Maquilapolis - Jiaying Wang

Maquilapolis is about a group of women, many of them are single mothers, in Tijuana. They are used as Mexican cheap labors for multinational owned factories, for example, Panasonic. The workers produce and assemble televisions, electrical cables, batteries, and so on, which are the very bottom of the consumer industry. Their working and living lives are about injustice, insecurity, and hungry. Their one-hour payment can only afford a bucket of water, and they all get bad diseases due to the toxic working environment and not well-recovered abandoned factories. Because of the rain and river, the water they drink and the environment they live with their kids are all polluted. One woman said her doctor suggests her to not touch her child since the disease will infect her daughter. She needs to choose between die or taking responsibility for her daughter. Because of the pollution, the workers sick in their kidney, their kids born without fingernails, and many newborns die directly.

After watching this film, I was so shocked by that. I directly look at my phone and my other digital devices. How many unknown stories about every little part of the devices. Does the company treat their workers well? Do I buy and use the product and establish my enjoyment on some other's suffer and pain? Looking at their true living and working space, the poison water and dust, I feel disgusting and very uncomfortable. Nobody can live there! Globalization and technology is the biggest topic nowadays. They should bring hope and convenience to human's life other than disease and suffering. 

There are several problems with this situation. First, many cheap-labor workers are not aware of their rights. In the film, this group of brave women find their community and seek outside helps, such as the San Deigo environment group. Second, the lawyer of their company is the one present for the company and only takes care of the company's benefits. However, who take cares of workers rights?  Workers are lack of knowledge about law, so the women in the film seek help from professionals and learn about their rights in workshops.  Third, many companies build a factory in another country, make profits, and claim bankrupt and flee. They leave the polluted land and unemployed worker. Fourth, the government pretends to not see them and the world don't notice them. People pay the tax, but the words of government are only floating in the air. 

What makes Promotora, this group of brave women's protest very successful is that they use outside sources and use art and performance to let the outside world know about them. They are not alone. The people working on social and environmental issues can help them to fight for their rights. The public will criticize the companies and government. They use their art and act to put pressure on the company and government. As a result, they got handfull money. 

My question and problem about this act are that does the money solve all the problems? The women receive the money and do this end? Can they find another job and stop working in a horrifying environment? What they can do after using all their given money? Will the government give money to rebuild their home and accomplish their dream? Thousands of dollars may shut up these protesters' mouth, but they need tons of million to rebuild and solve the problem thoroughly.

As someone far away from them, what should I do? Knowlege about the companies before purchasing the product. Knowlege about the B - corporation.