Thursday 7 June 2007

GUATEMALA: Young Guatemalans Live on Money From US

By Juan Carlos Llorca
Posted 29 May 2007 @ 02:47 pm EST

Working and going to school have become optional in this highland Guatemalan town, thanks to a flood of U.S. dollars sent home by migrants living in the United States.

The family-run mills that produce brightly colored, hand-woven traditional fabrics have fallen quiet as their potential work force - mostly young men - hang out at the town's pool halls or video game salons, living off remittances and waiting to make their own journeys north."Kids have easy money, and the only thing they know how to do is spend it on video games," complained Salcaja Mayor Miguel Ovalle. "In this town, school attendance has fallen in part because many go to the U.S., and also because those who stay don't want to go to school." [Read more]

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