Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
fenced-in and fortii ed front yard. Rolls of razor wire were on sale in the
newspaper for just $33. In the wealthy neighborhoods, each street had an
armed guard. Every sizable business also posted a guard.
h e relative lack of news about Latin America since the 1980s had lulled
me into thinking that perhaps things were getting better for people there.
But suf ering that's not covered on the nightly news is still suf ering. h is
trip reminded me of the power of our media—even over those of us who
are determined not to be misled.
Under a Corrugated Tin Roof with Beatriz
El Salvador provides the
norteamericano
with a hot and muggy welcome.
After one day, I had settled in quite well. I was speckled with bug bites and
accustomed to my frail cold shower, noisy fan, and springy cot. I knew to
brush my teeth with bottled water and to put used toilet paper in the waste
basket to avoid clogging the toilet. I was ready for some serious education...
and I got it. I was shocked to learn how amazingly blind I was to people's
daily reality just a short plane ride south of the border.
Local experts briefed us on the state of El Salvador's economy. h e
minimum wage was about $1 an hour ($144 a month). While in the US,
minimum wage is considered a starting point, most Salvadorans aspire only
to minimum wage...and that's all they get.
When cof ee prices crashed in the early 2000s, that crop went from
providing 50 percent of the country's export earnings to about 3 percent.
With legions of cof ee workers suddenly unemployed, their children were
hopeless and directionless. Many teens were left with little to do but roam
the cities in gangs and cause better-of people to build even higher walls.
h e
maquiladora
industry (sewing clothing for rich world corporations
looking for cheap labor) moved in and now makes up 25 percent of the
local economy.
To make ends meet, most Salvadoran families struggle to send one person
abroad to earn money. Seven in ten families have an immediate member in
the US—about two million total. In 2005, remittances (money sent home
from these expats) brought $2.5 billion into El Salvador—or 16 percent of
the country's entire economy. “Refugee aid” like this is big throughout the
developing world. In fact, in 2004, the total amount of money that refugees
working in the rich world sent home to their families (an estimated $75 bil-
lion) was i fty percent higher than all foreign aid combined ($50 billion).
