Sorry for the long time without posting. I was at the MCC Mesoamerica Retreat, in Sambo Creek (near La Ceiba). It was great- we were at a decent hotel (i.e. hot showers and air conditioning!), right on the beach. It was a good time of meeting the other MCC workers, with daily workshops on the theme of immigration. Since most people at the retreat were development workers, this shaped the conversation on immigration in some interesting ways.
First of all, a developed community will encourage people not to immigrate. Also, immigration will slow development, as people with the potential to help better the situation leave behind a less hopeful situation. One exception: education (which is development, right?) will also cause immigration, in that there are not jobs for highly educated people in underdeveloped communities.
So therefore, if community development is the basis for action, people in underdeveloped communities should not be educated, in order that they do not leave the community, and so the community will eventually become developed.
Luckily, the basis for action is not (should not be) community development. The basis must be the goal of meeting the basic human rights. How to achieve that, however, is another question.
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