Words and Photos by Thomas Tomczyk

On Roatan, the final portion of the Liberal campaign for votes was jumpstarted on November 5, when around three thousand people gathered at Bojangles plaza to see and hear Mel Zelaya. "I want to declare Roatan a Freeport of Honduras and Central America," said Zelaya. The promises didn't stop there. "I promise to give you an island woman as vice minister of tourism. The ministry of fisheries will go to an islander," promised Zelaya to a flag-waving audience.
Still the biggest applause went to Tito Dixon, chief of Roatan Municipal police, for his singing praises to all-but-one liberal candidate. "The people wait for you Dale Jackson. The people love you Jerry Hynds. You are an honest person," sang in Spanish Dixon.
"History of the world is divided into before Christ and after Christ. History of Roatan is divided into before Jerry Hynds after Jerry Hynds," said Hugo Irias, a retired Roatan teacher and master of ceremony at the event.
A couple days later things heated-up even further when a leaflet was anonymously inserted inside the around 500 La Prensa editions distributed on the island. In eight points the "Group for the Betterment of Roatan" accused Mayor Hynds and mayoral candidate Dale Jackson of benefiting from financial kickbacks in Municipal contract work.
Another leaflet, encouraging voting for National Party candidates, was placed in the La Prensa on November 25. By that time the two authors of the leaflet didn't care about remaining anonymous. "We were keeping a low profile, but its not that we're scared," said Clive Ebanks, 35, who wrote the leaflets with James Woods, 39, sport and youth coordinator for Roatan's National Party. "We wanted Jerry and Dale to fight back, but they didn't," said Woods.
As the leaflets circled the island, many people questioned the manner how the information was distributed and the accuracy of the statements. The anonymous accusations may have had actually a reverse effect, than intended. "He [Hynds] walked into a broken municipality with a debt to pay. He fixed it and we are going to win a lot higher than people think," said Jackie Elwin, a liberal supporter.
Roatan wasn't the only Bay Islands Municipal that attracted controversy. Utila's HQTV station ran a story about National Party mayoral candidate, Richard Del Olmo, soliciting La Ceiba voters to register and vote for him on Utila.
For about two months Galindo and Hyde took part in Canal 4's "National Hour" and in a segment two weeks prior to elections, the discussions became heated and an anonymous caller threatened the National Mayoral candidate: "I'm going to box you-side-the head." "Let's meet after the show right outside of the studio," answered Galindo.
Two days before elections several hundred people queued in front of the Roatan Municipal to get a document granting them building material for damages suffered during the last storms. The recipients then traveled to Mayor Hynds' Island Shipping yard to pick-up their corrugated 12' by 2.5' metal roofing and plywood. "I do believe that some people need the help, but this is lowest of the low in campaigning," commented Ana Svoboda, a Coxen Hole business owner.
But don't tell that to Sula McKenzie, 60, of French Harbour. McKenzie said she lost five pieces of roofing in the October and November storms. "I only asked for four pieces because I thought they are not going to give them to me," said McKenzie. When asked if the giveaway is likely to influence her vote, McKenzie replied: "I think so."
"They just copied what we were doing," said Shawn Hyde. Hyde and Galindo bought and gave away 2,000 pieces of metal roofing only two weeks before, but used local activists to determine who should receive them in each community. According to Galindo, their island campaign bought a water truck, dug wells and opened community clinics, only to see their opponents do the same thing a few weeks later.
At 6am on November 27, 20 voting stations and 89 tables opened throughout the island department. In the 2005 elections, Bay Islands had 25,405 registered voters, 16,044 in Roatan alone. Honduran Navy protected the 267 ballot boxes and was responsible for their transport from and back to the mainland.
At 11:00am in front of the Los Fuertes voting station, Victor Garcia, 45, a painter from La Ceiba, waited for a paid by the National Party bus to take him back to the airport. He has come to Roatan the day before after two weeks ago his cousin living on the island told him about the opportunity to move his vote to Roatan and that someone from a National Party would pay for his airfare.
"I voted for someone here, but I don't even know who they are," said Garcia, a Garifuna, who considers himself a Liberal and claims to have voted for Mel Zelaya. "I never been here, but I like it and I maybe come back here to work," said Garcia.
The Bay Islands had no observers from American States present in the Department during the elections, but a ten person electoral observation group overlooked Roatan polls and another 16 observed elections in Santos Guardiola. According to one of the volunteers, Walter Calix, 23, from Sandy Bay, Supreme Tribunal of Elections offered a five hour course as part of the "Civil Movement for Democracy" program.
National Party took full advantage of a loophole in election law allowing the transfer of registered voters to anywhere in the country. Flight after flight of La Ceiba residents who often never set foot on Roatan arrived at the islands international airport to be then bused by National Party buses to polling stations throughout the municipal. There was even a National Party voter information table at the airport- the only one away from the polling stations.
While legal, the scale of the airlift raised concerns in the Liberal Party of falling behind in a close election. "Law says that you have to be a resident for some time before you could vote," said Dale Jackson who added that SOSA officials have informed him that 200 people on Saturday and 100 on the day of elections flew in to Roatan to vote from La Ceiba. Liberal Party candidates decided to take action.
According to Marlin Clark, Roatan Airport approach director, around noon 12 Liberal Party supporters and activists came to the airport tower and demanded to shut for its radios to be shut down. "Tower supervisor, Jose Moncara, told them that this would be an act of terrorism," said Clark.
At the same time, Jackson owned Diamond Jack Company bulldozers blocked access to the airport parking and dozens of police, navy and military officials left their posts at polling stations to guard the Airport terminal from dozens of angry Liberal Party supporters. Around 1:30pm, after agreement of both party candidates, Wilfredo Lobo, Civil Aviation director, ordered the closing of the Roatan Airport to all flights between La Ceiba until 4:00pm. "If the airport wasn't closed things would get out of hand," said Jackson.
The would-be voter of one of the La Ceiba flights were held in the airport's arrival area for over an hour and when they were finally let into the airport lobby they were quickly escorted by National Party activists to SOSA ticket counter. They were then given a voucher for a return flight to the coast. "They are all Hondurans. They just want to exercise their right to vote," said Hyde.
And that is all they came to do. None of the La Ceiba passengers carried any luggage or seemed disappointed that they couldn't stay on Roatan. They were intimidated not to talk to Bay Islands Voice as National Party official, handing them vouchers for a return flight to La Ceiba told them several times: "Don't talk to the press."
While hundreds of Ceibeños got to visit Roatan free of charge on the account of the Roatan's political candidates, hundreds of legitimate Roatan residents were left disenfranchised.
Juan Carlos Gutierrez, 39, a Coxen Hole schoolteacher and a five year Roatan resident was one of hundreds Roatanians who did all they were supposed to do to change their voting place to Roatan. Still, on November 27 his voting place still showed as Comayagua. "It was Murillo [head of Roatan's People's registry] who didn't send the voter transfers. He's a National," said Estada Caseres, a Liberal Party volunteer from Coxen Hole. Caseres said that she talked to hundreds of people with similar voter transfer problems.
Umberto Murillo, 35, said thousands of people registered to vote on Roatan since May. In fact there were additional 3,766 people who registered to vote on Roatan compared to 2001, an impressive increase of 31%. And if voter registration is any indication of population growth, Roatan should double its population in 10 years.
According to Gutierrez, a list of 144 voter registrations was returned from People's Registry Office in Tegucigalpa, but Gutierrez's name was not on it. "We were not late in sending the transferred votes to Tegucigalpa. Perhaps the people in Tegus [Central Office of People's Registry] were late in putting them in the system," said Murillo.
According to Emilio Silvestri, National Party Election Day coordinator, both parties received a copy of 255 returned registrations due to insufficient information, illegible fingerprinting, etc. Also, both parties did back door transfers, without going through people's registry office. In Gutierrez's case, he had an August 9 document stamped in Coxen Holes that said that he did file for changing of voting place to Roatan.
Walter McNeil, Mayor Hynds' campaign manager, estimated that close to 800 Roatan Liberal Party voters attempting to transfer their voting place were disfranchised. In many cases these people have lived on Roatan for years and had registered in the Department's People Registry well before the September 23 deadline, but according to McNeil were not processed because of their affiliation with the Liberal Party.
Other people were registered to vote on Roatan for years, but weren't allowed in because their old ID had no new security features. "I voted last time with this ID and now they say I can't vote," said Lily Elwin, a homemaker from French Harbour as she left the French Harbour voting station.
Just like a BGA bank, the biggest voting station in the Bay Islands- Coxen Hole's Juan Brooks School was closed 10 minutes to 4pm. The late voters will have to wait another four years to get their chance at democracy. Around 80 of them tried, but were turned back by the Honduran Navy and failed to get their try at democracy. "That won't stop anybody who supposed to win from winning," said Connie Wrights, 22, a Coxen Hole teacher who was turned away from the gate attempting to cast her first ever vote.
"The big parties are all the same. Only the color is different," said Manuel Lopez, 58, of Los Fuertes, who voted for Ramon Martinez, a presidential candidate for Christian Democracy party. Still, the Bay Islands department had not produced a single DC, PINU or UD candidate for deputy, or mayoral elections.
Despite all the problems and controversy, in many cases the elections brought out the best in Roatan people. Amalia Cevilla, 88 and sick with cancer, had to be assisted by her family to voting station in Juan Brooks school. "This is the last time I will vote. But no one can stop me," said Cevilla, a Brick Bay resident who as born on Roatan and voted here all her life.
Three days after the elections, National party presidential candidate Pepe Lobo, was holding out from admitting defeat. On the Bay Islands things have come down quite a bit. The loosing candidates accepted the election results and congratulated the winners. "Lets forget about attacking one another. (…) I'm ready to go to work at the Municipality as a city council member with a good attitude," said Galindo, in an interview on Canal 4's, Noticiero Insular.

The first three years were tough as the two young women had to make known that not everything goes. "The men eventually learned that they can't do anything they want just because we were female," said Gentilcore.
In 2000 Twisted Toucan moved 200 feet north, to a more ample space by an old almond tree owned by Jewel Stanley. The business boomed and the two owners prospered until a personal conflict escalated and Tanya decided to leave Roatan. In 2002 Danielle bought out the other half of the bar from Tanya, who went on to start her own bar in Copan- Twisted Tanya's.
The Twisted's employees often became friends and the bar was able to retain employees over the years. Jason Peter Collins is currently the establishment's manager, while Dora Smith, Carlos Funes and Jenny Bodden tend to the bar. Carla Romero keeps the space clean. Not a simple matter as hundreds of gallons of alcohol has been spilled on every inch of the wooden 30 by 30 foot purple and brown structure.
Tee-shirts, stickers, murals, and business cards line every square inch of the bar's walls. Yet the true value of Twisted Toucan lies not in its real estate, or walls, but in the people that kept it pumping for eight years.
A dive tank bell was replaced by a brass boat bell rung whenever someone tips a bartender, or just for the heck-of-it. "The most fun we had been in the last three years for Halloween, Christmas, basically every weekend," said Gentilcore.
Over the years, the bar became known for its wild, sexy barkeeps that would climb onto the bar and pour free drinks into the open mouths of their customers. "We give clients attention and that's what makes the difference," says Gentilcore. In fact, Twisted Toucan was so successful that Genticore says few other bars managed to provide competition. "They all eventually ended closing down."
In December, Matt Powell, an American from Tennessee is expected to take over the ownership of the bar. While waiting for all necessary documents of the bar and beginning to build four apartments in West End, this ex-housing authority official, decided that he needed to find something to fill his time. "My goal is not to change anything in this high energy, youth oriented bar," said Powell.

Read past issues of
Bay Islands VOICE

No. 4
May 8 2003

Vol2 No. 2
Jan.29 2004

Vol2 No. 3
Feb.12 2004

Vol3 No. 12
November 2005