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There was no dust. None whatsoever. That's the first thing Heather Grant noticed when she woke up to the start of a citywide two-day strike that brought all Half": and business in Ayacucho, Peru to a halt. "They were protesting participation in global trade." the international vol- unteer explained. "One of the main crops there. besides cocaine, is potatoes. They struggle to get try now. They fear that access to cheap wheat will make potatoes unpopular, and they will have no livelihood. These people make money one day to eat the next. If they go a single day without work, there is no food the next day. "Not everyone partici- pates willingly. but they are afraid not to." Nonetheless. the imme- diate result of the boycott was enjoyable for Grant, who was fmally able lo enjoy the quiet side of the city. "There were no fumes; the dust wasn't up in the air; we could breathe," she recalled. "People were walk- ing down the middle of the street, no horns honking, no crazy motolaxis. Those motolaxis are the scariest. I don't quite know which frightens me more. being on the street when lhey‘re com- ing al me or being inside them." But the scariest moment was yet to tome when pro- testers made their prosenrv known in the middle of tho night, outside the volurr teers' house. "inert. that was wary." she said. "anlunu-ersil pulled the iron bars shut. [hen the heavy wooden dour. then locked it in threc plates. 1 think the demon, smumrs were marching pan The following story is Part 2 dfa three-part series. BY Mum BAILEY -f1ar_trrti_cie Staff Peru mission changes Waterloo woman's life forever again. They kept waking me up with their chanting and shouting. l was assured that it was fireworks I kept hear- ing. "Last time there was a strike there was a bunch of volunteers who needed to be picked up at the airport. The staff went to get them, and stones were thrown at the car. On the way hick. they had to tell the volun- teers to keep their heads down in case the glass broke. Had I come that week, I would have turned around and got right back on that plane" Heather Grant gets into the Peruvian spirit by wearing a tra- ditional manta. But the next day, life resumed and Ihe.city was back to work w a good time. Grant decided. to immerse herself in the Peruvian ct1l- tum. "One day I was called an example for all Peruvian women. Really!" Grant said. obviously still quilv sup priwd. "l wuro mm of those blanket things fur carrying my stuff, called a manta, and gut a lot nfrnmmvnls. "Thc staff at the clinic said I looked like a Pcruvian, and I told them that nu mat- tur how many of the clothvs I wore I'd still look likv to With all the beouhlul weather this summer, fs easy to put off those much needed exterior protects Get them done before summer comes to tl close dunng our Incredibly Hot Summer Sole) H61 3 'ff' _ .ossgatnsgmm 2ilitiii 15mg? A different world CITY NEWS "The driver and I were walking together. a white girl wearing the manta and a Peruvian, we got a lot of stares. A couple people told (driver) that he had a 'lovely one'. which made him laugh. He told me what they said after we went around the corner. But the most interesting comment. the one he insisted be translat- ed back at the house because he wanted it trans- lated correctly, was when two women commented between themselves that I was an example for all Peru- vian women. Many younger women there are dressing like Americans and leaving traditional dress behind. They are happy to see any- one keep the traditions. and thrilled to see them embraced by an outsider," a gringo. Shnnly after the strike, Grant decided she wasn't able In help others in the way she'd hope to al the clinic. "I wanted to do stunt» Ihing or1structive, and leave something hchind just a little hettcr than I found llll()Nlf Ir) it," she said. Her next stop was at a prison day care. The prisons in Peru are much different than the ones in North 'merica, Grant said. 1 "Prison here is not like at home. There are four people to a cell. and the cells are somewhat private and sub- iecl to random searches." she expl"' .L-d. "People cook their own food, and have enterprise to earn money. "The goal is to rehabili- late. so they try to build them into a community. However, tension is high. fights break out, and they cannot leave." What may be most sur- prising is that women make up about 10 per cent of the list of inmates. "There are about 90 women in the prison, and about 15-20 kids," Grant said. "Most women who go there are people who are desperate, facing starvation, living in the mountains shy and isolated. omeone offers them 1 0 soles, roughly $40, to eliver a package. and the feel they have to take the chance. If A local woman fishes at a trout farm on the side of the road All Gallons of EXTERIOR PAINTS 8. SIAINS from Beninmin Home they are caught. and they claim to have acted com- pletely alone, they may get a sentence as short as two years. If they say the driver knew, or say someone else is involved. they can get a sen- tence of up to 20 years. So of course. they all act alone. The US. government puts pressure on these countries to eliminate drug tratticking. but the only people being stopped are the poor and desperate." Grant looked forward to becoming a positive infhr ence in the day-care chil- dren's lives, "Children under four stay with their mothers, and since conjugal visits are allowed, several babies are born in prison." Grant explained. "After they are four, they are sent to an orphanage until their moth- ers get out. "Prison is no place for kids. They seemed a little rough on the edges, but one kid in particular was extremely aggressive and violent. His stance and approach reminded me of prison movies where hard- ened criminals prove they 583 King Street bl., Waterloo (519) 772-1127 67? Belmont Ave VV, I120 Vlctods St N, KI'TCHENER KITCHENER f51% 5786330 (519) 576-7576 HgJiJA,tfi, 565 King St. N. q Narmada ht aro Gas Bar _ might-u.“ - I 471 a, lnwmw (1\IRA\ are the toughest. I hated the it, kid from the start. and it broke my heart to see what he had already become. The other kids wouldn't play with him, so he attacked them. "In prison. the kids see their mothers fight each other, and sometimes the mothers take things out on the kids. "The mothers spend all day embroidering to get a little money, so the kids are left to their own devices. "Hopefully just seeing volunteers. and the CCS staff who are clearly the actually catalysts for change. will let the kids know that something else is possible. Perhaps their contacts with us have shown them that there is another way to live, and given them a choice that wasn't there before. Many kids are in prison from infancy on, and only see the outside world when volunteers take them out." If nothing else, Grant said communicating with the residents also became a lit- tle easier with each passing dav. "I found communication interesting wherever I went." she said. "People were eager to sit with me and take the time to help me understand, There were so many joyful smiles. "I got people to write things I coultin't figure out, so sometimes I could piece it together from written words. "The people there are so warm. friendly and happy that some volunteers won- dered if poverty is really a had thing. Somewhere in between being malnour- ished and having two televi- sions may be a good bal- ance." The Chronide's three- part series on Heather Gran t 's mission work in Ayacucho, Peru will con - dude next “wk with an account ofher third will» few pltarernerrt, whirl! took plare at an orphanage ' mm. - - PCS mm mm & Dale Bum] m nus an A Home a FIE! HEADS“ attr 00 vBluer TELUS