Rigoberta Menchu

After reading the story about Rigoberta Menchu and her family, it made me realize how blessed and fortunate I am.  I could never imagine growing up the way her father or the way Rigoberta did.  Due to the lack of food and hunger, her grandmother was forced to give away Rigoberta's father to another man just so he was able to survive and have food.  I could never imagine having to give up or being given up by my other. This to be is such a heartbreaking decision.  Giving away your children kind of reminds me of A Modest Proposal and how Swift proposed families to eat their children or sell them for money.   From the story, it sounded that giving him away didn't benefit him the way he probably hoped since he did not get paid anything because he was given away although he was doing hard labor.  Rigoberta had experienced hard labor and work at such a young age.  The type of conditions she was put through when she traveled to the fincas were unbelievable!  This makes me feel guilty for complaining about riding in the care for 6+ hours or more!

"The lorry holds about forty people. But in with the people, go the animals.....During the trip the animals and the small children used to dirty the lorry and you'd get people vomiting and wetting themselves."     

I would never imagine traveling in this type of condition, and I could only imagine how packed it must have been.  She also described how people were covered in mosquito bites all over their body and inside their mouths.  I kind of felt as if they were treated like slaves when they were being punished and yelled at while they worked.  When they would either take a little rest or if you were a slow worker, you quickly were insulted and yelled at.  Their pay also varies.  I can relate to this when I serve because when it is slow I usually make nothing and only get paid 2.65 an hour, but not as extreme as her conditions.  They  are either paid by the day, and sometimes for the amount of work done.  They are paid in Centavos which 100 centavos are equivalent to one US dollar.  This to me is unbelievable!  When she mentioned that her father earned 30-40 centavos a day, that is almost .50!   I could never imagine earning only .50 for a days worth of work.