Guatemala – Job Needed: “Challenging job wanted: Mojado retornado (returned wetback), construction foreman, own vehicle, expert in drywall”.
Thirty-nine-year-old Diego returned to his native Guatemala nine months ago, after living two-thirds of his life in the United States. He walked out on his parents in Guatemala City when he was 14, crossing Mexico by bus. From there, Diego paid a “coyote” USD 500 to guide him to his new country.
I asked him what it was like to be back in Guatemala, the first time in his native country as an adult. Diego had thought a great deal about this, and so he was quick to respond: “It’s very confusing.”
He had worked hard in the US, and had saved some of his wages. He bought a car a week after being deported to Guatemala. Although just about everyone in his new neighborhood rode the bus, Diego was too scared to use public transport in a city where, he heard, extortionist gangs killed a bus driver every day.
While in the US, Diego lived in California and North Carolina. Mostly he had worked in construction, eventually attaining the rank of foreman, supervising crews of roofers and drywall installers. He had also done farm work, poultry and tobacco. He had actually been legal for a few years up north, before he was arrested for possession of cocaine. He was in jail when his “Green Card” expired. After he was released, he never bothered to check if his permanent residence status could be renewed. And so, 20 years later, when he was pulled over for drunk driving, the judge sent him to detention, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) put him on a free flight home.
A cousin gave Diego his first job back in Guatemala, then let him go when business fell off. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) helped him write his resume, to get a driver’s license and the papers he needed to hold a regular job.
Diego found that job soon enough, in construction. He would make USD 320 a month, a living wage for many in Guatemala. Then things got confusing. His employer told him the job came with no benefits, no health insurance, no sick days, no paid vacations, no overtime, no compensation in case of a workplace accident. He was given no safety equipment, he was offered no training. And if he wanted to pay taxes on his wages, well, he would have to find a way do that by himself.
Diego talked with his new co-workers. He half expected them to want the same things he did. He expected them to speak up. But they called him crazy, different, and they kept their heads down. After a few months in a job he did well, he had lots of ideas about how the company could do things better, and faster. But, he told me, “The boss wouldn’t listen, he didn’t want to change anything.” Frustrated, perhaps rashly, Diego quit. He’s looking for work again.
When the US. Government sent him home, Diego left his two US-born, teenage daughters behind with their mother. He said that if they had been younger and not doing so well in school he would have headed right back up through Mexico. This time, 26 years later, a coyote would cost him USD 5,000. But he would do it, for sure, for his girls.
When he spoke of his children, I asked myself if Diego had accepted that his own future was in Guatemala.
And I asked myself, what could Diego do in Guatemala where he would feel productive, and stay out of trouble? At that point, I was summoned to take a phone call. I excused myself, apologizing to Diego, and not really expecting a response.
As I left the room, Diego answered me, “Sure, you can go, if you bring me another cup of coffee when you come back.” I knew that if Diego stays on in Guatemala, he will make a difference.
April - June 2012