Child migrant workers in Mexico miss out on education and a safe environment
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UNICEF_Television. "Dailymotion - Child migrant workers in Mexico miss out on education and a safe environment - a News & Politics video." Dailymotion - Online Videos, Music, and Movies. Watch a Video Today!. 4 Feb. 2011. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4m7k5_child-migrant-workers-in-mexico-mis_news.
Thomas Nybo, a UNICEF correspondent reports on the state of education for many children in northern Mexico. This video clip describes the working conditions of children migrant workers ageing from 6-10 years old, face in communities across Mexico. Theresa Kilbane, a UNICEF Protection Officer states that since migrant workers travel from place to place, no one group feels responsible to help them. UNICEF is a division of the United Nations with a focus on helping to improve the opportunities of children across the world. In Mexico UNICEF is helping by providing children with school kits, books and other materials. UNICEF also works with the local government and farm owners to collaborate on new ways to improve the education and working conditions of migrant workers and their families.
Nybo's commentary on the state of education for migrant workers, addresses the concern that many children are not receiving an adequate level of education. Many of these children both work and live in camps ran by the farms. To help children have access to schools farm owners have created their own schools within the camps. With only a fraction of the children actually attending these schools, the educational progress of migrant families dwindles to almost nothing. With the help of organizations like UNICEF, migrant children are giving a better opportunity to succeed. However UNICEF's efforts alone are not enough. Without more government aid and support from local communities migrant workers and their children will continue to “live as an excluded minority within the country.”(Kilbane)
It's wonderful to know that organizations like UNICEF are working to help migrant children. One concern that I have always had is wether or not these organizations are helping to solve the problem from the root source. Many times charities help individuals or groups once a situation has already occurred. Other than aid to natural disasters, I feel more can be done to help prevent future generations from the same trials of the past. UNICEF is helping current students by providing them with school supplies and organizing communities to help these children. This doesn't help the next generation of children have a better chance to success. By only taking a re-active approach to helping migrant children we are not laying sufficient enough ground work to have a sustainable solution. Nybo reports that these children live in camp between September and May. This of course is the traditional school session, as well as the growing season. By having children dislocated from their home communities they are forced to attend the camp schools which aren’t adequate to local standards. I believe that this is a major issue and problem that should be addressed by organizations like UNICEF. Why spend money and resources on camp schools when we can compensate the local schools to accommodate migrant children. Like Kilbane stated these children are not immigrants, they are families from within Mexico that are treated as a sub-culture that dwell beneath local communities.
The traditional school season corresponds with the growing/picking season. This is conflict of work and school makes it extremely difficult for children to regularly attend classes. UNICEF has only worked to assist in this already failing system. From my research it appears there currently are no organizations or programs that are proactivly designed around the needs of migrant workers and their children. There are, according to UNICEF over 300,000 children in Northern Mexico that are classified as migrant workers. With such a large number of children working, why hasn't there been a school curriculum specifically developed around the unique learning environment these children face. The are several situations that could be developed to help children succeed in a hands on learning environment. This problem has gone on for too long. We wait for children to grow up with out an education, then turn around and try and help them catch up. We need to focus new efforts on why there isn't a program available to help these children before hand. One of my many thoughts is around alternative education and development of a school and curriculum specifically for the scheduling and seasons of migrant workers.
Joshua, I think you did a fabulous job presenting the plight of migrant workers in Mexico. I think I had the misconception that the difficulties of obtaining education for migrant workers was something that only happened in the United States. You hit the nail on the head by addressing the issue of education reform specifically for migrant workers. You gave an exceptionally thoughtful response to this article. I appreciated the information.
ReplyDeleteI get the sense that you have an emotional investment in the disparities associated with migrant workers and the inequalities they face. There is something maddening about human beings not being afforded the chance to really excel and given what I consider to be basic rights. On that note I however, sometimes have to remind myself that there are those out there that accept and enjoy the migrant life. There is a chance that we have a tendency towards being ethnocentric, thinking our way of life is the best way. That is something I think for myself, and in realizing that could be where some of my frustration comes from, I can sit back and relax a bit.
Thank you for the new information! There is so much to learn on this subject and I really look forward to the rest of the semester.