Living in Peru : your everyday companion

Living in Peru
Jobana Soto

As the United States pulls more of its troops from Iraq, thousands of private contractors will face a steep decline in available jobs. Contractors hired from developing and third-world nations like Peru, Pakistan and Nepal, are just some of the countries that will have many of their workers going back to their homeland without a job.

Since the war started in 2003, contractors have held a steady job servicing the U.S. military, turning it into a multi-billion-dollar business. Many workers are brought to Iraq to aid the U.S. military in basic necessities such as scrubbing floors, driving trucks and serving food.

But all that is said to change now that the U.S. government is withdrawing more and more of its troops from the region in order to gradually shift the hands of power over to the Iraqi government.

A former soldier from Peru is one of the many examples. Before coming to Iraq in 2005, the soldier, who according to Reuters news agency asked not to be identified, was unable to afford much as a bodyguard for wealthy businessmen. When he left Peru to pursue a position at a private security firm in Iraq, the former bodyguard was making 60 percent more than his previous salary. He can now afford to pay his debts and send his children to private school.

More than 400 contractors have been killed while working in Iraqi since the start of the war. But for this Peruvian, the risks are well worth it.

Doug Brooks, head of the International Peace Operations Association, told Reuters “there’s a huge demand for these jobs,” especially when they pay five to 10 times more than what most workers would receive in their native countries.

But while the U.S. is looking towards the future – in 2011, their goal is to pull 143,000 of its soldiers from Iraq – contractor jobs are expected to decline since the demand is no longer there.

Despite the slumping economy, young Peruvian workers go to the U.S. every year in search of seasonal jobs, with many of them ending up in the Lake Tahoe area in California.

However a group of young women who were supposed to start working at Harrah's in South Lake Tahoe this week, found out there were no positions available when they got there, a local news agency reported on Channel 2 News.

The women, who are in their early 20s, said they spent a lot of money working with the "International Cultural Exchange Organization," or I.C.E.O., to get visas to go there. But during orientation at Harrah's, they were told there's currently no positions available.

According to the job offer agreement, there is no guarantee there will be jobs once workers get to the U.S.  Harrah's did hire 88 foreign workers this winter and they said their needs could go up after Christmas.

News Source: Andina

Living in Peru
Israel J. Ruiz

After 48 days of intense voting, millions of people around the world have chosen their favorite flag in "The Most Beautiful Flag in the World Contest".

Although this was not an official competition or one that would give out a prize, over 7 million people around the world participated and voted for the flag or flags they felt should be named "The Most Beautiful Flag".

With 901,627 points in the final week of voting, Mexico won the competition and was honored as the most beautiful flag by voters on the 20minutos.es website.

Peru was the first runner-up with 340,901 points while Guatemala came in third place with 272,541 points.

The contest began with 104 flags and lasted for 48 days. Every two days, the five flags with the least number of votes were eliminated from the contest.

When fifty flags were left, votes were brought to zero, at which time voting began again.

This process repeated itself when 30 flags were left. Internet users then had five days to choose their favorite flag from the top ten.

The contest broke records when over 100,000 people voted for their favorite flag and over 2,000 comments were left in the first four days the competition was posted.

The final ranking is as follows: Mexico, Peru, Guatemala, The Dominican Republic, Brazil, Spain, Uruguay, Argentina, Canada and Puerto Rico.

The president of the Peruvian Congress, Luis Gonzales Posada, expressed today that the freeing of 15 hostages from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) represented a triumph for democracy in Latin America.

“This is a victory and a triumph of Colombia and Latin America’s democracy, and it is also a hard impact that initiates the end of FARC’s terrorist groups and those sectors that trafficked with hostages exhange”, said Gonzales Posada to Andina news agency.

However, he said that the freeing of Colombia’s ex-presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt and another14 people did not mean that FARC kidnappings and the National Liberation Army (ELN) had ended.

He recalled that there were still 700 people that had been kidnapped, a number that is very significant, even when compared to other Latin American realities.

“But I think it is the beginning of the terrorism’s end and they must permit humanitarian agreements to lay down arms and free people that are kept in the Colombian forest”, he said.

News source: ANDINA

Living in Peru
Israel J. Ruiz

After being one of the first gay men to receive a California wedding license, George Takei, best known for playing Mr Sulu in Star Trek, announced that he and his partner would be heading to Peru for their honeymoon.

"We'll be going to South America, Buenos Aires, Igazu Falls, Lima, Cusco and Machu Picchu, a historic place my parents went and a place I have dreamed of going," said the 71-year-old actor.

The Star Trek star is to marry 54-year-old Brad Altman, his partner for the past 21 years, in September.

They received their marriage license in West Hollywood on Tuesday.

"Congratulations to all of us and may equality live long and prosper," said Takei to a supportive and delighted crowd that was unable to hold back their cheers.

Takei and Altman were among the first homosexual couples to receive their marriage license after California's Supreme Court lifted its ban on same-sex marriage.

The state affirmed that the "right to form a family relationship" applied to everyone in California, regardless of sexuality.

According to E!, Takei, who recently appeared on the US TV series Heroes, is the first celebrity to take the plunge.

Living in Peru
Israel J. Ruiz


Juan Cardenas, a Peruvian that experienced the 7.9-magnitude earthquake that destroyed a region of small cities and towns in China, affirms that fate saved him.

Although the Peruvian consulate in Beijing, some 1545 km (960 miles) northeast of the epicenter, stated that there were no Peruvians living in the province of Sichuan, a correspondent for El Comercio daily located Juan Cardenas and confirmed he was alive.

"It was our destiny. Every Saturday three friends and I go on a motorcycle trip, but this time we decided to go on Monday - the day the earthquake occurred - to Dujiangyan Mountains, near the epicenter," said Cardenas.

Cardenas explains that as he and his friends had been driving in circles for hours searching for the path to the top of the mountain, the shaking started and it was evident that a landslide had begun.

"We started running down the mountain and found ourselves at the edge of a river, the path across had been blocked by debris and rubble so we crossed a bridge to an open area," said the Peruvian, who has been teaching English in China since 2000.

"Other people began crossing the bridge as well. There were aftershocks every five or ten minutes," Cardenas explained.

"It began to get dark so we collected food from neighbor's houses and began cooking for everyone and built shelter, five provisional tents," said Cardenas, explaining that fortunately he had a first aid kit with him and was able to help those with minor injuries.

Cardenas and the group survived the cold and moist night by forming a circle to keep warm.

"At that moment it didn't matter if you were Chinese, American or Peruvian. We were a group of human beings in a circle of life."

The next morning the group set off for the city. Cardenas explains that his group met with others along the way until a massive crowd of people had formed, all making there way to the city.

"There were a lot of elderly people, children and injured people in the group so we had to walk slowly."

"We couldn't help everyone but we made sure an elderly woman got to her home in Chengdu."

Peru’s President Alan Garcia received yesterday the credentials of the newly arrived ambassadors of Japan, Thailand, Uruguay and Denmark and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to boost the economic and trade ties with these countries. In a ceremony held at the Government Palace, President Garcia received the credentials of the ambassadors of Thailand, Udomphol Ninnad; Uruguay, Juan José Arteaga; Japan, Shuichiro Megata; and Denmark, Charlotte Slente. First, Peru’s president received credentials from Thailand’s ambassador Udomphol Ninnad and expressed his commitment to work in the strengthening bilateral relations. Garcia also invited Thai businessmen to get to know the Peruvian market and invest in the different sectors that its economy offers. (ANDINA - click here to read complete article)


Peru-Korea FTA feasibility study well on track

A joint feasibility study examining a possible free trade deal between Peru and Korea will be finished by the second quarter of the year, announced the Korean ambassador to Peru, Hahn Young-Hee. He said Korea was very interested in having a trade agreement with Peru not only for its great number of natural resources but for its strategic geographic location in the center of South America, which will provide Korean investors with better access to this continent. Hahn Young-Hee added that the main Peruvian products exported to Korea were mineral, agricultural and fish products; while the main Peruvian imports from Korea included electronic devices, chemical products and vehicles, among others. “Without a doubt, Korea would play a key role in encouraging the expansion of Peruvian exports into the Asian market. The Peruvian fishing and mining sectors have high levels of competitiveness in the international market”, he pointed out. (ANDINA - click here read complete article)


Peru, Japan to study possible FTA next year

Peru’s vice-minister of Foreign Trade, Eduardo Ferreyros, said that the feasibility studies for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Peru and Japan would begin next year. Peru and the Central American countries will also undertake feasibility studies for a bilateral FTA which, is to begin earlier next year. “Next year, we will initiate joint feasibility studies for possible free-trade deals with Japan and the Central American countries”, he said. Ferreyros added that the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism (MINCETUR) expected to launch negotiations for trade deals with Korea and Australia in 2009. “Regarding other trade deals, the second round of negotiations with China will be held next week and we will also attend the fourth round of negotiations with the countries of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) to take place in Bogotá (Colombia)”, he said on a national radio program. (ANDINA - click here to read complete article)