A Tragedy in Tela

This week our small town of Tela experienced a tragedy. The young man, Rene, that owns our local grocery store, Mini Super Venecia, was in a fatal car accident. He was only 24 years old and, having been raised in Queens, New York, had only recently moved back to Honduras to begin his future. The accident occurred on Thursday afternoon and by that evening the entire town had already spread the word. Being a small town, almost everyone knew him.While in the school office on Thursday, I was informed of the accident. I immediately thought of my student who was his cousin and we agreed I should not say anything. Mr. Palacios (Carlos), another teacher at our school, was also his cousin and had left campus already. After school, I tutored the related student alone for an hour and tried to keep my mind off the subject. I walked her home afterward with a guilty conscience knowing what she was about to walk into.

The next day, Friday, was very somber. It was chilling passing the Mini Super on the way to school and seeing it closed. Because my student was family of the deceased, our class was sent to the memorial to comfort her. We got into the mini-van and were let out at the funeral home. It was very crowded and another teacher who joined us led the students into the main room. Before I knew what was happening or could do anything, the students inadvertently were led to the open casket. A viewing is always difficult but because of the accident this one was especially distressing.

As quickly as I could, I ushered the students out to the front porch, although by then all of them had already seen the body. The kids seemed to handle it surprisingly well. I was informed later that in Honduras all memorials have open caskets. Often times, after the viewing, the body is taken to the family's home until the funeral. My students all hugged and consoled the grieving student as best they could.

Although he was not a close friend of mine, he was a good acquaintance and someone with whom I came into contact on a daily basis. Every encounter was enjoyable and amusing, always leaving me with a smile. He was sweet, cheerful, and good-natured. I will truly miss him. He welcomed me into the community and helped me feel at home here.