AMBIENCE MUSIC: PUERTO BARRIOS GAS STATION SOUND

WE'RE IN THE BUSY CARIBBEAN PORT TOWN OF PUERTO BARRIOS. THIS IS TROPICAL GUATEMALA, THE CITY THE UNITED FRUIT COMPANY BUILT...LAND NOW, OF DOLE AND CHIQUITA.

THE TROPICAL MUSIC BLAZING OUT OF A GAS STATION SPEAKERS MAY SUGGEST GAIETY, BUT THINGS THESE DAYS ARE A LITTLE SOMBER IN THE PUERTO BARRIOS AREA. THOUGH THE CITY ITSELF DIDN'T SUFFER EXTENSIVE DAMAGE, THE SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES AND AGRICULTURE LANDS DID.... AND SEVEN MONTHS AFTER HURRICANE MITCH, ITS TRICKLE DOWN EFFECT IS FELT BY EVERYONE FROM THOSE ENGAGED IN TOURISM, TO BANANA WORKERS, TO CAR MECHANIC ANTONIO SOSA.

ACTUALITY: " Aqui no hay nada , esto esta terminado ...mas pobres y los ricos se estan poniendo mas ricos"

V/O THERE IS REALLY NOTHING...WE'RE BAD OFF .. THERE'S NO WORK, AND A BUNCH OF PEOPLE ARE UNEMPLOYED...I DON' T KNOW WHAT THIS GOVERNMENT IS THINKING, BECAUSE THEY'VE JUST MADE MATTERS WORSE...THEY SAY THEY WANT TO WIPE OUT POVERTY, BUT INSTEAD, WE 'RE GETTING POORER, AND THE RICH ARE GETTING RICHER...

IT'S ALWAYS BEEN THIS WAY IN GUATEMALA, WHERE THE RATE OF POVERTY RUNS 86 PER CENT, WHERE ILLITERACY RUNS OVER 50 PER CENT, AND WHERE THE DISASTER KNOWN AS HURRICANE MITCH WHICH COST OVER 5 AND A HALF BILLION DOLLARS IN THIS COUNTRY ALONE, HAS ONLY SERVED TO EXACERBATE THAT INEQUALITY.

ACTUALTITY: "Muy bien, si mi nombre es Gloria Marina Lopez Colindres vivo en rio cruce de Cayuga, ...."

GLORIA LOPEZ COLINDRES, LOST HER HOME IN LAST FALL'S HURRICANE, SO DID HER MOTHER, AND OTHER MEMBERS OF HER FAMILY. THIS NEATLY DRESSED SINGLE MOTHER OF FOUR HAS TAKEN THE BUS INTO PUERTO BARRIOS TODAY FROM HER HOME COMMUNITY OF CAYUGA LOCATED SOME THIRTY MILES AWAY. SHES COME TO TRY TO COLLECT BACK WAGES SHE SAYS ARE OWED HER FROM A HOSPITAL JOB SHE QUIT TO TAKE CARE OF HER WIDOWED MOTHER, WHO BECAME VERY ILL AFTER THE HURRICANE.

ACTUALITY: "Debido a la enfermeded de mi madre ...... fue bastante fuerte las inundaciones..."

V/O MY MOTHER IS ILL AND I'M THE ONLY DAUGHTER. SHE HAD BECOME QUITE SICK, SO I HAD TO LEAVE MY JOB WITH A GREAT DEAL OF HEARTACHE BECAUSE I NEED IT, AND WHAT AFFECTED HER WAS THIS THING OF HURRICANE MITCH BECAUSE THE FAMILY SUFFERD SO MUCH.

ACTUALITY: "Y yo pienso eso le afecto a ella en el cruzo de Cayuga fue bastante fuerte las innundaciones....."

GLORIA'S HOME COMMUNITY OF CAYUGA IS WHAT'S KNOWN IN GUATEMALA AS AN ALDEA -- NOT A TOWN, NOT EVEN A VILLAGE, JUST CLUSTERS OF HUMBLE WOODEN HOUSES THAT START TO THE SIDE OF THE MAIN HIGHWAY THAT GOES INTO PUERTO BARRIOS. THE HOUSES CONTINUE IN SMALL CLUMPS OFF A DIRT ROAD, PAST THE ONE STORE AND TOWARDS THE RAILROAD TRACK THAT THE BANANA INDUSTRY BUILT. NO GAS STATION, NO SCHOOL, NO CHURCH. A FEW MORE HOUSES ARE SCATTERED TOWARDS THE RIVER.... OR ACTUALLY--RIVERS. WHEN HURRICANE MITCH HIT HERE SEVEN MONTHS AGO, WITH FEROCIOUS WINDS AND TORRENTIAL RAINSTORMS, THE RIO FRANCISCO, THE RIO MONTALVO AND THE RIO MONTEGUA OVERFLOWED THEIR BANKS -- FLOODING MOST OF THE HOUSES, AND CULTIVABLE LANDS.

ACTUALITY: "Y donde estaba mi casa quedo una laguna....asi es que quedo desecho todo..."

V/O WHERE MY HOUSE STOOD NOW THERE'S A BIG LAGOON, AND SINCE THEY STARTED A NEW HIGHWAY NOW BIG HOLES ARE LEFT.

CAYUGA S RESIDENTS, LIKE PETRONA RAMOS A 58 YEAR GRANDMOTHER WITH SIX CHLDREN AND 15 GRANDCHILDREN, ARE HUMBLE PEOPLE. BEFORE THE HURRICANE, THEY MADE THEIR LIVING FARMING LITTLE PLOTS OF LAND -MILPAS, GROWING BEANS, CORN, AND VEGETABLES LIKE OKRA.

ACTUALITY: "Yo vivia en un lugar que le dicen la Barcadilla de Mojanales......nos ofrecieron ayuda pero no se cumplio "

V/O I LIVE IN A PLACE THEY CALLED LA BARCADILLA DE MOJANALES. HERE THE RIVER TOOK HOUSES, ANIMALS, EVERYTHING WE HAD. WE WERE LEFT WITH NOTHING -- OUR CROPS, BEANS, EVERYTHING, IT TOOK IT ALL. THEY OFFERED US HELP , BUT NOTHING WAS DONE.

RAMOS ECHOES A COMMON REFRAIN HEARD IN CAYUGA--THAT AFTER THE HURRICANE, POLITICANS AND REPORTERS CAME INTO THE COMMUNITY CREATING EXPECTATIONS, MAKING PROMISES ...PROMISES AS YET UNFULFILLED.

AMBIENCE .....(entering Antonina's house)

"Que milagro que nos vienen a ver ...dona antonina que tal esta..."

GLORIA, THE WOMAN WE MET IN PUERTO BARRIOS, LEADS US PAST OTHER HOUSES, DAMAGED BY THE RAGING WATERS OF LAST OCTOBER. AND WE COME TO THE WOODEN SHACK THAT IS THE HOME OF DONA ANTONINA CELEBIT.

ACTUALITY: "Pues nosotros quedamos bastante mal..."

GRAY HAIRED AND SOLID, DONA ANTONINA LIVES IN THIS PLACE WITH DIRT FLOORS AND HAMMOCKS FOR BEDS ALONG WITH HER FOUR DAUGHTERS , AND NUMEROUS GRANDCHILDREN. SHE AND HER DAUGHTERS USED TO FARM A SMALL PLOT OF LAND, BUT ITS TOP SOIL HAS BEEN WASHED AWAY ...AND NOW, IT'S ONLY SAND.

ACTUALITY: "Pos nos quedamos sin nada, porque tambien mi tierrita que tenia se las llevo el rio,..."

V/o WE WERE LEFT WITH NOTHING. EVEN THE CROPS WE HAD, THE RIVER TOOK, NOW WE HAVE NOWHERE TO PLANT.

SO WHAT DO YOU DO NOW WITHOUT LAND TO PLANT, I ASK...

ACTUALITY "Ay Dios pues aqui la pasamos pos soleando. LAUGHS ...

SHE LAUGHS, RUEFULLY AND SAYS WHAT ARE WE TO DO, JUST TAKE IN THE SUN. DONA ANTONINA RECALLS THAT WHEN THE RAINS AND WINDS OF MITCH HIT, SHE WAS QUITE ILL WITH A RESPIRATORY AILMENT. TOO SICK , SHE SAYSTO GO TO THE SHELTER IN THE NEXT VILLAGE

ACTUALITY: "Yo tenia una gran tos y me hacia mal dormir en lo puro mojado.....por eso no me quedian dar. Yo les decia que estaba perdida...y ya no nos dieron mas"

V/O I HAD A BAD COUGH, AND COULN'T SLEEP ON THE WET GROUND. A MAN SAW HOW SICK I WAS, AND LENT ME A BED TO SLEEP IN HIS HOUSE, BUT BECAUSE I DIDN'T GO TO THE SHELTER, THEY WOULDN'T GIVE ME ANY FOOD OR ANY HELP.

THESE DAYS , DONA ANTONINA MAKES A FEW TAMALES TO SELL, AND SHE SAYS, PRAYS TO GOD, A LOT.

ACTUALITY: "Pedirle a Dios y trabajar duro........."

AS WE LEAVE , DONA ANTONINA INTRODUCES SOME OF HER DAUGHTERS AND GRANDCHILDREN.

ACTUALITY: "Ella es Marisol...dile tu nombre...Jose Alberto... "

OUR GUIDE GLORIA WONDERS WHY HELP HASN'T COME TO PEOPLE LIKE DONA ANTONINA, AND OTHERS WITH OBVIOUS NEED IT HERE IN CAYUGA.

ACTUALITY: "Si el commite se hubiera puesto en accion.......y cada quien tiene wue ver ocmo recuperrar lo que perdio.....y cada quien tiene que ver como para recuperar lo que perdio"

V/O IF ONLY THE COMMUNITY COMMITTE HAD ACTED RIGHT AWAY, MAYBE SOMETHING WOULD HAVE BEEN DONE. BUT WE DIDN'T DO IT. WE DIDN'T GET TOGETHER ABOUT IT. AND NOW, EVERYTHING HAS ALREADY HAPPENED-- EACH ONE WENT TRYING TO SAVE THEIR OWN HOUSE, AND SO EVERYTHING HAS REMAINED AS IT WAS. EACH ONE SUFFERING HIS OR HER OWN LOSSES. EACH ONE BY THEMSELVES TRYING TO MAKE UP FOR WHAT THEY LOST.

TRANSITION AMBIENCE ...

ACTUALITY: "Mira aqui al principio todo esto estaba todo lleno de arena...aqui no se podia caminar...."

HALFWAY BETWEEN THE RAILROAD TRACK AND THE HIGHWAY WE COME TO THE TIENDA JALAPANECA,


A SMALL ALL PURPOSE STORE, THAT'S ABOUT AS MUCH OF A COMMUNITY GATHERING PLACE AS THERE IS IN CAYUGA. THIS DAY, SEVERAL MEN ARE GATHERED ON A BENCH OUTSIDE THE STORE.

ACTUALITY: "Aqui esta jodido esto no hay trabajo..."

THE MEN RANGE IN AGE FORM THEIR TWENTIES TO THEIR SIXTIES. THEY ALL TELL SIMILAR STORIES --OF LOSING THEIR CROPS AND THEIR LAND, AND THEIR LIVELIHOODS

ACTUALITY: "En plantaciones, cultivos de maiz, platano, ganado ...todo ha sido negativo y estamos perdido..."

47 YEAR OLD MAXIMILIANO RAMOS, WHO USED TO FARM SOME CROPS, HAS LOST HIS LAND. WE'RE TRYING TO FIND SOME OTHER WAY TO HELP OURSELVES HE SAYS...BUT "ESTAMOS PERDIDOS," WE ARE LOST.

ACTUALITY: "Hay ayuda del gobierno prometieron, pero no fue algo positivo... trendremos que buscar formas para .....ofreceireon"

I ASK MR. RAMOS WHAT WILL YOU DO NEXT YEAR --WITH NOTHING TO HARVEST.

ACTUALITY: "Tendremos que buscar formas....para volver a trabajar ..."

HIS ANSWER IS ALMOST UPBEAT, WE'LL JUST HAVE TO FIND SOME WAY TO GET MONEY AND TO BE ABLE TO WORK. BUT WORK IS EVEN MORE SCARCE NOW IN CAYUGA. MANY OF ITS RESIDENTS SUPPLEMENTED THEIR SUBSISTENCE FARMING WITH WORK WITH THE AREA'S PRINCIPAL EMPLOYER -- THE BANANA COMPANIES....

ACTUALITY: "Hay despido de mucha gente ...gente despedida por escasez de trabajo"

V/O THERE WERE A LOT OF PEOPLE LAID OFF BY THE BANANA COMPANIES, BECAUSE OF A LACK OF WORK.

ACTUALITY: "Ya despues del huracan fue cunado nos cortaron el trabajo..no hay trabajo."

ACTUALITY: "Pues ahi estabamos ganando regular, cortaron el trabajo..."

TWENTY TWO YEAR OLD MILTON, LIKE RAMOS WORKED AT A BANANA PLANTATION. HE'S BEEN LAID OFF SINCE NOVEMBER. HE SAYS, NOW, SOME PEOPLE ARE BEING REHIRED, BUT NOT PEOPLE LIKE HIM, WHO BELONGED TO THE BANANA WORKERS UNION.

ACTUALITY: "Digamos que la mayoria estaban en una organizacion sindical....pero ellos no quieren eso, no quieren sindicato"

V/O MOST OF US BELONG TO A LABOR UNION-- TO FIGHT FOR FAIR WAGES, AND THE COMPANY DOESN'T WANT A UNION.

CALLS TO COPSA AN CONVIGUA TO DISCUSS THESE ALLEGATIONS REMAINED UNANSWERED.

ACTUALITY: "...no me dan trabajo, y hay esta uno.."

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THERE ARE MASSIVE LAYOFFS TO A COMMUNITY THAT DEPENDS SO HEAVILY ON JUST ONE INDUSTRY .

ACUTALITY: "donde vamos a trabajar, se muere de hambre uno...le toca robar, porque pa' donde"

V/O IF WE CAN'T FIND WORK THE OPTION IS STEALING OR ONE DIES OF HUNGER.

ACTUALITY: "En toda esta region se siente ese ambiente...economic baja por el suele, para asi decirle..."

V/O YOU CAN FEEL THE ECONOMIC DOWNTURN ALL OVER, BECAUSE OF THE LAYOFFS IN THE BANANA INDUSTRY. IT REALLY AFFECTS ALL OF US. I WORK IN A DAIRY BUSINESS, AND I CAN REALLY FEEL IT. THIS IS JUST ONE COMMUNITY, BUT IN ALL THIS AREA, EVERYBODY'S BEEN BEEN AFFECTED, FROM PUERTO BARRIOS AND ALL THE SURROUNDING COMMUNITES.

I WONDER , SAYS RAMOS, HOW LONG PEOPLE ARE GOING TO BE WILING TO PUT UP WITH THINGS THE WAY THEY ARE .

ACTUALITY: "Y Claro lo que esto va a a ocasionar es que va a haber delincuenias robos.....va a generar todo eso..."

V/O SO WHAT THIS IS GOING TO CAUSE IS DELINQUENCY, ASSAULTS.... ROBBERIES...WE'LL SEE THIS IN THREE OR FOUR YEARS.

THESE RESIDENTS SAY PART OF THE BLAME MAY LIE AT THE FEET OF CAYUGA'S COMITE PRO MEJORAMIENTO, THE NEIGHBORHOOD'S COMMUNITY COMMITEE. MAYBE THEY HAVEN'T DONE ENOUGH TO PRESSURE THE STATE GOVERNMENT THEY SAY.

ACTUALITY: "Y si el comite no se mueve, no busca ayuda, la comunidad no va a tener un favor, pues..."

ACTUALITY: "La verdad, seria bueno de que ellos se dieran cuenta ....."

BUT HECTOR ROLANDO LOPEZ WHO'S A MEMBER OF THE COMITE, SAYS THE COMMITEE HAS MADE SOME PROGRESS -- BY BRINGING ELECTRICITY TO CAYUGA, AND BY GETTING A HALL BUILT. BUT AS FAR AS GETTING ANY HELP FORM THE GOVERNMENT FOR RECONSTRUCTION POST MITCH, THAT HE SAYS HAS BEEN NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE.

ACTUALITY: "Ayuda no tenemos de ninguna...maiz, sardina y hasta aqui no ha llegado."

V/O I CAN TELL YOU THAT HELP HAS NEVER COME. A GOVERNMENT AGENCY SAID THEY WOULD GIVE US RICE AND BEANS, BUT NOTHING HAS COME.

AS WE LEAVE, LOPEZ AND GLORIA ENGAGE IN A NOW FAMILIAR CONVERSATION. SOMEBODYÕS PROFITING FROM THE AID THAT COMES HERE BECAUSE OF THE HURRICANE -- AND IT ISN'T THE PEOPLE OF CAYUGA.

ACTUALITY: "Mire lo que esta soltando ahorita de enfermedades es una picason que no se entiende ...."

LOPEZ DESCRIBES A BAD SKIN RASH THAT PEOPLE NEAR THE RIVER HAVE BEEN EXPERIENCING. HE SAYS HE CAN'T STOP ITCHING, AND HIS SMALL DAUGHTER CAN'T SLEEP. THE DISCOMFORT FROM WHAT THEY CALL "EL PICASON" IS SO BAD. THESE SYMPTOMS ARE NEW SINCE THE FLOODS OF MITCH. GLORIA'S MOTHER ALSO HAD A BAD CASE OF "EL PICASON" WHEN THIS REPORTER WAS THERE.

THE OLD WOMAN TOLD US THAT SHE COULDN'T AFFORD TO GO TO THE DOCTOR FOR THE ILLNESS-- EVEN THOUGH HER HUSBAND HAD WORKED FOR THE BANANA COMPANY FOR OVER FIFTY YEARS. SHE RECEIVED NO PENSION AND NO MEDICAL BENEFITS. HER VOICE WAS BITTER. TWO WEEKS AGO, SHE DIED. THE REST OF CAYUGA'S RESIDENTS CONTINUE THEIR STRUGGLE FOR DAILY SURVIVAL....HOPING IN GOD...AND IN THE POSSIBILITY OF CHANGE.

ACTUALITY: "Aqui realmente los que se beneficiaron fueron los ricos ......hubo ayuda para el rico, pero para los pobres no."

THERE'S HELP FOR THE RICH, BUT NO FOR THE POOR THEY SAY. IN MANY WAYS THIS IS THE OFF TOLD STORY OF CENTRAL AMERICA. FOR LATINO USA, I'M MARIA MARTIN.