Insecurity and “1st World” privileges in the “3rd World”
Peace Corps Guatemala has recently received a slew of unsettling news…the cancelling of incoming training classes until 2013, moving up of volunteers’ Close of Service (COS) dates, removal of volunteers from several sites and concentration of volunteers in the “western highlands” and most recently the offer of Early Close of Service due to security concerns for any and all volunteers here in Guatemala. And all of this coming at us upon our return from holiday vacations and visits home!
It’s been impossible to not wonder about what this all means? What will come next…
And how much I feel in and out of control of the situation. On one hand, my ability to complete my service depends on decisions I do not make or even directly influence. On the other hand, I have the reassurance and advantage of knowing that Peace Corps and the US government have my back. While they may not be able to stop every security threat or incident, they do all they can to protect me from those threats and will take care of me if an incident occurs.
I’ve thought about how this degree of protection articulates our very different status and experience here in Guatemala-one of the many privileges that will always distinguish us from the people we live and work with. When the going gets tough, for example in terms of security, we have a “pass” out of the country. When the going gets tough for our Guatemalan neighbors, counterparts and host families, they have no such privilege or choice but to stick it out and hope for the best.
The feelings of guilt that have surfaced within me remind me of my experiences of disadvantage in other social settings: the clarity of feeling and seeing others’ power over me and their acute inability or unwillingness to see it. An article, Peggy McIntosh’s “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” illuminated this for me as a young 20-something year old in college, and this recent offer of “interrupted service” begins to illuminate it for me now: the many unearned and often unnoticed privileges I have as a “1st world” citizen.
Although, I feel strongly that safety and the freedom to participate fully in society are rights everyone should have, I also realize that at this time, we do not all get to enjoy those rights and that as such, they are but privileges that some of us have and others want.
What are the other privileges us “1st world” citizens have and benefit from? In an effort to better recognize and understand these privileges, I have written a working list. Here it goes…
Please, add to this list other privileges you recognize…
These are both privileges I receive in the “first world” and when I am identified as a “first world” citizen in other countries, specifically Guatemala.
Some of these are rights I believe everyone should have. Others I feel warrant serious re-evaluation.
1. When I do not feel safe living abroad, I can return to my country of citizenship with the reasonable expectation of generally higher levels of safety.
2. If I am robbed or assaulted, I have reasonable confidence in the local police and justice system to process my report of the incident.
3. As a woman, I can walk alone on in my community and complete daily tasks without being regularly harassed, without changing my appearance or behavior in order to avoid harassment.
4. My expectation of access to clean water, electricity and safe housing is assumed and usually granted if available.
- I have personally experienced and heard of situations where volunteers live in the best house in their community or the best part of their host home. For example, while I have regular water and a shower with a water heater, my host family has chosen to live in the part of the house that has limited water and no shower (they use a temascal, a mayan sauna-like bathing room or the pila, a large sink contraption).
5. I can turn on the television, flip through magazines or look at most any popular product advertisements and see the developed world lifestyle widely represented and valued. And the more “developed” the lifestyle, the more European/white the persons tend to look.
6. Because of my appearance (whether it be the color of my skin, generally once-owned, higher quality clothing, or distinct behaviors) as a foreigner, I am often given better seats on buses or attended to earlier than other customers at stores.
7. People admire you and your way of being solely based on your being from the U.S.
- I am automatically the center of attention at social events
- I am treated as a special guest, often served and accommodated first and better than my native colleagues.
8. I am a highly sought-after potential girl/boyfriend/future wife/husband (especially if I am fairer skinned or more European looking)
9. You are assumed to have better or more valuable education and skills than the rest.
10. A nutritious, diverse diet is generally accessible to me in the U.S.
11. I and most of my peers are able to own and drive cars in the U.S., therefore increasing my capacity to access places and complete tasks more quickly.
12. In the U.S., we are accustomed to having access to a wide variety of recreation and entertainment, for example free public parks, sports fields, community centers, libraries, malls, movie theaters, restaurants, etc.
13. As a woman, I feel I have the right and ability to go out past dark without being scolded by our families/roommates. I generally feel safe when I go out at night and can return home safely at the hour I determine.
14. As a woman, I am generally respected in professional settings. My gender and appearance do not provoke or warrant sexual harassment from male colleagues (cat calls, nick names, flirting, greetings that linger on into unwanted physical contact)
15. I have the privilege of knowing the world is at our fingertips: I can and will most likely travel throughout my own country and to other countries.
- Most of our host families have never left their hometowns.
16. My U.S. passport allows me to travel to most countries with ease. It is also a significantly easier and quicker process for me to solicit and receive work/study/other visas to other countries.
17. I did not have to pay (other than minimally through taxes) for my primary and secondary education if I went to public schools. The only things I was expected to pay for were basic school supplies and extracurricular activities.
- Here in Guatemala, public schools are still primarily formed and funded by the local communities whose children attend the schools. The first few classrooms may be built by the local/national government, but any classrooms and materials (chalkboards, desks, supplies, etc.) needed thereafter are usually provided by the families of students.
18. There is sufficient space at public higher education institutions to accommodate those qualified and interested in attending. See: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/11/world/africa/stampede-highlights-crisis-at-south-african-universities.html?_r=2&hp
19. I am a part of the 6.7% of the world population that has had the opportunity to obtain a college degree, leading me and many of my peers to have a higher formal education level than approximately 93.3% of the world population.
20. Although unemployment in on the rise throughout the world, including the “first world”, I have so far been able to find work that I find both financially and personally satisfying. I have even been able to choose between jobs at times.
- Whether it is seeing a 7-year old child prepare and sell snacks to fellow children in school or a man pedaling hemorrhoid cream over a megaphone in the market on buses day in and out, I realize we choice is a privilege, especially when comes to the range and availability of work.
21. I can put toilet paper in the toilet without fear of the pipes clogging and exploding!
22. I value and have a high expectation of personal space and privacy, so much so that I consider it normal for an adult to live on their own, in their own apartment.
- Most Latin Americans live at home with their families until married, with their own children and enough means to purchase their own space.
23. I am accustomed to public trash services and an abundance of trash receptacles. I am not used to and dislike the sight of trash casually thrown on the ground.
- Most of the aldeas (villages) I work in do not have any trash collection services, and thus resort to burning trash or dumping it in more remote areas.
24. I have regular access to clean water, electricity and air conditioning. I can regulate the temperature of my house so that I wear (or not wear) whatever I want inside my home.
25. I have consistently had access to a variety of books and reading throughout my childhood and life. I don’t have to buy books in order to read them.
- Most of my students own a minimum number of books (usually a bible and dictionary). Increasingly, libraries are being built in urban areas (county seats and departmental capitals), but usually books are not arranged so that you can browse and you cannot take books out of the library.
26. As a customer at a store, I am generally trusted not to steal. This is evident by the open display of products available for me to pick up and handle.
- Because petty theft is common, most stores keep their merchandise behind the counter and the counter sometimes behind metal bars. When stores do openly display products, they usually require you to turn in bags and purses before entering and often have guards or employees closely watch/follow customers.
