Quote:
Originally Posted by BigRedChief
I went to Roatan on a cruise. Took a bus over to the beach to snorkel among the coral, beautiful blue water and hang at the beach. We went by some of the poorest looking neighborhoods. Looked like no electricity or running water in these neighborhoods. Beach and coral were excellent but that looked like an mid-Sahara Africa destitute place.
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Yep, when I lived there, a labroer would make $5 USD a day. They have little roadside puperias that sell small bags of rice and beans, 6 eggs, little cartons of milk, because that's all they can afford on the way home. The poor enclaves are mostly mainlanders that come to Roatan for work (very little economic activity in the mainland). The residents of the isalnd are descendants of African slaves and are VERY proud of their English schooling and churching, and far MUCH better than the hispanic mainlanders. They actually look down on them because they are so destitute, father and brothers will prostitute their young daughters and sisters. It's soul crushing but I've seen it first hand. The Hill Folk live in concrete "foundations" (appears as if it was going to be a neighborhood but construction stopped), which is ok until rainy season. I took some workers home one day into the hills, and those roads are impossible to describe...as are the living conditions.