Recommended Resources

BOOKS

 

• “Don’t Be Afraid Gringo: A Honduran Woman Speaks from the Heart: The Story of Elvia Alvarado” translated and edited by Medea Benjamin.  Published in 1987 by the Institute for Food and Development Policy.  This book is a transcription of the story of Eliva Alvarado, a Honduran peasant who became involved in the women’s movement through the Catholic Church and eventually became a leading activist in the land reform movement of the 1980’s.  This book offers unique insight into some of the daily struggles of a peasant in Honduras , the political situation in the country, and the relationship of the United States with Honduras .  Although some of the statistics are no longer current, it is highly valuable for its historical information and human perspective. 

 

• “The Globalizers: Development Workers in Action” by Jeffrey T. Jackson.  Published in 2005 by John Hopkins University Press.  This book analyses the people involved with the process of globalization using Honduras as a case study.  It offers an excellent perspective on how Honduras became a globally-connected country along with a critique of this process and those involved.  

 

• “In Search of the Good Life: The Ethics of Globalization” by Rebecca Todd Peters.  Published in 2004 by Continuum.  Peters offers a theologian’s analysis of four major theories of globalization with an ethical critique of each through a Christian lens. 

 

• “Life Abundant: Rethinking Theology and Economy for a Planet in Peril” by Sallie McFague.  Published in 2001 by Fortress Press.  This book presents one woman’s Christian theology relating to globalization that expresses her belief that if God has created the earth and we are to love God, we too must care for the earth and each other.

Available through the Resource Center *

 

• “Confessions of an Economic Hitman” by John Perkins.  Published in 2004 by Plume.  John Perkins tells his story of working for a corporation in many high-profile international operations that have shaped the face of globalization.  While Perkins does not present his morality from a Christian perspective, he describes how his guilt eventually forced him to quit his job and make life choices that led to his writing this book and a call to action.   

 

• “Prayer Without Borders” published in 2004.  This book of prayers collected from around the world by Catholic Relief Services includes a number of prayers from Honduras and can connect us as Christians to other Christians on a global level through prayer. 

 

 

 

 

FILMS

• “Neighbors and Partners in Honduras .”  This 20 minute video produced by Harpswell Community Television gives an outline of the country of Honduras and how the Maine Conference came to be involved in what is now the Maine-Honduras Partnership.  A fabulous perspective of the projects, people, and motivation that started it all!

Available through the Resource Center *

 

• “Global Banquet: Politics of Food” A 50 minute video from 2001.  This film has two segments entitled: “Who's Invited?” and “What’s On the Menu?” and explores how the consolidation of food corporations that are subsidized by the government force local farmers around the world out of business.  The movie shares statements from farmers and food organizations around the world, including Honduras , to show the effects of trade policies, government power, and our role as consumers.  It calls for a spiritual awakening to revolutionize our way of producing, trading, and purchasing food to create a world without hunger.

Available through American Friends Service Committee*

 

• “Where Are the Beans?” In this 13 minute video from 1995 a woman with the Mennonite Central Committee explores her discovery that Honduran farmers could no longer afford to eat the beans that they produced.  Inflation caused by a structural adjustment program designed by the IMF increased the costs for fertilizers, insecticides, and seeds.  Devaluation of the Honduran lempira, a removal of price controls, and the government’s end to making loans prevented farmers from being able to cover the cost of producing beans. 

Available through American Friends Service Committee*

 

 

*The Resource Center through the Maine Conference UCC is located at the Pennell Center in Yarmouth .  The Resource Center has a great collection of books and films that can be browsed at http://www.maineucc.org/resourcecenter/frontpagercenter.htm.  The email address is: resourcecenter@maineucc.org.

 

Resources can be borrowed through the American Friends Service Committee for a small donation through http://www.afsc.org/resources/default.htm or by calling

(617)-497-5273.  The AFSC has a wide range of resources on various subjects including other films that deal with the topics of Honduras , global economy, maquilladoras (sweatshops), and corporations that may be of interest.