Imagine you go to get your nails done, at a local salon...You walk in smelling the strong aroma of nail polish remover and hearing the low murmur of women in the background. There is a Madonna song playing and the only man in the room greets you from behind the counter. "Hello. Manicure? Pedicure?" he asks as he cashes out the woman with the purple things between her toes. "I'll do both this time," you say.
As you sit there in the chair flipping through the latest Glamor Magazine, you realize how much more fun this would have been if your friend didn't have to work through her lunch today. It's too bad she had to cancel last minute, but you were not going to miss out on treating yourself. After all it has been too long and you were really looking forward to this.
"Long or short?" she asks as your feet soak in the blue bubbly water. The young woman with the penciled on eyebrows is now sitting at your feet. She smiles and looks your outfit up and down while she begins to file. Then she mumbles something foreign to her tiny friend on the stool next to her, and of course you pretend not to notice as you flip the next page. The questions start to run through your mind....What are they talking about? Are they talking about me? Where are these women from anyway? I wonder why they came here?
Perhaps you dig a bit deeper and think to yourself about the girl sitting before you....What was so bad in her own country, that this girl was willing to leave her family and everything she knows, in order to come here and sit at an American woman's feet and dig out the dirt from my nails? I wonder how much money she makes? Certainly not too much more than my tip. Meanwhile the girl faithfully scrubs, smiling up at you every now and then thinking...."I wonder what this woman does for a living? "You have husband?" she asks. You answer and continue to read... Then she thinks to herself, about how pretty your highlights are, and wonders what it is like to be an American woman. Her thoughts trail to her family back home....at least I don't have to do that anymore to provide.... Proudly, she thinks....all I need is ten more dollars, then I will send my 5th paycheck to my family this year and they will be able to buy another bicycle and food for three weeks....I wonder if my friend can give me a ride to the post office?"
Current Events: February 14, 2011
Here is an article from the United Nations Population Fund (UNPF):
Highlighting Importance of Women Migrants' Remittances
"...Indeed, women are not just passive players who accompany or join migrating husbands or other family members. Migrant women are in many cases the only contributor to family imcome. Many women increasingly migrate on their own in search of better opportunities for themselves and their families. And they contribute to improvements in the quality of life in both countries of origin and destination.
Every year, migrant women send large sums of money in the form of remittances to feed families, clothe and educate children, support older persons, provide health care and generally improve living standards for families left behind.
In host countries, many migrant women are employed in households of working families, taking care of their children, the elderly and the household. Others contribute technical and professional expertise as teachers, nurses, scientists, technicians and business owners....
...There are also gender differences in the utilization of remittances: women tend to use remittances for daily needs, health care and education while men tend to spend remittance income on consumer items such as cars and televisions, and some for investments such as property or livestock."
Click here to view the article:
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