From now on

This weekend, I had to go to the small town of Thetford Mines for a pre-trip orientation weekend for my upcoming 5 weeks humanitarian work-trip to Guatemala. I gave a lift to two other participants(two women around 60) and on our way there, we were talking about this upcoming orientation and we all wonder what it would be about because non of us had any clue. But now that I've done it, I realize that it should have been obvious...

One of the big part of this formation was about the Guatemala reality. Their history, the Spanish conquest of the Mayas, the 1960-1996 civil war, etc. We also learned about the 21st century Mayas who still today form the majority of the population with the Ladinos(Mixed aborigine). What I retained the most about this civilization, was the fact that the are a proud population loving their country who prefer to live as refugees in their own land or beg in the street than leaving their birthplace.

The other big part of this weekend, maybe the biggest, was about social relation and respect. Social relation and respect among our group and social relation and respect with other cultures. During opening minds workshops and games we have created bonds among the group and began to understand what will wait us in this trip. But it all began when we were asked to put our luggage in the dormitory. 32 persons, men and women sleeping in the same room, beds 1 meter apart, no privacy, only basic facilities. The morning after the first night everyone said that they didn't sleep but let me tell you that with all the loud snoring that have kept me awake all night some of us must have slept! Lesson #1: bring my earplugs to Guatemala

After, they made us participate to a fake spiritual celebration provoking many reactions among the group. They putted us in many other uncontrollable situations where our values, our judgements, our team work was challenged. For example, they separated us in small groups with playing cards. We had 5 minutes to individually read this new game playing instructions and rules. They took back the instructions and ask us to play in complete silence. Of course, there were some differences among the group members' comprehension of the game but that wasn't so bad but when they said that the nominated winner and loser of each table had to move to another table, the real trouble began! The migrating players didn't had the same already agreed rules of their host table and the impossibility to communicate with words created all kind of reactions. After the game we have learned that no group has received the same game instructions and rules at the beginning so while everyone thought they were right, no one had the truth. A good analogy for someone who has to live and work in a different country who has a different culture...

The rest of the weekend was used to talk about the practical aspects of the trip: The humanitarian projects, A typical day of work, The security precautions we need to take while working in the most criminal part of the capitol, etc.

At the end of the last day, it was amazing to already see the complicity of the group. Not everyone of us will travel at the same time of the year, only 6 of the people who were there will travel on the same dates as me. There are several pre-trip weekends organized so I haven't met all my future workmates. But among the people I have met, I discovered many interesting individuals even if I'm 15-20 years younger than the age average of the group. The most touching moment of this weekend happened during the last activity where we were asked to explain in front of the group, using a pool drawing on a board, how much deep we were willing to plunge in this venture. Since most of the member's reserve toward the group was now disappeared, there were many emotional, hand and voice shaking testimonies heard from many different persons who were about to fulfill a long awaited dream, a big personal challenge or new life resolution. Me, I said that I was choosing the highest dive board to jump in the deepest part of the pool because I plan to plunge in this experience as deep as I can.

To conclude this short weekend report I would like to talk about one of the trainer who was there: Hugo, a Guatemalan political refugee. This authentic aboriginal really gave me the taste of Guatemala with his amazing knowledge about the politics, culture and history of his country and with his interesting and funny way of explaining it. He became even more funnier Saturday night when a few of us sat around a camp fire to talk and have a couple of beers. Nothing beats a half drunk Guatemalan telling Newfie jokes!

Although, later that night the conversation took a more serious but interesting turn when we talked about men and women respect and relationships. First, the different cultural realities appeared between our two countries but soon after, many different perceptions about love and respect appeared among the Quebecois group itself...

No consensus was found when I went to bed that night, but on my way to the dormitory, I saw a shooting star and I made a wish.

At my last Christmas staff party, I had a discussion with one of the educator who comes once a week with a younger group of mentally handicapped persons to do a half day of work in the park. I don't know her that much because we only talk to each other briefly once a week, but that day I learned that her main job is not being an educator with handicapped people, it's only a part time job for her. Her full time job is street outreach worker.

I was curious to know what a street outreach worker was exactly doing and I thought that it might interest my young participants from the Project C so I ask her if she would come to talk about her job to the group. She immediately accepted and we agreed on a date for her presentation.

So yesterday, she came with a co-worker and they explained what was their work, how they handle the situations, their collaboration (or should I say their absence of collaboration) with the police, etc.

First thing we learned is that the confidentiality is the most important aspect of their job. All their work is based on that. To win the trust of the itinerants, drug addicts or any social outcast, they have to keep their mouth shut no matter what they see or hear. Anyway it would be dangerous for them to act differently. In the street, it's the law of the street and you know what happens to the informers when they return in the street. So if you have to spend all your working days there you better be trusted. And that could mean that if a guy confess to you that he has raped a girl, you don't call the police. And more than this, you will ask him if he needs any help! Not for everyone eh?

It's an accompaniment work that's all. Someone needs to talk, you listen. Someone needs an apartment, you visit apartments with him. Someone has to go to court, you accompany her. They work with pagers, hang around where they know the needy are. At one point, one of them, explained that she spent a night at a stripper club without talking to anyone waiting for the dancers to ask her what a girl is doing alone in this place. She said that she will go back in the upcoming weeks too until she gets the confidant of the dancers that are often single young mothers and drug addicts and will most likely need help one day or another.

I was very impressed by the constant absence of judgement they have to keep despite the situations they have to deal with. And sometimes their work could be to simply be a presence beside someone who is literally slowly killing himself because there is nothing else to do. Of course there are also some beautiful moments like when they help someone getting out of the street but how many deceptions they must go through for every success story.

And of course the organism that they work for has trouble finding funds. They don't provide any statistic and their help can't be quantified. And the government prefers to give money to the police to help them control drugs traffic than to pay an intervener to provide a junky with clean syringes. But I think we are closing our eyes if we think we can solve every problem of the street by arresting people or build elaborated integration programs to help them. Sometimes someone just need a lift or someone to help her find immediately a babysitter because a violent drunk father is coming back home or simply an ear when they feel like letting everything go.

After the too short hour we spent with to the 2 girls, their pager beeped 2 times in a row and they had to return to work.

I raise my hat to them because they do a very difficult job but how useful it is...