WORK
SUCKS
cartoneros
in buenos aires
still life in buenos aires
Photo Credit:
salvoguille
Picking up a hefty six litros of water from my corner store, I see a sight
common to me on the streets of Buenos Aires after dusk. There is a six year
old breaking down boxes and sifting through garbage on the sidewalk. She and
her family work quietly, going through the street garbage in search of
recyclables in order to make money. These ”cartoneros” take trains to the
Buenos Aires center from at least an hour outside of the city and pile up
materials in carts to take back out. Most work during the night–it’s a
frenetic pace to get as many goods stuffed into their giant bags as possible.
Many men pull hand drawn carts throughout the streets, dodging collectivos
and cars. In 2005, La Nacion reported that the cartoneros earn 250 pesos per
month, less than $100 U.S.
As people often do with the poor, residents look down and pretend not to see
them. It seems in bad taste to look at them or acknowledge the sadness of
their work. The cartoneros never ask for anything; they are merely doing
their job on the streets. It can be hard to find work in Argentina. The work
is dangerous, as who knows what they find as they look through the trash–toxins,
needles, glass?
I have felt helpless in my capacity to help the cartoneros or other
Argentines living with little money or resources. Perhaps some of the
Argentina dwellers (or others) have some ideas how to respond or support
area charities? For those outside of Buenos Aires, how do you work to combat
poverty in your part of the world? Blog Action Day 2008 provides some ideas
on how we can react to poverty and make a difference.still
life in buenos aires
