Support for Central America

At the conference being held in Guatemala, the World Bank announced that they will put up $1 Billion dollars to combating the violence that has so plagued Central American and that has made it into one of the most violent regions in the world. This certainly signals a shift in the way the international community has responded to the crisis but the money will have to be used in a productive way, not just be spent on militarizing these nations further. Hopefully this will be a “made in Central America” solution whereby the officials of these nations with thorough consultation from civil society actors, academics and the populace in general come up with effective strategies to address the urgent issues. It will certainly not be an easy task and my hope is that the money will not aggravate the situation.

  First of all the youth of Central America must be brought into the dialogue, they must be active participants. Many youth get sucked into a life of crime because of few options available for them to get a good job or go to school and establish a long term career. The problem of corruption in state institutions is also an important area that has hindered efforts and a problem that will be very challenging to confront because it is very systemic. I find very encouraging the prospect of judicial training proposed by the U.S because this is an institution that historically has been very weak in Central America. The criminal justice system is horribly unreliable and not trusted by many people.

 It is my hope that with this announcement officials in Central America will step up and come up with comprehensive strategies to address the prevalence of violence but also that these issues have deep roots in these societies and that far more than money will be needed if a real impact is to be made. The will power is needed among all sectors of society and the realization that there will be no “quick fixes” to such a complex set of problems. The nations will have to work together along with the U.S as a mutual partner and as well as international organizations and regular meetings as the one in Guatemala will be needed because this is a region wide problem that transcends borders.