This morning was easy going for some of us. We were spilt into 2 groups and one group stayed at CCIDD while the other went to help serve breakfast at La Estacion. I was in the group to serve breakfast the next day. La Estacion is a breakfast program ran my mothers within the community. Without this program, many children would go without eating breakfast. For some, it is there only meal of the day :( Breakfast always includes a glass of juice (sugar filled, not made with real fruit juice), a bowl of jello, tortilla and then maybe potatoes, beans, or processed pork. Unfortunately, this leads to many malnourished children!
While some of the group was off serving breakfast, the others had a morning reflection to discuss everything thus far in the week. It was very useful to have this time to talk about what we were experiencing because it allowed us to ask questions and fully understand what was going on around us. Once the others arrived back from La Estacion, we had an immigration workshop. We learned about Mexican immigrants working in greenhouses in Leamington, Ontario that have been operating since 1966. They are away from their families for at least 8 months of the year. To be selected to work there, the men must be married with less than a high school education. Such guarantees the immigrants will continue to work for them because they have to support their family. The immigrants work 10 hrs/day, 7 days a week, and only make 7.25 an hour. There are no safety regulations within the greenhouses, and there are also no health laws that the employers must follow. If Mexicans become sick they are usually sent back to Mexico. Unions are illegal, so it is very difficult for Mexicans to stand up for themselves. Often, if someone tries to take a stand, they will be sent home because there are plenty of Mexicans at the border waiting to get a job so they can support their family. As you can see, the situations for these immigrants is quite sad. They live in overcrowded apartments with as many as 12 plus workers in one house. It is hard enough to be away from one's family for so long, but being treated the way they are makes it even worse. The big employers in Ontario do not respect the Mexicans as real people. This problem will be very difficult to fix. Many of the big employers and mangers do not even realize what is happening because they are not around to see it. Hearing this information was a big eye opener.
After the immigration workshop, we were split into groups for social analysis. Each group was to present on different aspects. My group was assigned to discuss political and security aspects and relate them to the social world of Mexico. We had to present our work group later in the week.
Next, we had an exciting tour of Cuernavaca! It was great to walk around and to explore the area. Sister Kathy showed us around. It was interesting just to walk around and see how the locals spend their days. We saw large homes closed off by tall cement walls, small shacks, many old cars, and little shops in every corner. Sister Kathy was even so kind to take us to a local bakery! There were so many pastries, donuts, cookies, cake, squares etc. And everything was cheepy, cheepy! I got a pastry, donut, and cinnamon bun I think it cost about 3 dollars Canadian! They were very delicious too! We were all craving something sweet, as we hadn't had the American sweets we are used, so it was a very nice treat! We ended the tour at a church so we could attend an Ash Wednesday service. The church was beautiful. It was interesting because the whole mass was led by Lay people. They had a mass every half hour for about 5-6 hours so it would have been a lot for a priest to do it all. The locals in the service were very friendly; after it was over, one lady came over and gave us each a hug. She kissed my room mate Amy, and left lipstick on her cheek! :) At this point it was 6:00 pm so it was time to head home from supper.
After supper we had a guest speaker come from SERPAJ. We talked with a woman involved with the group, which is similar and related to the Zapatista. They are seeking justice for the indigenous people of Mexico, and against the current government. It was interesting to hear first hand about the problems in Mexico, and how they have been fighting to change to current conditions in Mexico. Most of the Mexicans we met were very open and that was critical in us truly understanding the whole story of Mexico.
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