Another Note on Immigration

This morning Adam Clevenger (of the Timmy Foundation, for those of you who do not know him) sent me an interesting New York Times article regarding the migration of people to poor countries from even poorer countries. The article is very well done and looks primarily at the case of Haitian immigrants to the Dominican Republic, an issue I believe Timmy Brigades in the DR have witnessed first-hand.

While Ecuador is not mentioned in article, this is a phenomenon that definitely occurs there as well. After the transition to the dollar as their currency, many Ecuadorians left for countries like the US and Spain, but also a large number of Colombians and Peruvians entered Ecuador. The salaries (now in dollars) were stronger in terms of purchasing power than what they could typically earn in their own countries.

This immigration led to anti-Colombian and especially anti-Peruvian sentiments in the country that are strikingly similar to (if not stronger than) the anti-Mexican/Latino sentiments one can find in the US. I was actually told (on a couple of occasions) that Ecuadorians do not use drugs, it is the Peruvians that do and therefore the entire drug problem in the country (not that drug usage is all too high) is the fault of Peruvians. Once after being robbed (one of five occurrences during my time there) the owners of the restaurant said that they did not see who did, but assured me it was a couple of Peruvians. After a few break-ins in the neighborhood where I lived, a neighborhood security guard whom I befriended told me that I should be careful because the Colombians where now starting to target the area. I asked him what evidence he had that they were Colombians and not simply Ecuadorians, and he told me that Colombians were desperate people and therefore they broke into houses.

With a high unemployment rate and such a high poverty rate, people entering Ecuador and competing for jobs that are already scarce is likely to spark controversy. I do find it interesting (and this is the idea behind this post) that immigration is not as simple as a one-way street from developing countries to developed countries. It is actually something quite complex and dynamic and I think the New York Times article linked at the top does a good job of further explaining some of the issues. So, I encourage all of you to read it.