Crying Out for Justice for Dionisio Díaz García
Dionisio Díaz García, Honduran, Christian, known as the "lawyer of the poor" for his work defending the labor rights of impoverished workers, was assassinated on December 4, 2006. Justice has yet to be done. But your voice can make a difference.

Dionisio Díaz García, 1962 - 2006

The following reflection was written by members of AJS's Honduran sister organization several days after Dionisio's murder:

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. –I John 4:18

We are living through something awful and it will not be over any time soon. On Monday morning at 8 a.m. we had the last of five devotionals on I John 4:18. We discussed how la Asociación para una Sociedad más Justa (ASJ)'s work for labor rights, land rights, human rights for the most marginalized populations in Honduras was radical and risky sort of love, but the kind of love what God wants from us. It is the only way things will change.

On Monday morning at 10 a.m., Dionisio Díaz García was shot four times and killed on his way to court to help ten security guards whose labor rights were being violated by private security companies.

We are all saddened because Dionisio was all that is the best of us. And we are not just saying that because he was killed. He was loving to all, humble, and you couldn't help but “fall in love” with him. Yesterday we met with a judge about some of his cases and she said with Dionisio, whether he won or lost, the other lawyer and he always walked away friends. Just last Sunday he spent most of his day off in a park with an ASJ journalist and several workers giving them advice on how to get their employer to improve the way they were being treated. We pushed him to take a Friday off a few weeks ago and he ended up spending most of the afternoon with a worker who he just couldn't make wait until Monday. We will miss him.

We are also all angered by this senseless killing. Dionisio had so much more to give. His wife, Lourdes and his 6 year old son, Mauricio needed him. And while the police are carrying out investigations, we are still not certain who killed Dionisio. He was working on dozens of cases involving thirteen security companies as well as a number of fast-food chains. Nearly all of these companies where willing to varying degrees to recognize their workers rights and negotiate some sort of settlement. But two security companies with which ASJ has been working for over two years have continued to violate their workers basic labor rights. Most recently the Ministry of Labor has interviewed a sample of their 1,300 workers around the country and found systematic abuses such as not paying minimum wage (which is only about $100) and not paying overtime or vacations. The owners and management of this company have become increasingly hostile as we have refused to back down under their intimidation which has included showing up at the office with eleven people and trying to force their way in, pulling out pistols during meetings, and spreading false rumors about ASJ. We believe we know who was responsible for Dionisio's death.

We are also shaken by Dionisio's murder. Not only Dionisio, but others on our staff have gotten anonymous threats over the last few weeks. We reported them to the authorities and human rights organizations here in Honduras and internationally. Many organizations had already made statements calling for our protection before Dionisio's death. Already before his shooting, we had increased our security measures and now we are redoubling them. We have both our own and outside experts working with us on improving our security as well as providing emotional support and counseling to our staff and Dionisio's family but still we are shaken.

But while shaken, Dionisio's death has also increased our passion to create a more just society. Yesterday staff used images like these to describe Dionisio's death. “Dionisio is like a fruit which as fallen, it is not dead but a seed for much future fruit but for now we need to tend and water that seed so that some day soon we will see its potential.” Another said, “Dionisio is like the person who goes ahead of the group into the forest and cuts the path, doing the hardest work so that those who go behind will have an easier path.” And still another said, “Dionisio will only die when we forget him. As long as we remember him and continue his work, Dionisio will always be with us.” While we are all fearful, we are all working to let the perfect love of God cast that fear away and continue the work Dionisio began.

Yesterday we spent much of the day talking about these things—our sadness, our anger, our fear and also our commitment to Dionisio and the work we know God wants us to continue. We want to thank you all for your prayer and support which have helped us farther down this road than we would have guessed only two days ago.

We know many of you want to know how you can continue to help and support us. We know of at least 3 ways.

1. Continue to pray for healing for the ASJ family, especially Lourdes and Mauricio. Also pray for justice for Dionisio and that ASJ can continue to build a more just society.
2. Pressure the Honduran authorities to identify and bring to justice the perpetrators of this crime as well as supporting Dionisio's and ASJ's work to improve labor rights for the most vulnerable sectors of Honduran society.
3. Financially support Dionisio's family by contributing to a scholarship fund as well as donating to ASJ's work to make sure Dionisio's killers are found and punished, to keep our staff safe and to continue and even increase the radical and risky work of loving and protecting the most vulnerable and poor in Honduras.

Sincerely,

The Staff and Board of la Asociación para una Sociedad más Justa - ASJ (AJS's Honduran partner organization), 7 December 2006, Tegucigalpa, Honduras

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