"Buy for one dollar Lady?"
Normally, the sight of a waif in torn clothing would
send my heart into a tumble and my hand reaching for my
wallet. In Ensenada, Mexico, I'd been lucky enough to
have been on a tour with Lili, a local guide who explained
the importance of not giving in to these instincts. Lili
told my group that the minimum wage in Ensenada was $8.00/day
and that a person had to work very hard when making that
small amount of money. She let us know that in Mexico
it was not mandatory to send children to school and that
the families who ran the "Chicklet Kid" industry
were in the business of exploiting their own children
for money. We would not be doing any of these children,
who ranged in age from about 3 years old to teens, a favor.
We would be encouraging these families to keep having
babies that they could exploit as shills for them. That
information made it easier to steel myself for the trip
along the market where I was stopped almost every step
by a plaintive cry.
Tiny children wandered after tourists asking over and
over for money. They had been well coached. The little
girl who followed me through half the market started by
asking for a dollar for wind chimes. She dropped that
to 50 cents and then she simply asked for a quarter, a
nickel, "just a penny for me lady? Just a penny?".
I took a hard look at this little girl. She appeared to
be about 9 and there was no joy in her face as she looked
into my eyes. She should have been in school with her
peers at that moment, her childhood grooming her for a
fulfilling life. What would this childhood groom her for?
Would she become a breeder of begging children who would
continue this vicious cycle?
Lili, our guide, who loves Mexico with a passion that's
very evident, showed me Ensenada through her eyes and
there was so much to be proud of. There are jobs for any
who want them and fewer people have to settle for minimum
wage jobs these days. But she was very plain in her anger
towards people who would deprive their children of an
education and send them out on the streets to beg for
money. She told us that her next door neighbors are a
couple who "work the tourists". The live on
a middle class street and have a baby each year. The mother
goes to the market with the children and they sell chick
let gum and shell wind chimes for as much as a tourist
will pay. Lili feels that this practice makes her Mexico
look bad....I would have to agree with her because I knew
about the chick let kids long before I arrived in Ensenada,
but I didn't know about the economy or the very good public
education system.
I didn't give the little girl a penny. I won't be melting
at the sight of these children from now on. I'll take
Lili's advice and hand them a sandwich or a treat, something
for them that won't go to line the pockets of parents
who see raising children as an industry.
