THE ENTRY OF CURRENCIES TO LATIN AMERICA
AND THE EXTORTION “BUSINESS”
by Vickyvananda
"Las Patronas” is a group of women who are dedicated
to assisting the migrants who travel from Central, South America and Mexico and
who pass through the town of “Esperanza” in the state of Veracruz, México. Las Patronas help migrants in many
different ways; giving them food, helping them to find relatives, helping pregnant
women, helping those who have been injured, raped and / or mutilated during their
arduous trip.
Ignorant of the large, underlying and sombre, “migrant
business”, they ask themselves: “What would we do if the same thing happened to
our sons?” This supposes to be their motive.
The group Las
Patronas has emerged as the result of economic “globalization”, whereby
migrants - all over the world – search for “the American dream” - travelling
extensively, crossing borders illegally and finding employment in first world
countries.
A constant flow of migrants mainly from Central and
South America, who dare to dream of a better life, risk their lives on a train
(called the "train of death" by some, others simply call it "La
Bestia," or the "the beast.") that they board illegally on the
Guatemala-Mexico border (Chiapas, México) and which eventually takes them to
the North of Mexico and the USA border, and not all survive the journey.
Other facts to consider
It is human nature
to emigrate.
Several studies indicate that the main factors that
influence migration are: wars (violence and economic instability), hunger
(produced by the same wars due to socio-political instability), “natural
disasters" (hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, etc.) and culture, among
others.[7][8]
Migrants create a
substantial inflow of foreign currency.
In 2012, The World Bank reported in that remittances
from the USA to Latin America averaged $350 USD monthly per migrant.
In 2012, the
censuses office of the United States registered a total of 31.7 million
Hispanics, of whom 20 million are Mexican. Remittances received in Mexico in
the year 2012 were of approximately 26 million dollars. [9]
The income from remittances, in comparison with the
foreign investments in the year 2012, is almost the same. In the year 2011,
nine Mexican federative entities received more than 1000 million dollars
through remittances. Also, these external resources are equivalent to more than
five percentage points of the Gross National Product in five states in the
country.[10]
Migrants:
Predominantly Female
Actually, it is reported that the number of Latin
American migrants in the US is predominantly female (55 to 70 %).[11]
Adolescent migrants
The number adolescent migrants in the USA, whose parents
did not survive the trip to the frontier and the entry across the border, has tripled.[12]
The “Business”
Arrangements between the immigrant “carriers” and
migration agents facilitate the transfer of immigrants. An undocumented person
pays between seven and thirty thousand dollars to cross the territory. Each
year 140 thousand of immigrants pass through Mexico illegally.[13]
The anthropologists
say: “...So it is relevant to discover and study the activities carried out
by Las Patronas and investigate the
new actions that certain associations are taking to heal these social issues
while the State turns a blind eye without intervening.[14]
The work of “Las Patronas” arises from the need to
contra-arrest the organised and criminal migrant “business” that promotes
corruption, profits at the cost of many persons lives and also that promotes
domestication, prostitution and slavery. Between fifty-five and seventy per
cent of the migrants are women who receive very little payment by doing
“anything” that is asked of them.
In this “business”, everybody wins: those who carry
migrants to the borders, the thieves who steal from them the little they have,
those who rape and prostitute women on there way, the kidnappers who are paid
rescue money, the police that earn bribes for every migrant who they allow to
get through, those who host the migrants, the drivers who transport migrants in
their trucks to the frontier, the country that receive currencies from those
who made it to the United States and are working, the banks, the exchange
houses, etc.
The countries involved have called our attention to
the “Las Patronas” activities and even supporting them so that they are able to
continue in their altruistic work.
What have the governments done to solve this social, political,
economical and cultural problem? They have
let this migrant business to continue. It is a big business! Everybody wins . .
. except the migrants . . . especially the women migrants!
Probably “Las Patronas” will not gain anything, but
perhaps they will become famous.
How, from such a dastardly “business” - can that
spirit of solidarity, love and hope- emerge from these “Patronas” – from these women who see beyond race or creed?
Women have a different nature which needs to be discovered.
It doesn’t correspond to our present lifestyle.
Without any culture, women will keep searching within the paradigms which
have been imposed to us!
[1] http://www.aztecanoticias.com.mx/capitulos/mexico/54408/mexico
[2]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEK5MFlS0lo
[3]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOWA0cdhYWQ
[4]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNrCEM6HiC8
[5]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34cOJwodQlo
[7] http://ca2020.fiu.edu/workshops/salvador_workshop/bernardo_a_villela.htm
[8] http://es.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20061229062136AAzE2Pu
[9] http://www.tiempoeconomico.com.mx/2012/08/04/migraci%C3%B3n-y-remesas-en-m%C3%A9xico/
[10] http://www.cemla-remesas.org/news/2012-05-itam.pdf
[11] http://www.ikuspegi-inmigracion.net/documentos/powerpoints/latinoamerica2012.pdf
[14] http://antropologiayarqueologia201.blogspot.mx/2013/05/el-papel-de-las-patronas-ante-el.html
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