Kiera‘s Article

https://www.newsdeeply.com/refugees/community/2017/11/28/how-latin-america-is-responding-to-venezuelan-refugees

1. What is the definition of a refugee. How much help should a refugee expect when moving to a new country.
2. When viewed from the governments perspective how much help should be given to refugees when economic factors and other things of the sort are concerned
3. Instead of fleeing to another country why not try to reform Venezuela with the help of other Latin American countries such as Brazil.

Brook’s Article

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/tijuana-turns-wastewater-wine-latin-america-dips-toe-reuse-n824176

1. What are the benefits of reusing unclean water in this way, can it benefit Latin American economically and how successfully would it be incorporated in these countries.
2. Do you believe using waste water in products meant for consumption is ethical. Also what are some possible health side effects associated with this.
3. What are some regulations that could be put in place to insure that waste products are not used in products meant for consumption or if they are that they are properly treated.

I think the article I chose for this week nicely touches on our themes of encounters and identities in Latin America, as it deals with the migration of citizens from one Latin American country to two other Latin American countries. The article is called “How Latin America Is Responding to Venezuelan Refugees” and emphasizes how Latin American countries have been accepting of refugees, and welcoming them with open arms. The article specifically mentions Peru and Brazil, and how there are governmental gaps that may worsen the situation if not taken care of. The two main issues are the governments being reactive rather than proactive, and a lack of communication about policies to refugees themselves. The article then breaks down the issues by country that refugees may face.

In Peru, the government has passed a temporary work study permit that is specifically targeted to Venezuelans for the length of one year, although it can be renewed. They also passed an asylum law that applies to Venezuelans who left due to persecution or violence. However, these policies aren’t adequately explained to migrants and refugees, leading to confusion and difficulty in applying for permits or refugee status. The work study permit, called PTP, shouldn’t be considered a form of protection according to the article, as it only briefly covers fundamental rights. Many people have applied for PTP when they qualify for refugee status, just because they don’t know that they qualify, making the government ineffective at properly helping refugees.

In Brazil, there was no law on migration or reception program/system until 2017. There was however, a refugee law, allowing migrants to stay in the country while a committee rules on their case. The refugee law allows for migrants to work and have access to public services. After pressure from citizens, Brazil passed a law granting temporary residence to Venezuelans, giving them work permits and temporary residency. However, many Venezuelans are unaware of this and still apply for refugee status, as well as the temporary residence permit being expensive.

I found this article to be very good at explaining the issues, but still applauding these countries for taking the steps they did.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/11/28/crew-in-missing-argentina-submarine-reported-fire-leak-in-final-message.html

On November 15th a submarine from the Argentine naval forces the “ARA San Juan” with 44 crew members onboard went missing and the search began. Since the submarine was lost there has been limited communication with the vessel but in the few messages received the vessel’s captain told the naval command that water entered the submarine through the snorkel and made its way to the submarines battery by way of the ventilation system causing an onboard fire or smoke without fire. The fire was resolved and the damaged battery was isolated  and the vessel made it continued to move underwater on a secondary battery.

the vessel was commissioned 1985 and most recently refitted 3 years ago

shortly after last communication an explosion was detected in the search area while attempting to find and rescue the vessel, no debris or physical evidence has been discovered but the same unfortunate situation holds true for the location of the submarine.

     For the final Noticias post, I chose to read an article called “Gender Violence in Guatemala”. Though short, the article contains an interactive portion that tells the stories of six indigenous Guatemalan women that have been victims of all types of physical violence. The article opens with a brief description of the history that has led to such gender violence becoming a norm in the central American country. I found it especially interesting that much of the violence began during the political conflict between the indigenous peoples and Guatemalan government during the civil war in the late twentieth century. The article stated that “between 1960 and 1996, more than 100,000 women were victims of mass rape with many indigenous women forced into sexual slavery by the military”. The article suggests that this disturbing history has led to today’s high rate in femicide in the country, with at least two women being murdered a day. I thought this article was very inspiring because it talks about a small group of Mayan women that take matters into their own hands regarding the issue when the government does seemingly nothing to promote justice for those women.      

     The women in this article are portrayed as very brave. Recently in the news, there has been a lot of talk of sexual harassment in the United States, especially with the rise of the #MeToo movement on social media. From seeing and being involved in those current events, it has occurred to me just how hard it is for women, or anyone for that matter, to speak up about times they have felt unsafe or personally victimized in terms of sexual harassment and abuse. For these Latin American women to speak in a country where this very problem is profuse is incredibly courageous. I think this shows that these women are exceptionally strong and believe in fighting back against the issues that the government won’t fight against itself.

     Over the weeks in class, we have seen several Noticia articles where an injustice or injustices have been targeted at specific Latin American countries and peoples. We talk a lot about how that affects their cultures and their identities and how many of those people don’t have the power to fight back against the issues. I think this article is so important because instead of letting the issue of gender violence exist as a part of Guatemalan culture and identity as the article suggests, these women have chosen to speak out against the “norms” and speak to the women who need help. I feel like the women apart of the AGIMS organization are attempting to replace this negative aspect of Guatemalan identity and replace it with one that shares the value of community, support, and unity for everyone in the country, whether they are indigenous or not and regardless of their gender. We haven’t explicitly talked much about replacing parts of cultural identity in this class but I think it’s important especially in cases like these when a negative identifier of a community should be replaced.

In Mexico, Not Dead; Not Alive, Just Gone 

In the article named “In Mexico, Not Dead; Not Alive, Just Gone”,  it addresses incessant citizen missing events in Mexico have become a such urgent issue in Mexico that needs solution in the first priority.

The story begins with a father trying all kinds of ends to find his two daughters who went missing after going to the clubs one night. It has been six years since that tragedy, but the father is still desperately searching every corner of potential places to find his daughters or even their bodies. He had become a man consumed by rage, impotence, and purpose. He spent every day planning his next search for his daughter, his next interview with her friends, his next stakeout of the men he thought responsible. In recent years, the unofficial missing toll for innocent people being involved in the drug violence is estimated amount to more than 30.000 people. Satirically, no official estimate number has been made to announce to the public. Nobody actually knows the precise number of disappearance except for the raw figure because many of the people who are reported missing may never be found again. It creates massive difficulty to actually count the numbers. Their names and details never leave a trace in the modern history.

Nevertheless, only until the time when 43 students who went missing at once on Sep. 26. 2016 has forced the corrupt government and the impotent officials to start the national reckoning. New laws regarding the disappearance cases have been enacted and new system has been in effect. The truth is it has never been helpful. Anti-corruption movement fails when scandals after scandals happen and more journalists being killed in the new laws to protect the nation’s media. No matter what, the father is still calling for the attention and raising money for the scout because, in his eyes, the government seemed incapable of helping citizens.

I think this New York Times article has much in common with the central theme of our class. First, I think, because women are less advantaged in Mexico, they are given less say in this male-dominated society, which as a result, their rights are not properly being protected. Often times, the females are forgetter by the government. Eventually they would become the easy prey for thugs or gang members to take advantage of. Second, government is the culprit behind those endless missing cases happening in Mexico. It is their impotence that leads to the savage actions carried out by those criminals.They know they’re not going to be punished for the crimes. The corruption inside the state political sphere has made itself powerless in addressing issues like this. If the government is willing to involve more into the improvement of the situation, it would have to require the police officers to observe their duties and investigate every case with their full heart. It may sound load-heavy and hard, but it all depends on whether the government has its own willpower to take the responsibility. Further, It is too dangerous for people to have this set of mind that the missing is normal. Once if they do, they would become numb to the situations and be passive towards those crimes all the time. The government should prevent this vicious cycle from happening, otherwise more unwanted results may happen. Overall, the responsibility of a government to protect its citizens is indispensable.