Summary: How The Poor Suffer

Baum, Fran and Duvnjak, Angella. The politics of poverty in Australia [online]. Social Alternatives, Vol. 32, No. 1, 2013: 12-18. Availability: ISSN: 0155-0306. [cited 04 Aug 16].

In our country, hundreds of people are apprehended every day for misdemeanors crimes. Our local justice system will then charge these individuals with fines that can be as much as $2,000 or more. Failure to pay this said fine can immediately result in potential jail time. Yet, if you can pay your bail, you will spend no more than 24 hours in a local facility. Many of these people are poor, while the remainder of these people tends to be middle to upper-class citizens.

What do we expect as a life of a Mexican migrant? The American public consistently listens to the media to these people crossing the border illegally, which is deemed as a crime. They see these people as stealing American jobs and benefiting from government programs such as welfare. Countless people think it was voluntary for them to come to the United State, therefore they deserve whatever comes their way, either health problems, racism or low paying jobs. However, what countless American people don’t realize is that the majority of Mexican migrants are forced to migrate to the United State to survive. They constantly risk their lives to cross a dangerous border in order to find the jobs that the American people don’t want to endure. In the book called Fresh Fruit, Broken Bodies, the author, Seth Holmes focus on the lives of an indigenous Mexican group called the Triquis. Throughout the book, he focuses on the journey of the group from their hometown in Oaxaca to farms in California and Washington. The book also emphasizes on how racism and health problems of migrant workers have become invisible. Their health problems and their social status in the social hierarchy are blamed on themselves because they decided to come to a place where they are seen as illegal aliens. Instead of blaming the Triqui people of their sickness, health care facilities need to treat them without judgement, address what exactly their sickness is as well as its structural causes.

When thinking of Mexican American immigrants what comes to mind? The American public consistently listens to the media telling stories of how these people cross the border illegally, which is deemed as a crime. Immigrants are portrayed just as stealing American jobs and benefiting from government programs such as welfare. Countless people think it was a voluntary action for them to come to the United State, therefore whatever comes their way is what they deserve regardless if it is health problems, racism or low paying jobs. However, what most of American people don’t realize is that the majority of Mexican migrants are forced to migrate to the United State in order to survive. They constantly risk their lives to cross a dangerous border in order to find the jobs that the American people don’t want to endure. In the book called “Fresh Fruit, Broken Bodies”, the author, Seth Holmes focuses on the lives of an indigenous Mexican group called the Triquis. Throughout the book, he focuses on the journey of the group from their hometown of Oaxaca to farms in California and Washington. The book also emphasizes how racism and health problems of migrant workers have become invisible to the American people. It is commonly seen that their personal damage such as health problems and placement on the social hierarchy system is only to be blamed on their sole decision to come to a country where they are considered illegal. Instead of blaming the Triqui people for their sickness,

The society is in such a way that it falls into categories of people who belong to different social classes and this creates a difference in the way individuals lead their lifestyle, and in the way individuals interact with each other. The working poor refer to a social group which develops as a result of the social inequalities which exist in the society. The population comprises of individuals who put a lot of effort in their activities but still fail to witness growth and development in their socio-economic being. It is normally wrong to categorize such persons as being lazy, and instead, one may argue that nature dictates the fate of these beings.

These people had very poor food offerd them cuasing there bodues to be “thin and frail” as stated in document 7. Due to them being weak and frail many of them had poor immune systems cuasing them to be more prone to deasises. The laborers lived miserble lives working 12 hours a day and going home to poorly furnshex homes.

The Working Poor travels into the forgotten America. It is a book about people and places that most us have never thought about. We have our debates about these people, their lifestyles, how they raise their children and where they work but we don't really know them and for the most part don't care. How many of us notice "the man who washes cars but does not own one, the clerk who files cancelled checks at the bank but has $2.02 in her own account or the woman who copyedits medical textbooks but hasn't been to a dentist in a decade?"(Shipler,3) With this book, Shipler takes you into their lives, it allows you to understand some of their choices and their lack of options. The Working Poor makes you understand what it is like to work hard,

The concepts of “worthy” and “unworthy” poor came about during the English Poor Laws that were introduced in the 1500’s. The English poor laws classified poor or dependent people into three major categories and established many requirement before aid was provided. Dependent persons were categorized as: vagrant (nomadic; with no permanent home or employment), the involuntary unemployed and the helpless. In effect, the poor laws separated the poor into two classes which were the worthy and the unworthy. The worthy were classified as orphans, widows, handicapped, or the frail elderly. The unworthy were the drunkards, suspicious, or lazy. (Hansan, J.E. (2011). Poor relief in early America)

In the ethnographic text, Fresh Fruit, Broken Bodies, by Seth Holmes, Holmes describes his experience on enduring the living and working conditions of migrant workers. Seth Holmes’ social positions and identities helped bring the ethnography forward by showcasing the stories of Triqui migrant workers and how they suffer in everyday life because of the cycle of suffering. On the other hand, Holmes risks credibility and validity as the ethnographic text is taken from his point of view as a white man rather than a Triqui worker’s. As the author of the ethnographic text, Seth Holmes takes an in-depth look inside the lives of the Triqui workers and the problems they encounter in the face of racism and the social, political, and economic

He points out that a lot of the issued have to do with the normalization and naturalization of the suffering of migrant laborers. Some get used to seeing the conditions of the migrant workers and become unfazed by it. Some assume that the Triqui people have berry picking jobs because of ethnic body differences. However, in both instances, people recognize that the job is undesirable and difficult but refuse to do anything about it. Lastly, Seth Holmes concludes his book with a few solutions to change conditions for the Mexican migrant farm

The Triqui people are a group of minorities that have been disrespected not only in the United States but also in Mexico, forced by global markets and Mexican politics to migrate, and have to work in harsh conditions for low wages due to structural violence by the manual labor hierarchies. They talk about the many injuries and sickness that the Triqui people endure due to the harsh environments. The Triqui are considered violent and inhumane people, based off of the stereotypes about their history. These acquisitions have been rumored for so long that the Triqui’s started to act violent. They have begun to partake in the violent behaviors due to the political violence, structural violence, and labor hierarchies. When the Triqui people

Sudhir Alladi Venkatesh moves through the major themes of public safety and informality to illustrate the importance of underground networks in a Chicago community rich with social history, traditions, and gang involvement. In describing the various activities he witnessed in his book, Off the Books: The Underground Economy of the Urban Poor, Venkatesh alludes to a system that is based mostly on social interaction and interpersonal relationships. Residents in this area follow laws that some scholars call “informal,” in that there are existing rules that are far more complex than what is described in judicial law. The author’s observations and partake in the community contribute to the broader understanding of the lives of the urban poor and

Immigrants came over in the late 19th century through the 20th century looking for the american dream. Their reality was cruel and cold. They lived in a broken down house with no electric and no running water for most. Food was hard to get, especially when taking care of a family. They had to work and work just to get a “half dollar a day”. They worked in the mills and hustled on streets just to bring

A social problem, is “a general factor that effects and damages society”. It can be used to describe an issue or a problem within a certain group of people or an area in the world. Examples of contemporary social problems today include anti-social behaviour, drug abuse, and sexual abuse. Poverty is an example of a social problem that exists all over the world, and to different extents. In the UK, poverty has effected at least a third of the population, as shown by the Office of National Statistics, providing evidence that it is a massive social problem in the country. Tameside has a big poverty problem. 1 in 4 children in Tameside are born into poverty, and workers in Tameside earn significantly less than other workers in the rest of the North-West area. In addition, Tameside has the largest proportion of people claiming unemployment benefits compared to the rest of the North West of England.

People are dying every minute because of this terrible disease. No antidotes have been found to eliminate it. Poverty is like an epidemic with no antidote affecting the entire world. It has already killed billions of people, and will continue killing unless we do something to stop it. Have you ever thought what living in poverty is like? Seeing a shocking picture in which people were trying to survive gave me a whole different perspective. That image showed me one of the poorest areas of the planet where people were living under despicable conditions. They were working in sweatshops, collecting garbage and living in broken down huts in order to survive. A polluted river passes across from their humble homes, causing incomparable complication to their lives. I could observe the terrible conditions in which this people are working, fishing and collecting garbage. Not only pollution is shown in this photo, above of the photograph a bridge could be observed. I imagine the noise, and the dust that this little detail brings to their lives. That photograph made me feel angry at politicians because they could do a better job helping the needy. Since they were almost dying, I felt sad for the circumstances they live in. A sense of admiration for the way they are able to survive, gave me the strength to fight against this global scourge. The author of this picture is trying to convey a message, showing us poverty in all its faces and inviting us to be part of his fight against