In a world riven by inequity, medicine could be viewed as social justice work.
–Paul Farmer
Since the end of Nicaragua’s civil war more than twenty years ago, the now stable, second-poorest country in the Western Hemisphere has become a desirable destination for missionaries, development workers, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and volunteers. The region in which I worked this past summer was particularly dense in NGOs, which meant there was a constant influx of volunteers. The tourism economy of the region has also begun to grow in the stability following the war, and has developed a symbiotic relationship with the volunteer-development complex, which Dichter describes as its own industry (Dichter 2003:2). On the surface this development is bringing the outside world with all its sparkle and wealth to a small corner of Nicaragua, but these industries effects’ on the local people are much more complicated, and not always as positive as an initial glance appears.
The tourism economy is based around the beaches populated by surfers hoping to catch the Pacific swells. There are hostels, hotels, and restaurants all along the waterfront; the majority are owned by gringos (foreigners, often with white skin), but employ and are built by Nicaraguans. They serve primarily tourists, and are generally too expensive for locals to frequent. The tourists and the American dollars (a currency equally accepted with Nicaraguan córdobas) they bring are the most obvious mark of globalization in the area.
The tourism economy is based around the beaches populated by surfers hoping to catch the Pacific swells. There are hostels, hotels, and restaurants all along the waterfront; the majority are owned by gringos (foreigners, often with white skin), but employ and are built by Nicaraguans. They serve primarily tourists, and are generally too expensive for locals to frequent. The tourists and the American dollars (a currency equally accepted with Nicaraguan córdobas) they bring are the most obvious mark of globalization in the area.
"Voluntourism"
A sub-group of the tourists are there primarily as volunteers. They volunteer in clinics, go on home visits, bring donations of medicine and used clothes and shoes, and take lots of pictures. At the NGO where I worked, there were also longer-term interns (including myself) who were there for one or two months. At night and on the weekends, the volunteers stay in the same hotels, eat at the same restaurants, and see the same sights as the full-time tourists. Many get in a surf lesson while they are there. The U.S.-based NGO where I worked had six other sites in Latin America, Asia, and Africa, but because of its proximity to the U.S., relative safety, and location near a tourist hot spot, Nicaragua was by far the most popular site for volunteers to visit (personal communication). NGO workers helped volunteers plan meals, trips, and transportation to ensure that they got the best experience possible. The business model of the NGO relied on volunteers paying for these trips to survive financially, so the popular Nicaragua site was a valuable part of the organization and the volunteers’ positive experience was an important component for maintaining this model. Just as critiques of domestic service groups like Teach for America point out, the emphasis was on the volunteer experience, and not necessarily the experience of the recipients of the service (Darling-Hammond 1994:22).
Although the NGO, which was secular, did not refer to the trips as such, the term “mission trip” was commonly used by volunteers, implying a religious zeal to do good and to bring the locals something they were missing. Most volunteers were young, earnest, and interested in “helping” careers, primarily in healthcare. Very few seemed to be under the impression that they would save the world, but they felt that they were helping however they could. They were there, funded by a combination of their parents, universities, donors on sites like “Go Fund Me,” and sometimes themselves, to serve the other in what Darling-Hammond refers to as racialized service, where their contribution was assumed to be valuable because of their nationality and academic achievements (Darling-Hammong 1994:23).
Volunteers require someone to serve during the day ... But at night these same volunteers require someone to serve them ... Many times those being served during the day and those serving at night are one and the same. |
Most of the volunteers, including those staying for up to a month, spoke only rudimentary Spanish, if they spoke it at all. Several assumed that the families they stayed with would speak English, and some families did because of their work in the tourist industry or being taught in school; English was a desired skill as a means of social and economic advancement, which is seen across the world (Wa Thiong’o 1986:12). Some volunteers were nursing or medical students with basic clinical skills, but most had no medical training. The assumption was that they were prepared to volunteer, which often included “teaching” in a language they didn’t speak, merely because they were North American. Once again, a parallel can be drawn with Teach for America, which assumes that merely because a student went to a good university they are qualified to teach (Darling-Hammond 1994:23, Donaldson and Johnson 2011:47). The barriers between teacher and student in those domestic instances of service are often racial and socio-economic; between Nicaraguans and North Americans, they are also geographic and linguistic. A repeated refrain of volunteers was, “They’re just so uneducated,” referring to Nicaraguans as a group. It was said with a paternal rather than a critical intent; it’s not their fault they’re uneducated, the phrase implied, but isn’t it lucky we’re here now to teach them? Easterly shows that this patronizing tone is common in development work, but that in fact the poor being served have often done more to help themselves than has outside influence (Easterly 2005:26).
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The superiority innate in many volunteers’ understanding of the world and of the place in which they were serving was enforced by many volunteers’ participation in the tourist economy. This economy is valuable for Nicaraguans. The average daily wage has increased in the area in recent years. Global influence and more regular interactions with foreigners have increased awareness of the greater world. But there is great injustice in this economy as well. As Dichter points out, development is an industry, and the raw material it requires to survive is poverty (Dichter 2003:4). Development’s end goal should be its own extinction, but as I saw in Nicaragua, it is more complicated than that. Industries, even altruistic ones, do not stand alone. They are tied to other economies like tourism, construction, and education, and these economies require their own work force. Volunteers require someone to serve during the day; they want to take someone’s blood pressure, paint a community center, or give a talk at a school. But at night these same volunteers require someone to serve them, as their surf instructors, their waiters, and their bartenders. Many times those being served during the day and those serving at night are one and the same, and in every instance the volunteer is in a position of power relative to the Nicaraguan.
The effects of globalization in this small Nicaraguan community have brought questions of economic and social justice to the forefront. Although many volunteers do not understand their role in these concerns, through their dual relationship with the development and tourism industries in the region their presence raises questions of dependence and equality.
The effects of globalization in this small Nicaraguan community have brought questions of economic and social justice to the forefront. Although many volunteers do not understand their role in these concerns, through their dual relationship with the development and tourism industries in the region their presence raises questions of dependence and equality.
Does utilizing tourist services support and develop the economy in a sustainable way, or perpetuate the injustice of division and unequal power? Can globalization be a force for strengthening justice, and not complicating it?