Sunrise, Isla Uvita
One of the
highlights of our program each semester is a study trip to the Limón Province.
This is an excellent opportunity for students to take their learning to the
streets (and to the pineapple fields) and make Costa Rica their learning
laboratory! Limón is Costa Rica’s most diverse province, but it is rife with
social and economic challenges. Here are a couple of student reflections from
our trip to Limón two weeks ago:
“We are
never meant to feel comfortable in this world because this world is not our
home” (Pastor of Limón Methodist Temple, personal communication, September 8,
2016). This semester thus far, especially the Limón trip, has made me so
uncomfortable in a world that I’ve always called my home. My beliefs about this
place I’ve called home have been challenged in almost every way possible.
Looking back on my life prior to this trip I feel ashamed of my ignorance and
of the lack of effort I made in getting to know the faces behind the
statistics.
Our weekend
spent in Limón opened my eyes to some of the discrimination and injustices that
are present there today. By looking at the history of Limón and conducting
interviews with a wide variety of people, one is able to find that the main
problems Limón faces today are lack of employment and drugs caused by
prejudices and lack of government involvement. There is not necessarily one
correct solution because of the complexity of these problems, but by following
Christ’s example and having an increase in good government involvement, these
problems would rapidly diminish.
Emma, Bethel College
The streets of Limón Centro
A small,
young family made up my second interview. A father and mother with their young
son also said that drugs were the greatest problem of Limón. They were able to further
explain their beliefs as this problem being a consequence of the lack of
employment. Another man in his late-40’s believed that the greatest problem was
unemployment. The cause of this, as he stated, was due to lack of business and
investment in the city; therefore, creating a scarcity of jobs. Everyone was
also asked about the recent investment of the Holland APM Terminal, which seems
to be the light of the future for Limón. Every person said it would benefit
Limón by bringing in more jobs. Not one had taken into account the possibility
of this new investment increasing the inequality gap between locals and
investors of new business. No critical examination was taken into
consideration.
Proper
awareness and understanding of Limón’s history, commerce, economic activity,
and social issues will provide the people with the ability to assess their
current situation. Awareness and understanding of the past and present will
make it possible for them to understand where they want to go and their current
direction.
Vanessa Northwest University
Class with an indigenous leader, Gloria
It is sad
that Límón is the perfect example of a workers’ paradox where there are many
people willing to work, but no jobs to be had, because the jobs that could be
had are in suspension due to poor management and fragmented government
agencies. But it is a reality of which
many people live; like Erin Granados, an unemployed limonense living in Limón Centro.
Originally
from the town of Barra del Parismina in northern Limón, Erin Granados of whom
the average person would see as a poor old homeless man, told us in an
interview, that “[he had] … worked for many years on the banana plantations,
but now there is no more work to be had [referring to his old age and the
increased competitiveness of the low wage plantation jobs with other Costa
Ricans and immigrants]” (Erin Granados, 09/17/2016).
Drew Milligan College
The Port of Limón
“Dejé la escuela en quinto grado.
Tengo dieciséis años. No necesito la educación para trabajar.” Estas son las
palabras de Luis, un muchacho que le conocimos durante nuestro viaje a Limón.
Él se sentaba en su tricíclica en una esquina de un área muy ocupada. Luis
estaba vendiendo el agua de coco por 350 mil colones. Dieciséis años.
Nosotros leímos sobre las
circunstancias de Limón en cuanto a los problemas económicos y sociales.
Habíamos escuchado una charla que describió las percepciones falsas de la
provincia. Pensé que yo sabía lo que anticipar. Pero ninguna cantidad de
educación de aula puede prepararse para experimentar la emoción profunda de
conocer una persona que ha sufrido de los efectos de los hechos estudiados de
nuestro texto.
Alexa Wheaton College
In the banana fields
The
conditions of blacks leading up to the 21st century has led to the current
state of Limón as a disadvantaged province. Previous and current acts of
seclusion have created an environment of underdevelopment and limited job
opportunity for Limonenses. As mentioned
by most inland Ticos, “drugas” and “trabajo” are the greatest problems for
Limonenses (Host family & Pipasa Store owner, personal communication).
However, they fail to acknowledge the historical context of which the province
is coming from. On the other hand,
Limonenses and those who are more informed about the province acknowledge the
racialized history and previous categorization of the people as some distant
other. The overt discrimination in the locality and in job opportunities has
kept blacks from excelling, but now extends to the region as a whole. It is
undeniable that drugs and its trafficking has crippled this community, but both
Limonenses and other Costaricenses agree that this problem is rooted in
unemployment (personal communication). With the scarcity of jobs, the drug
market is presented as the only option. As it was in the past where job options
for blacks were confined to education and health care for discriminatory
reasons, it appears that today people feel dependent on industry for job
security. Yet, there are limited industry jobs. Marvin, a black older
gentleman, complained that they need more factories so that his sons and
grandson’s would have work. He elaborated, saying that technology is taking
over the factory jobs that they once had. Then, he gave the example of one port
factory that downsized from 2700 to 400 workers: all because of technological
advances (Marvin, personal communication, September, 16, 2016).
MaLaysia Wheaton College
White faced Capuchin at the beach
We are so
proud of our students critically engaging the people in Limón with open and
loving hearts to learn about the people and their experience of the region. We rewarded
ourselves by taking some time to relax and enjoy the beach and the beautiful
wildlife!
