After lunch we watched a very informing documentary called "Made in LA" I would definitely recommend watching it...if possible...it was very eye opening to me. It is a story documenting the lives of several Latino women that are garment workers in LA. I was again shocked just to know that there are sweatshops in America and the conditions that these women deal with. The women work 12 to 13 hours days and then are required to take their work home to continue sewing until 1 to 2 in the morning. The sad thing to recognize is that for these women there really is no other option..they are not legal immigrants and so they cant get a "normal" job and so if they want money to support their family this is really the only option for these women. Obviously in these conditions they are being taken advantage of...if they don't have another option, they will be paid the lowest wage possible. The women are given about 19 cents for a 15 dollar shirt. The store Forever 21 is one of the worst stores in the area for poor sweatshops and the Latino population tried to sue Forever 21 for the mistreatment of their workers but with little avail...that's another whole story to get into so i will spare you all the details. I was just shocked by the whole story.
There have been times while I have been here that I have just felt so ignorant. I feel like I have been so caught up in my own little world that I haven't taken the chance to look around to the injustices that are all around me in the United States. Obviously i am not going to know all the details about what is going in specifically in LA...but i have been shocked over and over by the number of homeless people on Skid Row, shocked as I understand more and more the trap that the poor are caught in within LA, the presence of sweatshops, the lack of healthy food options and the over abundance of fast food restaurants in South LA...over and over again I see this is the world that I live in and it becomes hard to see these things and not know what i can do to make it any better for anyone. I know that being here and leading groups into the city doing ministry and making them aware of the injustices going on in our world makes a difference...but the problems seem surmounting and overwhelming...
couple of things. First and foremost, what you are doing is amazing. Not very many people get the chance to do what your doing, or anything even remotely close. Feel privileged that you are there and get to help in whatever capacity. Secondly, as sucky as it is the idea of sweatshops is better than the alternative. I, obviously, do not agree with treating people poorly, but froma business perspective it is the smartest decision. Keep in mind that education is the most accessible tool to ending poverty. While you are there, teach, teach, and teach until you are drained. Then do it again. You are so smart and have so much to teach these people. Thirdly, learn from the experience. Take in everything that you are doing and think about what you can do in the future. Lastly, be a servant warrior. See the injustices in LA and commit to doing something about them. The injustices in LA are not unique to LA, I almost gaurantee it. Those injustices are all over the United States and the world.
ReplyDeleteI know that it is hard to be there and not be able to help everything, but you wont be of any help if you burn out. You are in a very interesting season of your life and are going to learn so much from this time. I love that I get to share in the experience with you, even if it is just through this keyboard.