Life is so easy where you come from.
It’s handed to you on a silver platter, gold spoon and all the fixings
included. Because that’s the way life is for you people. You wouldn’t know life
any other way. You’re so self-centered, caring only for the people in the close
proximity of your own life; your own personal bubble. You have no idea what’s
going on in my country. Not that you’d care if you did. I bet you couldn’t
point to it on a map, without extensively searching, even if I paid you for it.
I bet you’d need a clue. I wouldn’t need a clue to find yours. For god’s sake,
it takes up the entire width the continent, leaving little space for my country
to reside. Yet with all of the space and
power your country is known for, the people of my country know how to survive,
at least the people I live amongst. If you got stuck in my country for a year,
you’d go insane. I am an El Salvadorian Campesino; a farmer who takes
everything off the land. Nothing is simply handed to us. I have to work for
everything. If I don’t, we starve. I’m sure you don’t know what I truly mean,
so let me spell it out for you.
Let’s start with the basics. If you
counted your clothes, how many do you think you have? How many pairs of shoes? I
wonder how much time you waste by trying to decide what to wear. Must be nice
to have that many options. It’s never something I’ve encountered. Where I live,
we’re lucky if we have two shirts: one for work and one for church. I’m lucky
if I can buy a new pair of shoes for my kids. Otherwise, they run bare
foot. My kids aren’t the only ones that
suffer. There are more. There’ll always be more.
An essential part of life is shelter,
a home. Tell me about yours. Wow, 2 story: 3 bedroom, 2 bath, furnished
basement, 3 car garage, full heating and electricity, basketball hoop in the
front. Oh, you just redesigned your kitchen? Sounds amazing… Wanna hear about
mine? We live in a 2 room house. You heard me right, I didn’t mean 2 story. We
have a room that is our: kitchen, dining room, living room, and children’s
bedroom all in one. Then we have a separate room for my wife and I, something
to call our own. Our house is made of sticks and a mixture of mud. There are
gaps that will never stay filled in, giving us holes where sun and wind can easily
enter. It gets cold at night, so we stoke the fire instead of turning on the
heat. Otherwise we just huddle together, feeding off of each other’s warmth. If
we have to use the bathroom, we go outside. Oh that’s what you do when you go
camping? Like on vacation to have fun? Hmm, come live in El Salvador for a
while, it’ll stop being fun.
How are the schools where you live?
Pretty nice, I’m guessing. Oh, the second grade class just got a new smart
board? Yes, I understand the concept of a smart board; you don’t need to
explain it to me. I’m not an idiot, I’m poor.
What about my kids? They go to school for now. If I can’t provide paper
for them to write on, and books for them to read, they get beat. They
physically suffer for my lack of money. Eventually they will have to stop going
to school so they can work as well. Every little bit helps, and we rely on
every little bit. I wish I wouldn’t have to pull them out, but that’s how life
is for us. That’s how it was when I was a kid, that’s how it is for my kids,
and there’s a good chance that’s how life will be for their kids. The cycle
never ends; a never-ending cycle of misery.
I see you’re holding your new baby.
Congratulations. What’s his name? Samuel. Very common, American name. I’m sure
he will grow up to be a fine man. We just had a baby also. Unfortunately, she passed on. From what you
ask? Doesn’t matter… something you can take a pill for I’m sure. If only we
could afford it. I couldn’t take her to the pediatrician because we don’t have
one. Even if we did, there’s no way to pay for it. So I took her motionless
body to the hillside and buried her amongst the rocks and flowers. Oh that’s
what you did with your dog? That’s nice…I’m glad my daughter reminds you of a
dog.
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