Meeting Mexican Women Laborers after the NAFTA (3)
By Park
Nam-hee
Published:
September 30, 2011
Translated
by Gayoung Yoon
Influx of Migrant Women into Domestic Work, Farms and Adult
Entertainment Industry
IMUMI (Inotitito Para Las
Mujeres), which I visited last month in Mexico City, is an organization working
with women migrant laborers.
The number of migrant workers
is rapidly increasing in Mexico, especially women migrant workers in recent
years. Forty-nine percent of migrant workers to the United States are women.
The issues of migrant workers
in Mexico are: 1) Mexican people migrating to the US and 2) migrants from China
and other South American countries. Mexican people who move to the US or to
Canada to work have problems like low wages and discrimination. Laborers from poorer
countries who come to Mexico also work under these conditions.
 |
| With Monica, who works at IMUMI © Park Nam-hee |
IMUMI works to protect and to
prevent discrimination against both migrant workers in Mexico and out-migrants
in the US. They also help long-term Mexican migrant women laborers obtain
American citizenship.
The issue of migrant women
laborers is also closely related to the matter of human trafficking, and so the
organization focuses on both the issues of migrant workers and human
trafficking. There are often cases in which women migrant laborers are trafficked
under false pretenses into adult entertainment and sex industries.
To deal with these matters,
they work with another migrant women organization in the US, and with lawyers
from the both the US and Mexico. The government is aware of the severity of
problems that migrant workers face, but they have no exact statistics in
reality. That is why the organization is working to presure the Mexican
government to investigate the situations of women migrant workers and
trafficking.
With regards to the issue of
trafficking, the organization puts special effort into understanding the
process of recruitment and employment of women.
Finding
Alternatives to Endless Cycle of Migrant Labor
I asked Monica, who works at
IMUMI, the reasons why the number of migrant laborers is increasing despite their
having to work far away from their families in different cultures and under the
conditions of low wages and discrimination. We also had a discussion about
possible alternatives.
Monica’s answer was that people
migrate into other countries or other cities in order to find a financially
better life. It is inevitable for people in the countryside to leave their
hometowns in search of jobs, as there are not many jobs available. Despite discrimination
and low wage issues, migrant laborers choose to work for the minimum wage in
the US because that salary is still higher than what they can get in Mexico.
In relation to this, Monica
stated that taking active measures to protect labor rights--like policies and
activities to prevent discrimination against migrant workers--is important.
The issue of migrant laborers
is not solely one country’s problem. Also, the number of migrant laborers is
also rising. It seems there is a need for a community-based alternative, which makes
it possible for people to stay and work in their hometowns. We both concluded
that international solidarity is also necessary to prevent discrimination
against and to guarantee the rights of migrant laborers.
Many Women are
Suffering from Domestic Violence at This Very Moment
 |
| Meeting activists from APIS, which deals with domestic violence © Park Nam-he |
I visited the main office of another
women’s activism group, APIS, in Mexico City. The organization started its
activities in 1991 and operates a shelter for victims of domestic violence and
two regional offices.
The motivation for founding
the organization was interesting. They started to help underprivileged women in
the poorer quarters of the city. They organized educational events to promote maternal
protection including women’s health, pregnancy, childbirth and child-rearing, but
the women they were could not participate. When they looked into the reasons
why, they found out that a number of women were suffering from domestic
violence under the patriarchal culture. The organization decided that it must
first deal with domestic violence, and that is how today’s APIS came to be.
The organization provides
information about domestic violence through a hotline counselling service, supports
victims and operates a shelter. They also concentrate on training counsellors
and preventive education on domestic violence. One of the important activities
of the organization is that they call on and help the central and regional
governments to develop policies on preventive measures for violence against
women.
Activist Tina, who has been working
at APIS for 11 years, said that domestic violence happens frequently in the
households that have experienced migrant labor. She explained that husbands who
have gone to other cities or countries to make money have a sense of
superiority of being a breadwinner and have a mentality of compensation for
their troubles, and that is why they treat their wives badly and use violence
freely.
Around 90 women visit the
office every week and there is even more hotline counselling. APIS seemed to be
very well known. In regard to the publicity activities of the organisation, Monica
talked about an event in 2003.
At that time, APIS invited to
their offices a television producer and a scriptwriter from a broadcasting station
and described in detail the cases of women who experience domestic violence. They
also demonstrated the hotline counselling service and their process of supporting
the victims. It was to persuade the people that the stories of victims could be
good material for TV series.
Eventually, AZTECA TRECE, a
famous broadcasting station in Mexico, produced a drama series about women who
suffer from domestic violence. They also advertised the organisation for free during
and after the episodes. After the TV series started airing, a number of women
contacted APIS to discuss their problems with domestic violence that they
couldn’t tell anyone else. The organization has been actively working on
solving their problems.
I personally watched the TV
series that night. What women keep silent
about (“Lo que callamos las mujeres”) was aired for 30 minutes around 5
o’clock in the afternoon. During the program, an 18-secondadvertisement for APIS
was shown. The program portrayed the concrete reality of Mexican women.
In order to solve the problems
of domestic violence, the patriarchal culture has to be changed and there needs
to be preventive and relief policies from the government. It was the sisterhood
and strength of Mexican women which were the foundation of the movement to publicize
and solve the issues of severe violence against women that were hard to speak
about.
Park Nam-hee, who worked for 10 years with
the Women’s Trade Union in Korea, has been sending us stories of women laborers whom she met during her travel in Mexico. Her
stories, in a 5-part series, show Mexican society in transition after the NAFTA
between Mexico and the USA, and women’s activities to cope with it.
*Original article:
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