In a mountain village where people leave every week to the United States, a rehabilitation center is actively working to build skills. It is a low-level building where adolescents acquire skills that are supposed to help them find jobs in the village, or elsewhere in the country, rather than immigrating to America. Trainees learn in the so-called "center we stay here", cutting hair and repairing computers. They also learn English so they can work in call centers, as tour guides, and receive lectures on immigration risks. The poster shows someone drowning in a river, another falling from a train, and a third being held at gunpoint.
Co-financing
The "Stay Here" center is funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Guatemalan government in an effort to stem the flow of migrants from Guatemala, now the largest source of people trying to migrate to the United States. About one in every 100 Guatemalans reached the US border last year alone. Washington spends hundreds of millions of dollars each year on programs such as this one, aimed at improving the lives of potential migrants in their communities so they do not leave their homes. It is the softest aspect of immigration enforcement: rehabilitation programs for prisoners in El Salvador, business training for Honduran youth and the financing of maize and bean farmers in Guatemala.
In this, US President Donald Trump said last month that he would cancel aid to those three countries to punish them, because they did not do enough to stop immigration. Development experts and diplomats considered the move a self-defeating defeat. Cutting programs aimed at curbing migration will only increase the flow of migrants. Aid has not been canceled yet, and Congress is likely to be able to maintain it. But for the time being, the "Stay Here" center is in the curse of the administration's current policy, while the latter is struggling to reduce the number of people trying to reach the US border.
Software development
It is not clear whether this training center, which began four years ago, will help reduce migration. Observers questioned whether any development program could effectively change migration patterns. The teachers there say that the students at the "Stay Here" center are leaving all the time, suddenly heading to the United States.
"There are chances of getting anything, sometimes the children suddenly disappear," said Sylvia Quintana, who teaches English at the center.
The center remains a glimmer of hope in Santa Maria Vecchio, where immigration has for decades been considered a grant and the only way out of extreme poverty. Now teens have an impression of at least the options available. Maybe they can open shavers, repair computers, or work with tourists. Sometimes things go well.
Students want to stay in Guatemala if possible. In this village like the rest of Central America, immigration is the last resort. In some cases, the Center "Stay Here" has modified the accounts of the teenagers in Santa Maria Vecchione, while making the most important decision in their lives. "Right now I'm in between, can I make money from hair cutting here, or I'll leave?" Says 19-year-old Moises Ventura.
Signs of migration
The population of the village of Santa Maria Vecchione is 3,000, but many of these people have not lived here for years. The village is located in the Sierra Madre mountain range in Guatemala, near the Atelian Lake, one of Guatemala's main tourist attractions. It is a few housing compounds, one restaurant, one taxi driver, and one church, full of signs of immigration. Shops advertise ways to receive remittances, while human trafficking tools are available locally by pickup trucks.
Who just left for America? Migrated? How much does it cost to smuggle a person these days? These and other questions are common in a village where migration is part of her lifestyle; a journey that most people have tried or thought of at least. "We know everyone wants to leave this place, that's why we're here," says Markus Axtamer, the center's manager.
The 40-year-old is standing at the entrance to the school on Monday morning. In one semester, five teenagers study how to repair computers, and their instructor also teaches them how to handle the Internet. A few meters away, 17 teenagers learn how to cut hair.
bad idea
Extamir, like most staff at the center, is sure that the school's goals are correct. Illegal immigration is a bad idea for these children, he says, "dangerous and expensive." Smugglers currently charge up to $ 12,000 per person for the flight from Santa Maria Vizcione to the US border.
He is sure of his argument; but he is not sure he will make a difference. Guatemala's minimum wage is equivalent to $ 12 per day. In the village, many people earn much less.
The problem is not just wages, it's a scarcity of jobs. Many people left the village, so that the sellers on the weekly market now sell cheap vegetables, t-shirts and electronics to each other. "The truth is that there is nothing that can be done here," he says.
The idea of teaching vocational skills to prevent potential immigrants from leaving is not specific to the "we stay here" status. Throughout the world, developed countries are investing in programs aimed at addressing the root causes of migration. Spain opened a Cashew factory in Mali. Italy finances vocational training centers in Ethiopia and Belgium is trying to improve agricultural practices in Senegal.
12000
The cost of the trip from Santa Maria Vizcione to the US border is one person.
Economic basis
"The approach is turning things back," says Michael Clemens, a fellow of the Center for Global Development. "Migration is an essential part of any country's development process." In most developing countries, money sent by family and friends abroad provides a crucial economic foundation. In Guatemala, remittances represent more than 11% of GDP. Migration can also alleviate the scarcity of labor markets when demographic mutations create a wave of young people competing in a limited number of jobs. "The truth is that migration offers a remarkably good return on investment," Clemens says.
The poorest students
Training at the center does not guarantee the survival of trainees in the country due to the temptations of migration. Archived
Some 136,000 Guatemalans were arrested or surrendered on the US border between October and March, according to the US Customs and Border Patrol. This included 94,000 people who wanted to join their families and 16,800 unaccompanied minors.
The "Stay Here" center serves people between the ages of 12 and 19. Unlike many public schools in Guatemala, it is free and as a result is the only place frequented by the poorest students. The center focuses on adolescents at risk of illegal immigration, teachers communicate with parents and community leaders to identify risks and knowledge of children planning migration. Those with relatives already in the United States are considered potential candidates in particular.
"It is not difficult for us to find children who are preparing to leave or think about them," said Axmaster.
Late Monday morning, a student named Elmer is in the office of Maxim, who says, "He was deported a few months ago, and every day he says I'll come back and I'll try again."
"We're trying to convince him to stay here, to give this group a chance. I do not know how long we can keep it. " Quintana, an English school familiar with this battle, says that about 10% or so of the children they studied migrated, following "I do not blame myself because I know what we are facing."
Yet there are those who imagine how Santa Maria Vizcione will look like a new generation of barbers, computer shops or tour guides to guide visitors around the lake. Can the village - one of several similar villages in the region - support these jobs? He knows that most children do not have enough money to open a shaver or a laptop repair shop.
More vulnerable to migration
Timothy Perez tracks teenagers who plan to migrate every week. Archived
Timotio Perez climbs into the hills around the village every week, looking for more teenagers planning to migrate. Peres is a social worker at the Center, "We Stay Here," learning four indigenous languages because many families in isolated communities in the region do not speak Spanish. During the last week he was walking in a small village called Batzig, a cluster of small houses connected to a narrow dirt track. Simple plantations are the only task there. Perez carried a handwritten list of names to track and passed on a huge three-story house with a balcony.
"These houses were built by people living in the United States," he said. "The only way you can afford something like that is to send money from America." From the highway, turn left and walk down a dirt road towards the house of Pascuala Marocaine and her 12-year-old daughter Melvia.
"Did not you try to go to the United States? She wants it, does not she? "The mother replied," Yes, and her father in the United States knows her where. We heard it was in Los Angeles. " "We are here to help her, we will teach her to cut her hair," Peres said.
"She says she will go," the mother replied. "No, tell Milvia that hair cutting lessons will begin later this week," Peres told her.