The past 3 weeks have been amazing. The short version is our class went up to the northern part of Honduras to studying maqulias, immigration, gangs and violence. We went and visited a bunch of places, talked to locals and really got a feel of what Honduras is like. We stayed in Cofrandia and lived with families. Lauren, Clarrisa and I were in the same house and I loved our family. Our mom was so nice and she and I totally bonded over late night cups of coffee and cookies. We didn’t spend a lot of time with them though because we would leave around 8am and get back home around 9pm from our visits. Here are some of my thoughts if you want to read more details. Most of these are excerpts from my journal from my class.
Banana Plantations
The banana plantation was super cool. There are two main ones in Honduras -Dole and Chiquita. We went to a Chiquita one. We got to walk around the “fields” I guess you would call it, where the bananas are grown. The have rows of trees where bunches of bananas grown. Once the bananas are ready, which is a certain time when they have to get cut, then they are cut and on a contraption wheeled to the factory where they are washed and checked. If any bananas have any scratches or marks they are shipped to the states. “Since Americans only want the best” we were told. Most of the men are in the farm cutting and carrying the bananas and the women are washing, packing and putting stickers on them. This seems like a good job. The women working seemed happy, there was music playing and they were able to talk and laugh. We talked to a union and they said they are treated well because they are part of a union. Working for Dole or Chiquita seems like a decent job. There are people every day wanting to join the union and work there. One thing that would be hard for me though would be standing up all day.
Cigar Factory
We also got to visit a cigar factory. It was interesting to learn that the tobacco is grown in the US and shipped down to Honduras and here the cigar boxes and cigars are rolled. The girl who talked to us told us she worked in the factory for about four years and it was a good job. She now has worked her way up and does secretary work, plus her English was very good. One thing cool about this place was all the sawdust is burned and the heat is used as energy for the factory, one environmentally friendly thing. Being in the factory though was hard even for an hour my head hurt from the tobacco smell. I do not know how the workers do it.
Maquillas
Visiting the Maquillas was such an experience. We went to one called XXX where they produce fabric and clothe. We got a tour of the place and got to see the workers in action. Some workers work up to 12 hours each day- awful! My first thought was reading the articles about maquillas was like the title – a bad job is still better than no job. But after being in the factory, seeing how working conditions are (hot, not a lot of breaks, dust everywhere) I don’t think families are benefiting from them. The company told us all the great things they are doing like health benefits and having picnics for families and the workers but we talked to a workers union (an underground one since you aren’t suppose to be part of a union) and they had a different story. They said that they aren’t treated well. One lady said her friend was pregnant and had here baby in the sowing room because they make her work up till the moment she had it. Another person said they have a quota they have to meet each day, depending on what their job is (cutting fabric or sowing) and sometimes they have to work after hours without overtime or pay. Like maybe they would be better selling tortillas or fruit on the side of the road because they would be able to spend time with their family, be in the house and not have all the medical problems which are acquired from working in factories. Now I am feeling what I can do to help these workers. Do I not buy anything from Jockey or Fruit of the Loom (which are companies treating their workers so bad, like working 12 hours and getting paid not more than 2 dollars a day)? Or do a write these companies? Do I get Biola students involved like through the Social Justice team? I didn’t know there were so many terms like free trade or sweat free which are important. I want to make sure that they clothes I am buying are coming from places where the people are getting treated good.
Gangs
I am really interested in the theme of gangs and violence so when I found out we were going to visit some ex gang members I was really excited. There are four guys who have started a project to help ex gang members readjust to society. There are two main gangs in Honduras and Central America, MS-13 and 18th Street. Both gangs started in Los Angeles around 1995 we were told. These two are huge rivals and so it is really cool that two guys from MS and two guys from 18th Street came together and are doing this project together called Generation X. Their main focus is to help employ rehabilitated gang members. Most gang members have tattoos and so even if your out of gangs, people do not want to hire you. Because of corruption and because gangs have a ton of power because of drug trafficking- people are just afraid. The guys were sharing their stories and saying even now, when they get on to a bus, people will not make eye contact or think they are going to rob or assault them just because of the way they look. Most of them got their tattoos removed but a lot of them have scars all over their face. Most guys shared that they got involved in gangs because they came from a broken family and were looking for support and a family. Plus if you’re a leader you can make a lot of money, like hundreds of bucks a day. A few of them just got tired of the lifestyle of women, drugs, and killing. They didn’t talk about how they got out but I imagine it was hard. They say they still live with fear. This was in San Pedro Sula which is a pretty active drug and violence place compared to other places.
Immigration
The dinner with Tito was fantastic. He is a retired “coyote”, which means he use to smuggle people from Honduras to the US. He was kind enough to talk to us about his business and answer our questions. Everyone in Honduras has family or friends or both living in the US who went illegally. Remissions are a big part of the economy here. (Remissions is the money that people in the States make and send back to their families here in order to survive). Usually people who go by themselves will ride on top of trains while crossing Guatemala and Mexico, and then they will walk across the desert. This is really dangerous because gangs will steal your money, rape women, and so you get to the States but have nothing and so kids will return. Most people who go this way are between 16-30 and usually are guys. Tito said he would never take people over that way. You pay around a thousand bucks and he would carry people underneath fruit trucks, or sometimes he knew people at the boarders who he would pay and then he could pass with a van full of people. The trip from Tegus to the US was usually around 20 days. They would stop and get food, sleep at hotels or in homes, Tito had a ton of contacts and so it was easy. But he said after 9-11 everything changed, it got harder and people wanted more money so he stopped. I ask how his family felt towards his work and he said that they weren’t supported. I mean, it was dangerous. He said no one ever got hurt and they were never caught.
Talking about immigration and especially illegal immigration is hard. I do not know how I feel. As Christians we are suppose to act? We are told to love our enemies, turn the other cheek, and go the extra mile to help others as a Christian. At the same time we are suppose to stand for justice and encourage obedience, so what does that mean. I know people who have come over illegally and have given their kids a better life. I know a girl who was in my high school who was here illegally. I am not sure about that worked out in going to school but she got straight A’s, she was class president for 3 years in a row for her class, she played sports she was fun to be around and was an over all great person. She was a senior and has applied for colleges like to UCLA, Berkley, Stanford and other top schools but because she doesn’t have papers she cant go. Now, that just makes me sad. Something doesn’t seem fair. She has worked so hard and just because she is not a resident means she can’t continue her education. Many people say immigrants come and take jobs away, raise the crime rate and are not good for the economy but is that true? They work hard, maybe even harder than we do. (SIDE NOTE: watch the movie El Norte- SOO GOOD) Here is an example of everything right someone could do. She seized every opportunity she had and made the most of it. That is inspiring to me.
SPRING BREAK!
Then on the 19th, spring break started. There were 8 of us girls (including me) and 5 guys. We traveled to Guatemala for Semana Santa which was crazy. There were sooo many people from all over the world too. Lauren and I stayed in this Hostel called the Black Cat which was rad. They had a great bar/restaurant and hot water. Amazing. Everyone else stayed in churches or not in the city since it was cheaper but Lo and I didn’t want that. We got to see the city, eat amazing banana bread and frozen yogurt. There were parades, music and art. One of my fav things was people would get colored sawdust and make art in the street. It reminded of a little of the Rose Parade because they were only able to use natural things like fruit and seeds. We also got to hike to a volcano. Amazing! We left around 2pm and so we got to see the sunset and at this volcano you can hike down to where the lava is. The bottom of my shoes kinda melted- soo cool! Our tour guide was super cute too, he was like 60 and said he has legs as strong as a horse since he did this 2x a day. From Guatemala we headed of Utila which is a beach known for scuba diving and snorkeling. Lauren and I stayed in La Cebia for the day though because we wanted to do a canopy tour. Everyone else took the 8am ferry to the beach and we just took the 4pm one on Easter Sunday, hehe. The tour was awesome. We hike a little, did a zipline around the forest, got to see a water fall. Our guides were nice and showed us all this plants used for medicine, like this one root you chew and it numbs your mouth. I got to hold a toad too! Then we spent the week at Utila. The beach was ok. There wasn’t a lot of sand and they were sand flies but overall we had a blast. I got to snorkel again, and it was amazing. Lauren, Jill, Karen and I stayed in a cabin on the beach so we had a kitchen and a living room which meant everyone was at our place all the time. It was awesome. We had family dinners, where the boys would cook for us like Matt made this amazing curry one night. There was also a great Middle Eastern restaurant on the island with warm pita bread and zesty hummus. Lauren and I ate there for lunch more than once We spent the afternoons on the beach tanning (I didn’t get burned at all!) and playing cards. One afternoon Isaac, Chrissy, Phil and I rented bikes and biked around the island. Random fact about Utila is English is the official language, there are a lot of “old” people who retire there and I guess it’s a hot spot for vacationers. Phil turned 21 on Thursday so we went to this bar called Jade Seahorse which was beautiful. The bar was built in trees and had a classy beach feel to it.
I am glad to be home though. I was gone for like 3 weeks and missed my sister and mama here!
It is so weird to think that I have like 5 weeks left then I come back to Cali. Here are some photos but my camera died half way through the trip so Jill has the rest of my photos which I will post later.
