HONDURAS PRISON FIRE

HONDURAS JAIL FIRE: MOST PRISONERS
HAD NOT BEEN CONVICTED CRIMINALS 

www.theatlanticwire.com - Investigators continue to search for answers in the prison fire that killed 358 inmates, as reports suggest that more than half of the inmates at the Comayagua prison had never been convicted, or even charged, with a crime. The farm-style camp in central Honduras held 856 prisoners despite being built to accommodate just 500, crammed into giant barracks with four-level bunk beds. Many were suspected gang members who had been swept up in a "law and order" push in what has become one of the world's most violent countries. The AP reports that according to Honduras' strict anti-gang laws, simply having the wrong tattoo is enough to get someone arrested and jailed. The cause of the fire is still being investigated, but there are reports that an inmate managed to call the state governor, screaming that he would burn the prison down, shortly before setting his mattress on fire.

After the fire initially started, guards refused to allow fire fighting crews in to the prison for nearly 30 minutes, because they believed that a riot was in progress. At the time the fire happened there were only 12 guards on duty who either didn't have for couldn't find keys to let prisoners out of their cells and rooms. A U.S. military outpost that includes search and rescue and fire teams sits just 15 minutes away, but was never called.  Prisoners who survived the fire told horrific stories of climbing walls and tearing down ceiling tiles in an effort to escape through the roof. Many of the victims were found stuck to metal pieces of the roof or huddled in the bathrooms, trying to use the water in showers and bathtubs to avoid the fire. Most died of smoke inhalation.  Honduras has been criticized in the past by human rights groups and the U.S. State Department for its deplorable prison conditions that have contributed to previous incidents like this one.

The deadliest prison fire the world has seen in a century claimed 358 lives in a Honduran jail which was at double capacity.  Many of the prisons in this country of 7.6 million are overcrowded.  According to the United Nations, Honduras has one of the highest murder rates in the world. Government officials have repeatedly promised to improve conditions, but little has been done.  In this material world, due to misuse of the free will, the conditioned souls' sufferings are very painful.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

Babaji: Lord Krishna’s pastimes are naturally full of bliss. If an individual soul of his own free will voluntarily leaves those pastimes and enters the world of Maya and accepts the sufferings there, then if anyone is at fault it is the individual soul who is at fault. Krishna is not at fault.
Vrajanatha: In that situation, what is the harm that Lord Krishna does not give the soul free will? Krishna knows everything. Therefore Krishna knows if a certain soul will misuse his free will and bring suffering to himself. In that situation it is cruel of Krishna to give such a person free will. Is it not?
Babaji: Free will is a precious jewel. In the material world there are many inanimate material objects. None of them were given the jewel of free will. ... The souls, who all have free will, are all the dear servants of Lord Krishna. When they misuse that free will and enter the world of maya, merciful Krishna weeps to see how they are suffering. Eager to deliver them, He follows the individual souls into the material world.

Śrīla Saccidananda Bhaktivinoda Thākura :
“Jaiva-dharma” (The Universal Religion)
Chapter 16: Nitya-dharma O Sambandhabhidheya Prayojana
Eternal Religion and Sambandha, Abhidheya and Prayojana
http://bvml.org/SBTP/index.htm  -  http://bvml.org/SBTP/JD/index.html#16