Promise of a better life - really ?

[The Buddha]

OK I read this article -
http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/10/20/lia.latina.suicides/index.html

And this is what struck me ...

In 1997, Francisca's mother, Isabel, left the Dominican Republic for the promise of work in the United States. Desperate to find a better life for her three children -- she left them behind. Francisca, who was 3 at the time, says she was devastated.

OK promise of work ? and Better life ? I'd like to know who is promising that to them.

And this gem -

But Francisca says life with her mother in the Bronx wasn't what she thought it would be. Her mother worked three jobs, and Francisca barely saw her.

Does this mean she found the better life ? or was it the promise of work.

In a way we need to find out who is passing on this bogus to other countries. Yea you're a nurse here, and in the US nurses are in so much demand that they make 50 bucks an hour. So you can go there and work as a nurse and live well ... K the big assumption is that you work as a nurse, which means keeping a legal status and in most states its maintaining a non criminal record.

I dunno, I'd like to find the people who are pushing the "better life" crap and toss em in jail.

Further, there seems to be an incessant noise about hispanics with Soledad O brien and the others making noise about this and that, all of which seems to be clouding the issue.

Cool.
Buddha.

[Cal Price]

I think you might have a bit of a problem there.

Of course there are trafficers and people smugglers who make all sorts of promises and when the subject or victim ends up at destination, IF they end up at destination they owe the trafficers so much that they have to work off the debt in sweatshops or worse. This is a criminal issue.

There is an even bigger "social" issue for want of a better explanation, in the late nineties and early "naughties" the port town where I lived and worked was flooded with "illegals" who had completed there journeys smuggled in trucks and containers or stowaways in ships cargos. These people came from China, Africa, the Indian sub-Continent as well as the middle east and eastern Europe. It was a risky business, many died en-route - I was on duty when about 60 Chineese were found axphisiated in a refrigerated truck and was around for a lot of smaller events. One particular phenomina was that for a while a very high proportion of French speaking Africans were turning up, many of us wondered out loud why they did not stop in France where they had a head start. Similarly Malta, a charming small but not very rich Island country attracts lots of illegals from all over.
WHY?

Because the entire English speaking world is seen as a honey-pot by many of the world's poorest. Any gateway to an English speaking country is attractive, this happens in New Zealand and Australia too wehere boat people take terrific risks with hazardous sea trips in poor quality craft.

WHY?

Because of the portrayal of "our" world in the media, posters, pictures, newspapers, T.V., Films etc, etc,  The stuff that is churned out by our dream factories is seen all over the planet and they like what they see, we know it probably ain't so but it seems a better life to them, even at the wrong end.
Maybe we should be blaming Hollywood! Maybe we should be more active in tracking trafficers or regulating the many industries that rely on this pool of "sub-prime" labour in our big citys. Hotels, catering, the rag trade, you name it.....

On the issue of young Hispanic suicide, over to you, I don't have a clue, it's so sad when any youngsters are drawn to that.

[The Buddha]

Ha-ha bollywood is waaaay better than Hollywood.
The thing is, these countries we're talking about already let in over a million a year in the smallest (Au/NZ) and near about 5 million a year in the case of US. Its like we have hung the bait out ourselves.
Cool.
Buddha.

[Cal Price]

I suppose it's all relative, being poor in NYC beats the crap out of being poor in the Dominican republic etc,. given choices like that what would any of us do.

[yamahonkawazuki]

I suppose it's all relative, being poor in NYC beats the crap out of being poor in the Dominican republic etc,. given choices like that what would any of us do.

Most definately 

[annguyen1981]

The reason why people immigrate to this country is really because of the promise for a CHANCE at a better life.  Here in the US, people have more opportunities to have a better life than almost any other country.

[The Buddha]

I suppose it's all relative, being poor in NYC beats the crap out of being poor in the Dominican republic etc,. given choices like that what would any of us do.

Most definately 

You know a lot of those countries have been afflicted with what I call the remittance bug. The inflow of USD causes inflation. Make it worse, we buy stuff from them like bananas and what not pumping $ into 1 section and promptly every thing goes up.

Mexico apparently is getting killed by nafta cos we dump millions of tons of corn and other farm products that are subsidized here into their market. No way they can compete.

Trade barriers would work, only they have to be 100% in all countries. It cant be 1 way or for just 1 thing.
India is also recently suffering form the remittance bug. Every thing is getting $$$ due to sudden inflow from US.

Unless the whole world comes into the same standard its going to be rough. It should simply stop being cheaper to buy junk over in India/china and ship it to the US/europe.
Cool.
Buddha.