Author: David Natarén

Four years ago, sitting in the auditorium of a German university, sweating excessively that summer, I heard Amartya Sen talk about his ideas on development. Sen had been awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics for these postulates and they were later used as the basis for the formulation of the UNDP Human Rights Index.

I concluded that Hondurans must fight for what he said in order to affirm that the country has been transformed for the benefit of all. Because of length issues, it is challenging to develop the argument I made with the depth it deserves, but I can summarize it like this: We must work towards a free society.

In this case, I mean freedom in the broad sense, including economic and political aspects as means to seek our fulfillment as human beings. Currently, there are many factors beyond our control that limit our freedom in Honduras. I especially remember when in 2008 I had to make the decision to sacrifice part of my study time to work and be able to pay for food and essential expenses that would allow me to pursue my college degree. A decision I was forced to make due to the lack of social protection networks of the Honduran State and that did not allow me to enjoy the freedom to perform as a student on equal terms with my peers.

Obviously my experience is not representative of Honduran society because I have had a life with privileges; my compatriots are forced to take more difficult decisions. I recently met a young woman who told me how she went into debt to pay for the hospital costs when her father became ill and later had to drop out of college to work and pay them off. There are fellow Hondurans who die because their families do not have the freedom to invest preventively in their health, forcing them to live with serious consequences on their well-being.

The three cases presented are examples of how our reality limits us as Hondurans. In order to describe Honduras as a transformed country, it must have one quality: freedom. Our State must guarantee our political and economic freedom to take on opportunities in more balanced conditions that allow us to be happy and fell included so that all of us can participate in the construction of a better Honduras.