![](http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4259/454/200/merchuprooted.jpg)
Anyway, during the workshop, we watched Uprooted, a documentary put out by the National Network of Immigrant and Refugee Rights. I thought it was pretty well done, even if the discussion moderation afterwards wasn't. Short, too. Basically it followed the lives of three workers whose lives were altered for the worse by NAFTA, FTAA, and other trade policies. Obviously, it's biased. It comes down pretty hard against "fair" trade agreements. I learned a few things, though: I didn't know that the Philippines has the highest percentage of workers overseas, in part to pay off an IMF debt. (During "sharing time," I did not reveal that Grandma left more so that she could get a divorce than because of the Marcos regime and economic or political reasons. There seemed to be some internalized stereotypes about immigrants in the room.) Anyway, it was a decent documentary. Depressing as hell, but well done.
And the "fun" activities for tonight were a roundtable discussion on anti-immigrant sentiment and a viewing of the film "The Landless: Through Latin American Paths." But I felt like my duty stopped at 5 p.m., so I went wandering around downtown Portland, browsing the sales-tax-free shops. Mission accomplished, too. Got a small laptop bag. Tax-free! (So I saved what, $1.99? Guess that's enough to pay a sweatshop worker in LA for making the bag.... Damn. Sometimes organizing work makes a basket case out of the organizer. Where's the booze on this campus???)
2 comments:
You've been there what, 2 days? And already with the booze and touchy feely group sharing sessions? Are you sure you're not in Maine?
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