Coyotes and Quetzales

Here are a couple examples of homes in the Guatemalan Countryside
Construction methods and materiels vary greatly depending on the raw materials available

10 days, a Coyote & 30,000 Quetzales…apparently that is all it takes to travel from Guatemala to the Promised Land. My new friend Hector explains how he dreams about one day having the money to get smuggled into the US. He is a small friendly guy of about 20 years; currently headed for the kitchen to cook what he claims is his specialty… Pasta Carbonara.

Late in the afternoon after visiting Semuc Champey I sat studying my Spanish flashcards in the corner of the patio at the hotel. The bored employees came over to see what the heck I was doing with the fat stack of 3x5 cards. Yo estudio Espanol, necesito mas practica! Hector took the worm and immediately pulled up a stool to help me practice Spanish. My limited communication skills tend to lend themselves to conversations about three subjects: home, work, and family. Two of which seem to easily lead to questions about money and lifestyle, a common curiosity among many folks with whom I have actually been able to converse. I must admit that I am equally as curious about their standard of living and since I don’t have the vocabulary to steer the conversation in any other direction I end up feeling a little squirmy in my seat when I admit to making more than 20 times the daily pay of a construction worker in San Pedro. Nearly 50 times what Hector makes in one day; if he was being honest about making 35 Q a day…roughly $4. Fearful of only enhancing his image of the US a land full huge houses, fast girls, and beautiful cars I tried to explain how each economic system is based on an entirely different scale. I explained that his $4 per hour in Guatemala was probably equivalent to 10 per hour in the US.

Hector asks how much a carton of eggs and a loaf of bread cost in the US, insisting that he would need nothing else to live. I think the concept that regardless of the job or living conditions it is better in the US has become hardwired in some of these people’s brains. So, instead of trying to make the US sound like a lousy place to live I decided to find out what it would entail to skip out of Guatemala and sneak into the Promised Land. Keep in mind that this man is willing to risk his life and leave his wife and two babies behind with the belief that it will somehow all be worth it.

The first thing Hector needs to do is amass a small fortune to pay for an unguaranteed outcome. I’m doubtful, but he states that the payment is due upon successful arrival in the US. 30,000 Quetzales is nearly 4000 dollars, probably enough to build a small house in the rural parts of Guatemala. Then he contacts a Coyote, a human smuggler, who orchestrates the travel through Mexico and subsequent border crashing in the US. Apparently this involves many busses, lots of walking, and somehow he was given the impression that it would all end with a big swim…across the infamous Rio Grande I imagine. I have watched some Guatemalan folks try to swim and I’m convinced that if this were actually the case none would ever make it to the US. I assured him that swimming probably wasn’t part of the program. Ten days, fifteen at the most… Hector trails off as he looks up toward the sky in a brief daydream.

With the meager amount of money he has saved and the “5000 Q matching grant” his friend who is in Texas has pledged, it is still unlikely we will be seeing chef Hector any time soon. Half jokingly I told him to give me a call when he got to America. He whipped out a piece of paper and pen and asked for my number. After a short hesitation I wrote a number on the piece of paper, my real number. What would I do if I received a call in 2-3 years? I think many people in the US like to portray illegal’s as selfishly taking jobs from hardworking American men and women, breaking the law so they can bleed some dollars off our suffering economy. Each time I see a five year old boy with a machete, a six year old girl with a huge load of firewood on her back or an old man carrying a 50 kilo sack from his forehead, I wonder where the selfishness lies. Hector doesn’t want to take a big motorcycle trip, build a huge house or own a fancy car; he merely wants his family to be one step above survival.

The masterpiece just arrived; a nice heaping bowl of pasta with a garlic sauce that is sure to keep the Tikal mosquitoes at bay, and what seems to be bacon (he said it was going to be beef). A nice side of Wonder style white bread compliments the meal. mmmm…delisioso! I think Hector has a bit more work to do before he can be the star illegal employee of a five star restaurant in New York City. I wonder if the Guatemalan food in Italy is as bad as the Italian food in Guatemala…