes in such a way that they wouldn’t be crushed by the two large fruits.

By the time I got outside and started walking home, “beer guy” was already gone.  No doubt he was on his third beer…