If you have been reading my blogs you may remember that we have had some issues with tree bandits.
They come under cover of darkness around midnight and you hear the distant whirr of chainsaws. Usually around the full moon....
Sometimes not so distant ..........
We have had many trees off our property cut, our fences destroyed and generally there is little you can do about it.
If you call the police, they will come a few days later when they get around to it.
Well, a few weeks ago there were several landowners in the area that got tired of it and actually caught a few of these lumbercrooks and turned them over to the police.
And yes, nothing happened, it is assumed that they were either friends of the law or paid their fines real quick and were issued a get out of jail card.
Well, things change.
Seems that frustrated about do nothing policies, someone took the situation into their own control.
Several men where missing for a few days, and the found.
Dead.
Now I am not going to judge anyone and certainly it is a pretty price to pay, however I can certainly understand the frustrations which led up to this happening.
You can read the article in our local Michoacan paper.
http://www.oem.com.mx/elsoldemorelia/notas/n1127929.htm
There is something to be said for justice that you can have control over........the present attitude of the locals and people that live amongst the trees and and actually care about their natural resources, and their basic justice, is extremely positive.
Maybe the cuttings will stop, hopefully they will, for all concerned!
9 comments:
Wow, Ken! I am going to make a real effort to stay on your good side :)
I gots an alibi Bob, we were not even in Michoacan..... but will be back to hopefully see some order back to the forest....I'm a softy just frustrated about the disregard for nature. Don't get me wrong, I am not a flaming environmentalist, but seem to lean that way as I get older...(wiser?)
Wow. I can understand the conflict of how to view this happening.
I guess I often go back to "doing the right thing" - if you are leading a life of ethical and kind choices then you will not find yourself in situations where people take the law in their own hands ...
Constantino, you´re a little vague here. Were the dead guys the same guys who were turned over to the police and let go? You hint at that, but you don´t actually say it.
Sorry Felipe, they were not, these are completely new banditos. The ones that went to the police and got released are probably sharpening their respective chain saws, but maybe not, they may have gotten the message.....
Mommy, I think the lawlessness is not being accepted and at a point people feel hopeless, and do what they have to do to right what is wrong.
We don't have a Magnificent Seven to rid them, besides there are too many of them at this point. You can say that social issues create the problem but I think that is too simple of an explanation. There are way too many "help wanted" signs around, it's probably easy money that is the root.
I sure would not blow this off to "social issues." As you say, and as many deny, honest job opportunities can be found here.
I´m not sure it´s so easy, that money. I tend to see deeper, cultural causes.
I note that in the newspaper article, 3 of the 4 gentlemen in question were from Cuanajo and one is yet unidentified.
It's a severe penalty for illegal wood cutting.
"Talamontes" is a new word in my vocabulary.
Saludos,
Don Cuevas
Don Cuevas, They also call them mosquitoes, since they come out after the sun sets....
My ranchero said that he hoped that this would maybe slow them down a little....hopefully.
Talamontez happens to be a family friend of mine in the states, that came from the town of Tequila....I wonder how that morphed into this?
I've read a few stories like this in Honduras, too. After living here for a few years, my initial shock has turned to admiration for the vigilantes. There just is no justice to be had in the legal system.
I can't blame people for being so frustrated that they take matters into their own hands. In Honduras, it is more likely to happen in cattle rustling or child molestation cases.
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