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Mayo 17, 2005
¿Qué hace este gringo aquí?
"What is this gringo doing here?" read the caption on this picture posted on Indymedia Bolivia. (Click on the picture for a larger view) Perhaps this was a rhetorical question trying to figure out what this foreigner, who towers over his compañeros, was doing marching alongside ordinary Alteños. It appears to be a group of students from a local school and maybe he is doing volunteer work at the school (just a guess).
Maybe the question was asked in a humorous tone because the jolly fellow looks like a fish out of water. He seems to be having a ball.
Then again, it is quite possible that the one who wrote the caption was quite disturbed by the presence of a foreigner in the internal affairs of Bolivians.
I appreciate the fact that there are foreigners who are interested in helping Bolivia climb out of poverty and provide more opportunities to Bolivians. However, what role should a foreigner play in these activities?
Some might argue that foreigners have a greater chance to affect change in developing countries. They can spread the message and convey the realities in these difficult locations to others in their own countries. Lobbying their own governments to change policies can also be something that foreigners can do that ordinary Bolivians cannot.
Unless he drops me an e-mail, we will never know this random guy's motivations. Maybe he is an adventure traveler, who likes being able to say, "I marched at a protest in El Alto!" This guy someday may have the luxury to go home, while those in El Alto face an uncertain future.
There have been some foreigners, such as Luis Espinal, SJ, who became a naturalized Bolivian. His love for Bolivia eventually caused his gruesome murder because of his involvement in the social and political realities of Bolivia.
What about someone like me, who is also a U.S. citizen with two Bolivian parents? Would some say the fact that I hold dual nationality should automatically restrict my involvement in Bolivian politics? Definitely those kinds of questions revolve around identity issues and whether others question my motives. I know how much Bolivia means to me. There are many Bolivian-Americans who could care less about what is going on in their country of origin. However, the context of my life and my experiences in the U.S. make me drastically different than 99% of Bolivians living down South. Therefore, I do not know whether someone would ever say, "What is he doing here?"
Posted by eduardo at Mayo 17, 2005 06:00 PM
Comments
I, too, am troubled by such foreigners. Not because I don't think they have a right to speak out. But because in my experience many supposedly well-intentioned such foreigners are just naive products of afluence in the West who see this is a romantic "la Boheme" type adventure to tell their grandkids someday. But that's just me being cynical.
Posted by: miguel at Mayo 17, 2005 06:47 PM
Having traveled to Bolivia several times since 1998, most of the 'foreigners' I have met during my volunteer experiences have been open minded and wanted to learn more about the people's struggle. Fortunately, you won't find many tourists often looking for 'resort beaches' to hang out and act like stupid 'americans' or 'gringos'. Most have been interested in learning more about the culture, the history, los movimientos sociales.....so they can take back their experiences to their respective country, that's if they return..some have stayed to live in Bolivia ... :)
Posted by: ~Martha~ :) at Mayo 17, 2005 10:35 PM
In the spirit of Karl Marx: "Workers of the world unite; you have nothing to lose but your chains."
I think many kids in the developed world strongly identify with the "social movements" in Bolivia. They think it's "cool". They think it's right. Certainly, when one sees the extreme poverty in which some Bolivians live, anyone would be tempted to agree with some Marxist or even socialist rhetoric. But, hardly things are as easy as some people present it. The Bolivian problem is so complex, that not even Bolivians who live in the midst of it comprehend what is going on.
But, by the same token, I would not discount right away the sincerity with which some young and old "gringos" support these movements. I have to think about the guy in Blog from Bolivia, right now. From what I get reading his blog, he is an active piece in the social movements.
Posted by: Miguel (MABB) at Mayo 18, 2005 06:11 AM