Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Crossing the Desert
A story in today's New York Times reports that more and more Mexican women, on their own, are attempting the dangerous crossing into the US.
Since the borders with Texas and California have been tightened up, immigrants are now forced to cross through the desert into Arizona--rugged territory that often leaves them hobbling with sprained ankles or worse. These people don't have "hiking boots" or any kind of trekking gear--they're lucky if they're carrying a backpack with water.
And they're subject to the most shameful exploitation and--in the women's case--sexual assault by the "coyotes," who time and time again are reported to have robbed, raped, and abandoned them to the Border Patrol.
Yet the women keep coming.
The article reports that they meet up with increasing resentment from citizens on this side of the border, especially when they use the hospitals to have their babies (at taxpayer expense) and send their children to the public schools.
"Whether these workers cost taxpayers more than they contribute has been debated for years, factoring in the taxes collected, the unclaimed Social Security funds and the undesirable jobs filled at low wages," writes the author, Lizette Alvarez.
I don't think there can be much doubt that the millions of Mexican immigrants living and working--hard--in this country do indeed make a valuable contribution to our economy.
Sure, it would nicer for us, and much nicer for them, if their home economy were prosperous enough to allow them to stay within their own borders.
But we bear quite a bit of responsibility for that situation, too. Mexican economic policy is controlled by the U.S., through organizations like the WTO, the IMF, the Inter-American Development Bank, and others. Invariably these groups make policy to benefit the big corporations and the elites of both countries, who have gotten rich on the backs of poor workers.
As Frances Moore Lappe tells us in her excellent book Hope's Edge, the idea that there is not enough to go around--not enough food, not enough water, not enough money--is a myth promulgated by the wealthy who have been hogging the lion's share of the world's abundance for the past--oh, 500 years or so at least, since the dawn of the colonial period.
If the focus of human activity and creativity were on developing social and economic systems that prioritized quality of life for every individual, and if world resources were equitably shared, with an emphasis on local production and sustainability, then there would be enough for all, Moore Lappe tells us.
And then poor Mexican women could stay home in their comfortable towns and villages, instead of facing rape, robbery and exploitation alone in the desert.
American taxpayers who balk at the idea of supporting Mexican women in hospital obstetrics wards, or Mexican children in public school, should remember the big picture and the forces of inequality that have driven these women to leave their homes and families.
Yes, I agree that our tax dollars should go towards improving the quality of life for Americans. But to do that, we need to step back and re-evaluate the big economic policies that create the frame within which we all live and work, Americans and foreigners alike.
What it's really about is taking power back from the corporations whose sole criteria for success is maximizing profits. Economic policy should be based on making people's lives better--not just rich people's lives, but everyone's lives, and not just in the home country, but everywhere that that policy affects.
Unfortunately, this has not been the trend so far in this new century. The recently passed Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) is just more of the same old shit. But there's hope further down in Latin America, where Lulu in Brazil, Chavez in Venezuela, and now Evo in Bolivia are standing up to "the man" and insisting on trade agreements that at least make some gestures towards improving the quality of life for their average citizens.
These emergent political movements are being watched and cheered by millions of Latin Americans, and indeed by the entire Third World (hereafter referred to in this space as the Two-Thirds World, to reflect the fact that it occupies a much larger geographical and social space than the so-called First, or One-Third, World).
If we care about those brave women out in the desert, we owe it to them to do everything we can to resist profit-driven corporate and government policies, and encourage policies and politics that put people's well-being first.
If you care: on your next trip to buy groceries, buy at least one item with the Fair Trade label on it. These are widely available in co-ops and natural foods chains, but even my local Pricechopper now has a natural foods aisle where I can get cocoa distributed under the Equal Exchange label, which tells me that by paying a few cents more, I am helping to support small farms using ecological and people-friendly methods of agriculture and distribution.
For those of you who enjoy watching songbirds during the summer--remember that buying organic shade-grown coffee, which is always marketed via Fair Trade methods, will also ensure that your purchase goes to support the maintenance of the trees those birds need to survive during their winters in the south.
A few cents more doesn't hurt me any, and if more of us were to get on the Fair Trade bandwagon, we could become a powerful new economic force, operating under a new permutation of the old revolutionary cri de coeur "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness"--yes! But for all the world's denizens, not just the privileged one percent--and maybe not just human beings, either.
Since the borders with Texas and California have been tightened up, immigrants are now forced to cross through the desert into Arizona--rugged territory that often leaves them hobbling with sprained ankles or worse. These people don't have "hiking boots" or any kind of trekking gear--they're lucky if they're carrying a backpack with water.
And they're subject to the most shameful exploitation and--in the women's case--sexual assault by the "coyotes," who time and time again are reported to have robbed, raped, and abandoned them to the Border Patrol.
Yet the women keep coming.
The article reports that they meet up with increasing resentment from citizens on this side of the border, especially when they use the hospitals to have their babies (at taxpayer expense) and send their children to the public schools.
"Whether these workers cost taxpayers more than they contribute has been debated for years, factoring in the taxes collected, the unclaimed Social Security funds and the undesirable jobs filled at low wages," writes the author, Lizette Alvarez.
I don't think there can be much doubt that the millions of Mexican immigrants living and working--hard--in this country do indeed make a valuable contribution to our economy.
Sure, it would nicer for us, and much nicer for them, if their home economy were prosperous enough to allow them to stay within their own borders.
But we bear quite a bit of responsibility for that situation, too. Mexican economic policy is controlled by the U.S., through organizations like the WTO, the IMF, the Inter-American Development Bank, and others. Invariably these groups make policy to benefit the big corporations and the elites of both countries, who have gotten rich on the backs of poor workers.
As Frances Moore Lappe tells us in her excellent book Hope's Edge, the idea that there is not enough to go around--not enough food, not enough water, not enough money--is a myth promulgated by the wealthy who have been hogging the lion's share of the world's abundance for the past--oh, 500 years or so at least, since the dawn of the colonial period.
If the focus of human activity and creativity were on developing social and economic systems that prioritized quality of life for every individual, and if world resources were equitably shared, with an emphasis on local production and sustainability, then there would be enough for all, Moore Lappe tells us.
And then poor Mexican women could stay home in their comfortable towns and villages, instead of facing rape, robbery and exploitation alone in the desert.
American taxpayers who balk at the idea of supporting Mexican women in hospital obstetrics wards, or Mexican children in public school, should remember the big picture and the forces of inequality that have driven these women to leave their homes and families.
Yes, I agree that our tax dollars should go towards improving the quality of life for Americans. But to do that, we need to step back and re-evaluate the big economic policies that create the frame within which we all live and work, Americans and foreigners alike.
What it's really about is taking power back from the corporations whose sole criteria for success is maximizing profits. Economic policy should be based on making people's lives better--not just rich people's lives, but everyone's lives, and not just in the home country, but everywhere that that policy affects.
Unfortunately, this has not been the trend so far in this new century. The recently passed Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) is just more of the same old shit. But there's hope further down in Latin America, where Lulu in Brazil, Chavez in Venezuela, and now Evo in Bolivia are standing up to "the man" and insisting on trade agreements that at least make some gestures towards improving the quality of life for their average citizens.
These emergent political movements are being watched and cheered by millions of Latin Americans, and indeed by the entire Third World (hereafter referred to in this space as the Two-Thirds World, to reflect the fact that it occupies a much larger geographical and social space than the so-called First, or One-Third, World).
If we care about those brave women out in the desert, we owe it to them to do everything we can to resist profit-driven corporate and government policies, and encourage policies and politics that put people's well-being first.
If you care: on your next trip to buy groceries, buy at least one item with the Fair Trade label on it. These are widely available in co-ops and natural foods chains, but even my local Pricechopper now has a natural foods aisle where I can get cocoa distributed under the Equal Exchange label, which tells me that by paying a few cents more, I am helping to support small farms using ecological and people-friendly methods of agriculture and distribution.
For those of you who enjoy watching songbirds during the summer--remember that buying organic shade-grown coffee, which is always marketed via Fair Trade methods, will also ensure that your purchase goes to support the maintenance of the trees those birds need to survive during their winters in the south.
A few cents more doesn't hurt me any, and if more of us were to get on the Fair Trade bandwagon, we could become a powerful new economic force, operating under a new permutation of the old revolutionary cri de coeur "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness"--yes! But for all the world's denizens, not just the privileged one percent--and maybe not just human beings, either.
