Mayas from Morgantown: Work and Community in the Nuevo New South (review)

Professor Leon Fink's text is timely and necessary. Now that Latin American migration has firmly planted itself outside of the American southwest, many things are changing. Migration has become a deadly enterprise, with people dying as they cross the border in desert heat or enclosed tractor-trailers. Once they find work they almost certainly encounter "employer exploitation" (p. 4). The author's precise descriptions of the Mayan workers and the conflicted relationship with their employers not only provide interesting reading, they give an intimation of the very complex narrative surrounding undocumented persons who come to this country searching for work.

Fink's ethnographic approach allows a flavorful narrative about the Maya's community in North Carolina and in Guatemala. These multi-national narratives combine with his considerable knowledge of labor relations to provide a scope not often found in monographs on American immigration. Stories from Guatemala enlighten the author's description of labor organizing in Morgantown. He presents a resourceful, intelligent people in a direct manner. Nevertheless, what is of concern is the indirect implication of the language in his text. Thus, there are moments when the lives of the individuals are presented somewhat simplistically, with an idealist quality that brings to mind the image of the "noble savage." The people are often described in a one-dimensional manner. This may be due to the use of multiple interviewers that were condensed into one text. There is also the issue of exoticization. Using the "corn people" with their "mystical significance" (p. 31) is perhaps considered more interesting than the regular migrant from the urban slums of San Salvador or Mexico City.

Clearly, Fink admires the tenacity and creativity of his interlocutors. Yet at times, his choice of words denotes a certain ambivalence or at the minimum a lack of awareness regarding his choice of words. There are disturbing descriptions of the Morgantown Mayas. They are described as "child-like" (p. 27), "innocent" and "vulnerable" (p. 31). Repeating what Morgantown locals say about the migrants is acceptable if the comments are studied in the context of a polemic. However, Fink repeats what he has heard without a critique of this evaluation of the Maya. His silence can be interpreted as an agreement with these de-valuing statements and displays a certain perception towards his interlocutors. It is unclear if the author is even aware of his positioning regarding the asymmetry between the Maya and himself.

The author gives full credit to the local church for assisting the migrants in mobilizing against the poultry plant. He writes: "[T]he migrants did not realize how lucky they were to arrive in a small North Carolina town with an established Catholic Church." This is particularly troubling considering the statement from the local priest regarding "the presence at Mass of several 'Hispanics' who 'didn't seem to know what was going on'" (p. 28). In the age of deeply studied colonialism and post-colonialism, Fink has chosen not to add a commentary about the complicated historical relationship between the Catholic Church and indigenous populations.

Fink's conclusion regarding governmental policy towards immigrants and their civil liberties is hopeful. He foresees some possibility if the collaboration between the migrants and local advocacy groups continues to develop. His mention of the minimal penalties placed on large corporations for using an "illegal labor force" (p. 199) makes the reader aware of the possibility of much larger influences affecting the recruitment, use and misuse of undocumented laborers. One hopes that Fink's future work will be on larger policy issues that bring and keep the Maya in Morgantown. Our national need for inexpensive labor and our complacency as individuals lose their hands in poultry plants and suffocate in trailer-trucks is the most unstudied enigma in the maze of immigration.