Heavy stuff...........

So it is only Monday(technically Tuesday as it is 12:15am). It feels like we have been here for such a long time. We had a very busy and emotionally trying day yesterday. We started out with an orientation.

We talked about our Hopes and Expectations for the trip and we wrote them on big posters and there were some good ones most of them were really positive like being able to take our experiences home and make some positive changes for the people of Guatemala. Some of the others included Empowerment, taking action steps and more of the same theme. We also wrote about our Fears...these included the fear of the unknown, kidnapping and torture, transportation-which meant more kidnapping or a situation with guns, Danger, Reprisals, Fear for the people that we are trying to help. Talking about these fears was super stressful because it made the fact that we are on a Human Rights Delegation REAL. Human Rights workers are in extreme danger in this country. On a lighter note we also feared diarrhea. We also talked about the Realities of this trip. The realities that we are here and also that we now have a responsibility to share our knowledge and take action when we return to the comfort of the Unites States.
We then talked about our safety protocol which I don't really feel like describing because I don't want to.

Sunday was really the first day that we had a fully structured schedule with meetings to attend. Because it was Sunday most of the people that we met with came to us because well it was Sunday and it was safer for them to come to us as we are in a secure space.

The first people we met with yesterday was group of women from STITCH. They are labor organizers and were amazing. Our coordinator Amanda said that it was amazing that we got to meet these four women two of which are Ladino and two are Mayan. The short story is that the women that are organizing for the workers rights are focusing on rights for the female workers that work on the banana plantations (the company is called Bandegua in Guatemala however it is an offshoot of what used to be Chiquita and is now Del Monte). The men have rights that the women are not entitled to such as a place to live on the plantation. Most of the women travel 3-4 hours just to get to work. Then they are required to pack at least 45 boxes of bananas an HOUR....have you seen how big those banana boxes are? Oh and if the women want to stay on the plantation in the same houses that are provided for men...well they have to be sexually involved with the men. So basically they need to have sex with the male workers in order to be able to stay there.

So besides working on female laborer rights there are so many other issues that these organizers are fighting against including getting 40,000 workers unionized which is being disputed by multi-national companies including Chiquita, Dole and Del Monte (which I will now be boycotting). How come in the United States these companies are allowed to unionize but not in Guatemala? Do these people not deserve the same working conditions? The same maternity leave? Wages that will allow them to put food on their tables?

Think about that...........................

Next we took a very short coffee break and got the chance to speak with the group that had presented. I had a very interesting conversation with one of the Mayan women that I will not talk about now but will update you with when I get back to the States.

Like I said we had a very full day. I am so tired now that I will continue to tell you all about this week...however we also have a full day tomorrow and are leaving for the highlands in the morning and so I should try to get back to sleep!

If I am not blogging in the next few days please don't worry as I am not sure that we will have internet access. We will be back in Guatemala City on Friday.