The night before was the first night in Batey Libertad, which ended with a dance party and a walk around town under what must have been a million stars, maybe more. I woke up well-rested and ready to break out my artistic side since painting the batey’s learning was first on the itinerary list of the fourth day. It felt great to create again since it’s been a while since I’ve done any of that, even if the kids became a slightly hostile (for lack of a better word) with sharing the paint. It felt great to work hard at creating something from scratch, though I’m normally used to it being me, myself, and whatever I’m working on.
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| The finished mural! (all the children from the batey hand painted their hands, literally, haha) |
After sprucing up the learning center and some lunch at our homestays, which I will never get tired of eating (so good!) the class had a discussion on education with the people working there, Emma and John included. A couple were native and spoke in Spanish I believe, but one woman was from America. Unfortunately I forget her name, but she spoke English and Spanish and was once an intern, which I learned Emma was once as well. It brought me joy to meet a couple of students, I think around my age or older, who were working on graduation! One woman was even writing her thesis!
I wish that working on an education was the norm for everyone in the Dominican Republic, but as mentioned from my past posts the government system has changed to make attaining an education a constant struggle for darker skinned people, and in general people in lower economic status. [Because of racist ideologies fostered from an origin of a white supremacist mentality, opportunity is scarce, and those left struggling have been driven down to believe that there are only two options left for them: baseball or farming]. I learned all about this predicament from a chapter of the book Gracias, Presidente! and the documentary Rumbo a las Grandes Ligas (“Road to the Big Leagues”).
Based off the documentary Rumbo a las Grandes Ligas (“Road to the Big Leagues”), it seems like there is so much hope riding on a baseball career. And yes, some of these young boys (since unfortunately only boys are chosen in society) are very talented, what about those that can’t measure up? Is this society going to just allow itself to be swallowed up by survival of the fittest way of living? Whoever can hit the farthest, run the fastest, can make it big. Or, whoever can make the most sugarcane by the ton can survive! Not everyone can withstand the line of athletic work. Some can barely even feed themselves!
It’s true what the piece Gracias, Presidente said “life is a game of skill that stems from luck”. Not everyone is born so lucky however. The people at batey Libertad seem to have a little more luck than others though. I was told recently that because the highway is right outside this community there is easier access to the outside world. On top of that, there is a school right next to the batey, whereas, I read in Gracias, Presidente, that in many other places children need to walk miles and miles away from their small homes to get an education, even if it’s just a small one. All of that exhaustion and stress on just a little kid! That isn’t right.
But I suppose that’s why baseball is so crucial within the culture. Education is a struggle that not everyone can reach, farming is a tax on the body that most end up settling for, but baseball [can be the opportunity of a lifetime if you're one of the best. Many young boys who play the game well enough are willing to take the gamble on a career in baseball, and their parents are on board as well. Unlike in the black community which has possibly given up on their once enchantment with the game, the struggling of the Dominican Republic hold more focus and hopes on sport. African Americans lost hope with sport and now ride their hopes on education, whereas poor racialized Dominicans have lost hope with education and now ride their hopes on sport. I suppose it's like the saying goes, the grass is always greener on the other side.]
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