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Getting Involved in Migration Issues
Staff from Good Shepherd Shelter
I first became interested in migrant issues while taking an English course entitiled "Caribbean Migration" during my sophomore year of college. The course focused on the problems of Caribbean peoples that have caused them to find work elsewhere. I became interested in how issues related to colonialism have affected the degree to which these nations have developed.
The summer after, I participated in a program through Notre Dame's Center for Social Concerns (SSLP) in which I worked for two months at a domestic violence shelter in Los Angeles. I had applied to the site because I hoped that it would help me improve my Spanish skills before I went abroad to Spain in the upcoming fall semester. I quickly learned that the majority of women at the shelter were migrants.Viewing issues of migration from the perspective of victims of domestic violence was fascinating, and I immediately felt that I needed to know more.
I then participated in a service-learning class in Toledo, Spain based on immigration issues. While the focus of these issues was on emigration and immigration in Spain, I found that many of the issues in Spain and the United States are similar. I taught English in an elementary school that had a high population of children from migrant families. Some of the preschool aged children that I taught could not yet speak Spanish. It was thus fascinating to see again how immigrants interact in a new culture.
While in Tecún Umán, I incorporated research into my service work, as I knew that I would be participating in this Cultural Differences/Social Change Course, as well as a Spanish course entitled La Voz Migrante (Migrant Voices). Participation in these classes caused me to focus on migration from both an academic and service-based perspective.
The summer after, I participated in a program through Notre Dame's Center for Social Concerns (SSLP) in which I worked for two months at a domestic violence shelter in Los Angeles. I had applied to the site because I hoped that it would help me improve my Spanish skills before I went abroad to Spain in the upcoming fall semester. I quickly learned that the majority of women at the shelter were migrants.Viewing issues of migration from the perspective of victims of domestic violence was fascinating, and I immediately felt that I needed to know more.
I then participated in a service-learning class in Toledo, Spain based on immigration issues. While the focus of these issues was on emigration and immigration in Spain, I found that many of the issues in Spain and the United States are similar. I taught English in an elementary school that had a high population of children from migrant families. Some of the preschool aged children that I taught could not yet speak Spanish. It was thus fascinating to see again how immigrants interact in a new culture.
While in Tecún Umán, I incorporated research into my service work, as I knew that I would be participating in this Cultural Differences/Social Change Course, as well as a Spanish course entitled La Voz Migrante (Migrant Voices). Participation in these classes caused me to focus on migration from both an academic and service-based perspective.
My Work at Casa del Migrante
Making a "tamalito," a maize-based side dish served daily
I spent the summer before my senior year working for eight weeks in Tecún Umán at Casa del Migrante, then traveling for one week to other parts of the country. My trip was funded by Notre Dame's Center for Social Concerns through a program called ISSLP (International Summer Service Learning Program). My work consisted of completing the day-to-day tasks at the shelter, including cooking, serving meals, cleaning, distributing clothing, selling goods on Sundays after mass, and doing whatever else they needed me to do. I was accompanied by my site partner, Erika, and the two of us interacted with a year-long Guatemalan volunteer, volunteer cooks, the social workers, a lawyer, and the Scalibrini priest that oversaw the shelter's activities.
My Sunday Job
Selling donated products at a local parish after mass
One of the most interesting aspects of my work at Casa del Migrante was my Sunday job of selling groceries to people of the town after mass. The items we sold were donated from Canada. Some of the items were used for the migrants' breakfast, but the majority were sold so that Padre Ademar, the site supervisor, could pagar la luz (pay the bills). The items were sold at incredibly cheap prices. I once asked why we did not charge more for these items. Padre Ademar explained that the community has needs too, meaning that they specifically sold the products at a price that the people could easily afford. This became a way in which the community and the Casa del Migrante could collaborate. It was essentially a way for the Casa to share their donations with the community and a way for the people to contribute to the mission of the Casa.
Concerns
I had a difficult summer due to illness, trouble getting accustomed to the language and culture, and having to remain in the shelter for the majority of my time in Tecún Umán. As a border town, Tecún Umán is a violent, dangerous place, particularly at night. Combined with my inability to leave the shelter unaccompanied and the workload my site partner and I had at the site, this left us with little time to get to know the town outside of our outings to mass on Sunday. While this fact troubled me quite a bit while I was working during the summer, I realize now that I did gain an important understanding of a key aspect of the culture of this town: migration. According to one of the other volunteers, around 1,000 migrants travel throuh Tecún Umán each day. While we probably housed at most 60 migrants during my summer, there is still an enormous number of migrants outside of the shelter, either because they do not know about the web of Casa del Migrante or choose not to go there due to the strict enforcement of their rules. Thus, migration has become a key aspect of the city and one that I was able to experience and study, while doing service at the site.
My Travels
One of the biggest surprises of my trip to Guatemala came during my week of travel. My site partner and I stayed with friends who had volunteered at Casa del Migrante for several weeks. They lived in a gated community in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. When we went out for dinner with several of their friends, they brought their body guards with them. I had never been around anyone with body guards before. The next day, we went out to lunch in a nice restaurant inside a mansion. I left my wallet there, and when I called later to find out if someone had found it, I learned that it had been turned in by one of the workers. Just the day before, my site partner's old sandals had been stolen outside of our room, despite the fact that they were behind a locked gate. In a single day, I felt like I had been transported to an entirely different way of life within Guatemala.
Another aspect of my traveling that I found both interesting and troubling was the presence of short-term mission groups volunteering and touring around Guatemala. Because we also went to touristy locations, including Lago Atítlan and Antigua, I felt a mixture of delight and guilt at being able to see these other parts of Guatemala. Many of the short-term mission groups seemed to be doing more touristy activities than useful volunteer work, and I wondered how my work fit in with these terms. Surely Casa del Migrante did not need a small, white, American girl to do the dishes and laundry at the site. I found it troubling to justify my own volunteer work at times. However, I believe that the research and perspectives I gained from my experience, both volunteering and traveling, has helped me to embrace other cultures and given me a commitment to service that I plan to maintain after graduation.
Another aspect of my traveling that I found both interesting and troubling was the presence of short-term mission groups volunteering and touring around Guatemala. Because we also went to touristy locations, including Lago Atítlan and Antigua, I felt a mixture of delight and guilt at being able to see these other parts of Guatemala. Many of the short-term mission groups seemed to be doing more touristy activities than useful volunteer work, and I wondered how my work fit in with these terms. Surely Casa del Migrante did not need a small, white, American girl to do the dishes and laundry at the site. I found it troubling to justify my own volunteer work at times. However, I believe that the research and perspectives I gained from my experience, both volunteering and traveling, has helped me to embrace other cultures and given me a commitment to service that I plan to maintain after graduation.