Maquiladoras
            
            
             A maquiladora, or maquila, for short is described as a factory involved primarily in the
            
             apparel industry, and to a lesser degree in footwear and electronics assembly. Currently there are
            
             over two hundred of these maquilas in Honduras, employing hundreds-of-thousands of men,
            
             women and children (mostly women and children). The majority of these maquilas are
            
             considered to be sweatshops for all intensive purposes, so what is a sweatshop? Historically the
            
             word "sweatshop" originated in the 19th century to describe a subcontracting system in which the
            
             middlemen earned profit from the margin between the amount they received for a contract and
            
             the amount they paid to the workers. The margin was said to be "sweated" from the worker
            
             because they received minimal wages for excessive hours worked under unsatisfactory
            
             conditions. (Sweatshop Watch p.1-2) A more up-to-date definition describes a sweatshop as a
            
             workplace where workers are subject to: extreme exploitation – including the absence of a living
            
             wage and benefits – poor working conditions – such as health and safety hazards – and excessive
            
             or arbitrary discipline. To most this would sound atrocious, but where was Honduras before the
            
             garment industry? Is it perhaps better to be homeless, broke and unemployed with no hope for a
            
             better life, rather than employed (or under-employed), with living accommodations and money to
            
             buy food for the family? Is not living on the verge of poverty better than – literally – having
            
             nothing at all. These workers have been taught a skill – and possibly through the global adoption
            
             of these third world countries – they will be rewarded and Honduras will reap the benefits of its
            
             people's hardships. So, does the economic growth and stability of Honduras surmount the
            
             treatment and humanity of it...