Day 13: Visiting a Mini-Maquila

Although I've tried adamantly to visit a maquila, I have had no success.  In the town that I am staying in there are a few "mini-maquilas" as they are called by the local people.  These mini-maquilas make school uniforms and athletic wear for consumers throughout El Salvador.  Many of the people that work in these mini-maquilas have worked in maquilas in the Free Trade Zones in El Salvador.  I visited a mini-maquila to see how clothes are assembled and get a sense of working conditions.  I ended up at a mini-maquila that consisted of the owner and 3 female machine operators.  I interviewed one of the female machine operators.  Prior to working in this mini-maquila, she worked in a Korean owned maquila.  She shared a story with me that is consistent with the fear workers have expressed about working in Korean owned maquilas in El Salvador.  The worker stated that at Korean maquilas one female worker disappears annually.  According to workers, the owners sacrifice a virgin woman so that business keeps prospering.  Although the validity of this story is unknown, it does exhibit the fear of working in maquilas in El Salvador, specifically Asian owned.  Two women have shared this story with me although details of the story change.  I wanted to share this story just to show that although people, especially women, loathe working in the maquila, many continue to do so out of necessity.  In a country where job opportunities are limited, maquila work appears to be the easiest to get into.

Here are some pics of the mini-maquila as well as a calendar of scantily clad women.  Even though in the mini-maquila there are more women then men, the calendar was still put up by the male owner.

Day 12: Community Radio Station

I'm alive!!  I haven't had access to the internet in about 5 days and I didn't miss it even once.  No internet?  Who cares I say!  But nonetheless I am here catching up on work and writing about what I've done.  On Day 11, I visited one of the community radio station.  The radio station is literally an attic above a store.  The station is funded by the owner of the store and anyone is free to use it, more of a public radio type of format.  I visited the station out of curiosity.  In the dark room, I found one DJ playing cumbias on a computer which sat on an old table.  Despite their low resources, it was great to see the dedication to making the station work.

After visiting the station, I headed to dinner with my godfather.  We ended up at a taco stand.  The taqueria is run by Salvadorans who lived in Guadalajara, Mexico for many years and later returned to El Salvador.  The tacos taste authentically Mexican but the sauces taste Salvadoran.  Talk about a fusion restaurant.  I spent some time talking to the owner after he greeted me by saying Chale! you should check the tacos out (in Spanish of course).  Ha.  So I ate some tacos and I took a picture of his Mexican/Salvadoran allegiance.

Day 11: School for Maquila Workers

Like in the U.S., there is Adult Continuation School in El Salvador.  One of the schools in the community offers classes on Sundays for adults to obtain their high school degree, or what is known here as bachillerato.  Many of the students that I met on the Sunday I visited the continuation school were maquila workers.  Students meet once a week and review core subjects in preparation for their exams, such as science, social studies, English, language, and math.  There are two schedules, one in the morning that runs from 7:15am to Noon and one in the afternoon which runs from 12:30-5:00pm.  I observed two classes, a social studies and a math class.  Students are allowed to bring their children to classes.  I saw many pregnant women, women pushing strollers, and a father with his daughter in the class.  This type of flexibility allows individuals who work in the maquila, for the most part Monday-Friday, to obtain their education.  In the social studies class I observed, the students discussed globalization and El Salvador.  The teacher asked me about many products made in El Salvador that are consumed in the U.S. so students would get an idea of how much products are sold for in comparison to how much they made.  In addition, she pointed out that many of the products made in El Salvador are sold for more money than they are sold in the U.S.  During their break, I was able to interview 3 students, 2 males and 1 female on their reasons for attending Continuation School.  All of them stated that they did not want to work in the maquilas and had realized that without their degree their opportunities to find alternative employment were almost non-existence.  One student had a goal of attending a university and studying either law or education. It was an amazing experience to be able to sit in a class and interview maquila workers in a school setting.

Day 10: Interviews, Interviews, Interviews!!!

I was blessed with a whole lot of luck on my 10th day!  I was able to line up 6 maquila worker interviews today.  I interviewed 5 male workers and 1 female worker.  I had been struggling to find male workers in the area.  Most of the literature that I have reviewed on maquilas play close attention to women in the factory since they do make up the majority of workers.  Therefore the point of my journey to El Salvador was to interview mostly male workers to see how they felt about gender/labor issues.  I was becoming frustrating because I was not able to find men in the maquila, but as luck would have it (and with the help of my trusty assistant) I was able to find men to interview.  Like the female workers I have interview, they also complained about the low wages they received.  As I mentioned before, maquila workers in El Salvador make about $75-90 biweekly.  What I have found out is that male workers are less likely to talk about gender issues in the maquilas.  Female workers will discuss sexual harassment and fighting between women/men, but men are less likely to share that type of information.  In my interviews I ask questions about their work in the maquila, but I also ask about their views of fatherhood and what it means to be a man in order to understand Salvadoran working class masculinity. Many of the men that go work at the maquilas are tailors.  They go into the maquilas for an opportunity to work in their trade.  But many leave because of the treatment and the low wages.  One man noted that the treatment was so bad, that men cried. He giggled, along with his brother-in-law, when he made the statement, but it goes to show that men are expected to behave a certain way.  According to my observations,  working class Salvadoran men are providers and protectors of their family.  A bad father and man is not responsible and thinks only about himself and fulfilling his desires/wants and in addition participates in heavy drinking.  Heavy drinking appears to be one of the qualities that separates bad fathers/men from good fathers/men.  This is just some of the information I remember from the top of my head, but I have a notebook of notes and hours of recorded interviews to go through.  I am very excited to start reviewing them and begin to write my thesis.

Today in one El Salvador's newspapers, El Diario de Hoy, there was an article on El Salvador's exports to Europe.  El Salvador exports about 7.3% of its products to Europe, but the U.S. continues to be the country where most Salvadoran goods go to, specifically textiles.  Here is a picture the Fruit of the Loom maquila, which was shown in today's paper.

Remember, next time you go to The Gap, purchase Fruit of the Loom, Haines, Champion, and/or Puma, check the label--it might just say "Made in El Salvador."

Day 9: Community Library Inauguration

I had the pleasure to attend the inauguration of a community library in a small town of Sonsonate, El Salvador.  The library is the first of its kind in the community and is funded by various organizations, including El Salvador's Ministry of Education and hometown associations in the U.S.  The community had a day long celebration including fireworks, a student led parade, an inauguration ceremony, and a futbol game.  The inauguration ceremony was a few hours and occurred at one of the local schools.  The ceremony was filled with performances by students and speakers, including well known people in the community.  I then learned that another school in the community is also opening its own library.  The libraries for the most part contain books that the school had in storage, but the library system now allow student to take home books that they previously did not have access to.  Here is a picture of one of the community libraries.

Day 8: Ruins of San Andres and Izalco

There are a few archeological sites in El Salvador, one of them being San Andres.  I have visited this site numerous occasions.  The ruins unfortunately is partially excavated due to the low government funding these site received for further development.  Although El Salvador has attempted to incorporate some indigenous heritage to attract tourism, similar to Mexico and Guatemala, the country does not recognize the existence of indigenous people living in El Salvador.  Indigenous people are seen as a relic of the past with little consideration of the number indigenous people that live throughout the country.  Currently, indigenous people in the community of Izalco are organizing to fight for recognition of indigenous people in El Salvador.  Izalco was also a major site of the 1932 Massacre which was the government's attempt to quell communist and indigenous resistance in the region. Below are pictures of the San Andres ruins as well as a Catholic Church in Izalco.  

Day 7: Free Trade Zones

Today I went to go see the Free Trade Zones in El Salvador.  Free Trade Zones are areas within in El Salvador in which goods can be manufactured without involvement of local government authorities.  These areas often assembly of involve labor intensive goods which are later exported.  These zones are created to bring money to the host country and allow foreign countries to take advantage of lax labor laws and cheap labor.

I was not able to go into the Free Trade Zones.  No permission is granted unless you are able to obtain an appointment with one of the companies.  I was informed by one of the guards that tours are granted with certain companies and he told me to contact an office.  When I attempted to reach them, they were no longer in service.  I was then given another contact by another guard and I will try to reach them.  Fingers crossed that I am granted access to one of the maquilas or factories.

Here are some pictures I was able to take from a bridge located near a Free Trade Zone.  Although the buildings look like wharehouses, there are actually maquila workers inside working and assembling garments.

I also interviewed a deportee today.  He is from the Los Angeles area and was deported to El Salvador about a month ago.  He told me about his experiences within the prisons and the deportation process.  More importantly, he told me about the abuse detainees and deportees receive from ICE officers.  This is an important issue that needs to be discussed.  There are many deportees in the area in which I am in and each have a unique story.  They all left spouses in the U.S, some left their children.  Despite what we think about immigration  and immigration laws, I think we can all agree that humans should not be abused by any means.

Day 5: First Interview

I conducted my first interview and I was able to collect some great information.  I interviewed a woman in her early 50s who worked in various maquilas in El Salvador and also happens to be my mother's friend.  We covered various topics from her work in the maquilas to migration to the U.S to fatherhood.  Since it was my first interview in El Salvador, I  wanted to interview her first to make sure that my translations were accurate and that my questions made sense.  I did have one awkward moment when I asked about her relationships with her coworkers in the maquilas.  I said "relaciones" which means relations in Spanish but within El Salvador it means sexual relationships.  After realizing my embarrassing mistake, we laughed it off and she answered the question I meant to ask.  Ha.

I will not go into the details of my interviews on this blog, since I will use my findings for my thesis, but I will share some portions.  From what folks have told me, Korean owned maquilas tend to use harsh punishment.  My first interviewee mentioned that upon entering the maquila, workers are required to cover their shoes with a plastic covering.  I then asked if it was to protect the shoes of workers, and she responded "what do you mean? It's to protect the maquila floor from dirt and scratches."  When workers forget to cover their shoes, managers hit then with a stick.  At just $5 a day in wages for a 7am-4pm shift, maquila workers produce thousands of garments a day.  Workers are well aware of how much garments are sold for in the U.S. since they are labeled and priced before it leaves the maquilas.  My interviewee noted that one shirt she made was priced at $75.

This is just one story of many I heard.  I have two more interviews lined up for tonight.  One is a male who works in a factory, the other is a female who works in the maquilas.  Finding men who work in the maquilas has been difficult.  Most of the men that I encounter work tend to work in other types of factories.

Day 3: Museo de la Revolucion

Yesterday I traveled to Perquin, Morazan, El Salvador  to visit the Museum of the Revolution.  Perquin was an area that was a stronghold of the guerillas during El Salvador's civil war from 1979-1992.  Driving up to the region, the area is about an hour away from San Miguel, the closest major urban area.  Since it is winter time in El Salvador, the mountains are a lush green.  The roads are narrow if coming from San Salvador, but the scenery is gorgeous.  There are two museums in the region.  One is dedicated to showing how the guerillas lived in the area.  There are makeshift bridges, underground ventilation system for smoke, and hideout tunnels.  The facility holds various types of equipment found from the war including parts of U.S. airplanes that were taken down in the region, ammunition and rifles, and gear of La Guardia Nacional. 

The other one is the Museum of the Revolution.  This museum had a lot of information about the war, solidarity movements abroad, specifically in the U.S. and Germany, and Radio Venceremos, which was the guerillas' radio station.  At the museum, I encountered people from the U.S. as well as Canada.  Although the museum is small, it was interesting to see how well visited it is by people from El Salvador and abroad.  There were two exhibits that caught my eye.  First, there were testimonials from survivors of the Massacre at El Mozote.  

This massacre is an example of the mass killings that took place during the war.  Men, women, and children were murdered by El Salvador's National Guard.  The Guard left the bodies to rot, some which were found being eating by vultures and dogs.  This is one of the most well known massacres of El Salvador's civil war and exhibits the inhumanity being carried out by an army and government being funded by the U.S government.  It is noted that the U.S. government sent approximately $1,000,000 daily to support El Salvador and their fight against the guerillas.  But the guerillas are not without fault.  The exhibit also has a luxury car that was given to high level officials of the FMLN, the guerilla party of El Salvador, by the Mexican government for use during the war.  My cousin accompanied me on this trip and his reaction upon seeing the car was "Imagine how the poor people felt when they saw Schafik riding around in this car while they were sacrificing themselves by fighting?"  I don't know much about Schafik other than he was a prominent leader of the FMLN and of Palestinian descent.  But my cousin's reaction does require some reflection, since the oral historian of the museum mentioned that many of the FMLN leaders left El Salvador with millions of dollars in their pockets, some moving to the U.S. and Britain.  I also thought that another interesting note on the museum is that is funded heavily by the Irish government. Not sure why but it might be interesting to find out.

Here are some pictures of the museum:

And since I am currently in El Salvador to study masculinity, I could not help but notice the presence of women and the use feminine in the guerilla movement.  Here are some of the pictures I caught of women in the museums.  Often times when we think of guerillas, for example such as Fidel Castro and Che Guevara, we have this image of men smoking cigars, carrying weapons, and wearing military fatigues, an exhibition of masculine markers of some sort.   These pictures are an example of women's involvement in guerilla struggle and a recognition of women fighting alongside men.   

"Liberty for the women political prisoners of Salvador"

But despite the involvement of women in the guerilla movement, women were still seen as nurturers and mothers, as depicted in this propaganda piece of the FMLN.  This poem feminizes El Salvador, but most importantly uses a woman to portray the FMLN who will provide the life the country when it becomes free.  

Translation:
"My small homeland
my pretty mamacita
you will see how pretty you will be
when you are free.
well brushed, new dress
blushed cheeks
you will be beautiful
you will be big
my small homeland."

Day 2: Setting Up Interviews

Day 2 in El Salvador and I am up and running.  I spent the first half of the day setting up interviews with maquila workers.  For the most part, maquila workers work Monday-Saturday, with most of them arriving home after 6pm so most of my interviews will take place after a long work day.  My first interview will be with a young woman in her late teens and it is scheduled for Monday evening.  A second interviewee will be my grandmother's neighbor in her late 40s who worked in the maquila and attended school on Sundays eventually gaining her bachillerato, the U.S. equivalent of a high school diploma.  I might also be interviewing her son, who is in his 30s, and was terminated from the maquila after talking back to his supervisor.  My fourth interviewee is my childhood friend who works in a kitchen of a maquila.  My fifth interview will be with my uncle's sister-in-law who is a supervisor at a maquila. These are the five interviews I lined up thus far and can't wait to get started.  I was also informed that my mother's friend teaches Sunday school to maquila workers.  I hope that she allows me to observe one of her classes.  

The focus of my thesis is on men and masculinity in the maquilas of El Salvador.  From most of books I've read on maquilas the focus has been on women and the trope of femininity that maquilas allegedly function around.  Over the years, men have entered the maquilas in growing numbers and I want to look at how their experiences are different/similar to women.  Matthew Gutmann, a leading scholar in masculinity studies in Latin America, in his book Changing Men and Masculinities in Latin America identifies  four concepts scholars use to study masculinity.  The four concepts are: 1) masculinity is anything that men think, say or do, 2) masculinity is what men think, say, and do to distinguish themselves as men, 3) masculinity is a quality that certain men have more than other men, and 4) scholars emphasis on the significance of women to the negotiations of masculinities (Gutmann 3).  Therefore, for my thesis, I will interview both men and women to gain insight on how men view themselves as men within the maquila and how they view other men as well as how women view the men that they work with.  Most of my questions focus on their work in the maquilas, but some of the questions also focus on how they view themselves as partners, fathers, and male members of the Salvadoran working class.

On a side note, I've spent the second half of the day eating real "organic" vegetables.  Tomatoes sure taste better in this part of the world.  For a class last year, I wrote a paper on red beans, a staple crop in a Salvadoran diet, and the growing dependency on imported beans from China.  Here is a picture the red beans I bought this morning to cook for lunch which are grown and sold by a local family for a dollar a bag.  

Tomorrow I'm traveling to Perquin to visit El Museo de la Revolucion (The Museum of the Revolution).  I'll be sure to post some pictures.  Salud!

Beginning the Journey

I decided to start this blog to create a space for my reflections as I travel throughout El Salvador for the next three weeks.  Although my original mission was to gather interviews for my thesis on maquila workers in El Salvador, this trip is already developing into so much more.  Various projects have fallen on my lap and I will also be pursuing these during my stay in El Salvador.  I am very excited to begin this journey and seeing what I stumble upon.  The major project I will be working on is a study of men in the maquilas of El Salvador.  I will be interviewing maquila workers and worker organizers, as well as visiting the Instituto de Derechos Humanos (Institute of Human Rights) at the Universidad Centroamericana Jose Simeon Cañas in San Salvador to gather information on labor rights in El Salvador.  The second project I am working on is about El Salvador's Teacher's Strikes of 1968-1971.  I have already interviewed a couple of people in the U.S. who participated in the strikes and plan to interview other former teachers in El Salvador.  I also plan on taking a side trip to Morazan, an area in El Salvador that was a guerilla stronghold during the Civil War, to visit the site of the El Mozote Massacre and the Museum of the Revolution.

Any feedback/comments would greatly be appreciated.  As Salvadorans say when departing: Salud!