Blog #5: Choices…

Choices…

            Everyday people need to decide between doing what one should do, and what one wants to do.  Today I debated in my head about going home to my host family for lunch or going to a café for some time to myself. I had to choose between being with friends and “family”, and doing something for my personal self. Knowing that my host mother was preparing a meal for me and expecting me to eat it, I felt obligated to go home like I said I would. However, after lunch I went out to wander the markets as an attempt to balance both options. Although my situation was far less extreme than that of migrant workers, I gained a better understanding of the conflicts they face with migration.

Our discussion with Jorge Hernandez-Hernandez at Sta Ana del Valle today spoke of migrant workers and the affects on their hometowns. The article The Culture of Migration in Southern Mexico by Jeffrey Cohen listed three areas that affect the decision to migrate: “a household’s membership, its organization and gender makeup, and its stage in the development cycle; the social networks that are present and that migrants will use to support their moves; and the unique social processes and cultural traditions of the households,” (pg. 34). This is the start of many more decisions that must be made, and the struggle I am sure they must face as they weigh their options. Every migrant worker is faced with the conflict of sending a remittance home to their family. Jorge told us forty-five percent of the households in Sta. Ana del Valle receive remittance from those who chose to leave their families for work. This is important to the families because it not only helps them financially, but it keeps their ties in the community so that they maintain social status, which is highly important in indigenous communities. As we drove down the streets to meet Jorge, I clearly saw the poverty was worse than any other town we’ve been to and I could feel a quiet and somewhat depressed atmosphere of the community. I then truly understood not only how grateful the families must be for added income, but how the migrants felt they made the right decision to leave. Sending a remittance shows a balance in decision making, they choose to not only make more money for themselves but for others as well. This is similar to how I try to balance both my options when I’m faced with a decision. However, some migrants make the choice to not be as committed to their families at home.

Jeffrey Cohen addressed the issue of those who make different decisions; “two distinct groups of migrants are of concern: migrants who leave, never to return and no longer in contact with their households; and migrants who remain in touch with their households in a limited sense but do not remit,” (pg. 31). I was surprised by this statement because I never gave thought to the possibility of migrant workers not wanting to return home to their families. Although there are few who completely lose contact with Mexico, I had a better understanding as to why after visiting a migrant-sending town. Those who come to the United States must find it difficult to go back to a poor community and to not create a whole new life for themselves in their new country. The article had a story about a man who went to the United States for work and ended up marrying a woman and having children, never returning to his old life. Although I cannot say this was wrong of him, I can say I can sympathize with his decision. Sometimes people just need to do what is best for their own self. 

- Chelsea Williams -