Back on the Job

Jessica and I returned to Wawa Wasi today. The children were not there today, but the kitchen was still open for the neighborhood families. We, however, painted. For 3 1/2 hours we painted the exterior doors and windows green (we are fondly calling it ninja turtle green). It was very tedious work. I was wearing my Columbia jacket today, and the man who was in charge of our painting job indicated to me several times I needed to take it off and that he did not have a smock for me. So, I painted outside in a t-shirt in about 57 degree temperature. My fingernails were purplish blue by the time we got picked up. It was good, though. Jessica and I spent the entire time talking about our families, our goals, etc. She is great. She just graduated from UCLA and is heading to graduate school in space physics. Her father is Indian, and her mom is originally from Mexico. Her grandfather is currently living with them, and he only speaks Punjabi. I learned a lot about her mixed cultural household.

After placement today, we returned for another very good lunch and a guest speaker. The guest speaker was Kique's partner, Lucien Chauvin. He is a journalist for The Economist, and he has also contributed articles for Time and the Washington Post. He is originally from Rhode Island. He spoke to us about the demographics and history of Peru. I learned so much.

Peru itself is roughly the size of Alaska and is the 20th largest country in the world. It is such a dichotomy of everything. It has the world's driest desert and yet has 20% of the world's fresh water. In fact, Araquipa has never had rainfall in human history. It is the largest silver-producing country in the world, and it is now the largest drug exporter as well (over 300 metric tons of cocaine a year). Its economy is steadily growing, but there is still a lot of poverty. Only about 15% of the population have a stable job that is taxable for income. Those same 15% then are the only ones who get governmental benefits such as a social security pension. The government does provide some services to the poor but very, very few. The idea here is that those who pay in get something out. Firefighters here are only volunteers, and they have to provide their own equipment and uniform. Police are paid about $250 a month, but they have to replace anything from their one original uniform provided to them, and they have to pay for their own bullets.

Peru is about 60% cool but Rebecca is 100% awesome!!!! Yes, I put my computer down for a second.... Anyway, Peru is 60% jungle, 30% Highlands, and 10% coastal desert. There are 4,000 varieties of edible potato grown here!! Peru has produced the most domesticated crops than any other country. It is the original home of paprika, spineless artichokes, etc. 50% of the population is under the age of 25! 45% of the population is indigenous. There are only about 350,000 people from Amazonian tribes left, but they speak 52 different languages. This country is an anthropologist's, an ecologist's, and archaeologist's dream.

I learned a lot about their government system. They have been a democratic republic since their independence in 1821. However, the election of 1985 was the first time a president was democratically elected to replace a democratically elected president. I know...it sounds a bit confusing, but if you think about it, it gets to the heart of the problem here. The government tends to be very corrupt. For example, during World War II, Peru started out as a pro-German country. But, about halfway through the war they realized this was not the side to have chosen. So, as a gesture to the Allies, the Peruvian government arrested 2,000 Peruvians of Japanese descent and sent them to Texas so that the US could use them in exchange for American POW's in Japan. I cannot believe that, but then again look what we did to our Japanese Americans at that time.

As for the goverment, the presidents have historically read the constitution however they wanted to. The latest version was written and ratified in 1993 in order for the president at the time to be able to be re-elected. Previously, a president could not be re-elected until they had taken a term out of office between their own terms. Now, though, they can be re-elected right away. The President is elected for 5 years. Each presidential candidate has to fill the ballot with members from their party for every open position, including Congress. So, when Fujimori was elected in 1990, his secretary at the university at which he taught became the Speaker of the House, and his barber became a member of Congress! The previous president presided over a 2 million% inflation rate, so Peruvians just wanted a change. It is such an odd system.

There are currently 27 registered political parties on the national level, and 1200 registered parties that can run on the local level. A party has to get at least 4% of the votes to get seats in Congress. The Congress is unicameral and consists of 120 members. The Supreme Court consists of 23 judges, and they hear cases en banc. There are not jury trials here, and there is no death penalty (except for treason) and no life sentences. The awesome thing (in my opinion) is that voting is mandatory! Every Peruvian is provided a national identity card, and if they do not vote, they get fined. They can vote at the age of 18. I'm not sure how high the fine is, but they have a very, very high voter turnout. This could be why the campaign ads are everywhere here - even for President although the election is not until next April (inauguration is July 28, independence day). Recently, Peru and the US signed a free trade agreement, but the Democrats who pushed it through the Senate mandated that Peru create 99 new laws in order to create and regulate labor and environmental guidelines. Peru is lacking behind in these areas. They are one of the few countries who still allow high levels of sulfur in their fuel (which right now costs about $16 a gallon here), which produces what's known as the "marine layer," the grayish air around Lima.

I also learned a lot more about the Shining Path, which wanted to make Peru the People's Communist Republic of Peru. They arose in 1980, but since they were not a registered political party, they sought appeal with the peasants in the Highlands. They created military schools and taught the principles of the 4 pillars - Marx, Lenin, Mao, and the Peruvian leader of the party. Unfortunately, they wanted the indigenous people to no longer speak their native languages. Eventually, resistance by the peasants due to the Shining Path's form of justice (public trials that usually resulted in stonings, public beheadings, etc.) and their attempts to change the culture led to violence. By 2000, there were 69,000 dead or missing, most of whom were peasants/indigenous from the Highlands. The violence just grew and grew. Peru even had to legislate a vehicle curfew at 9 pm in hopes of decreasing the number of car bombings. In 1992, members mobilized their forces upon Lima in hopes that the US would invade and then they could overcome the US military and be known as the liberation army. Their mindset is really not sane (good thing there are only about 600 members left). Earlier this year, Peru released an American woman who has been imprisoned for her role in the Shining Path as a "tribute" to Obama. Like Obama really cares, but...anyway she is most likely going to be extradited to the US soon. This is such a different world from ours. The corruption here makes our own political blunders look very mild (this coming from a woman from a state who has governors in prison).

We ended the day with another visit to the Incan (Indio) Market. I bought things for the nieces and nephews because everything here is truly so cheap. Also, I love my move to the Australian Wing. It's warmer, the room has carpet, the mattresses and pillows are thicker, and it's quieter. Rebecca and I share a six-bed room, so there is a ton more space as well. Well, I'm out for now. Another day of painting tomorrow!!