On March 30, 2006, a clandestine textile factory in the Caballito neighborhood of the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina caught fire leaving 6 Bolivian immigrants dead, including 5 minors. The tragedy brought to light the appalling conditions in which the employees worked, and which is part of the daily realities of many Bolivian immigrants in that country. Not only did they factory workers spend long hours inside the factory, they also lived inside the factory with their families, but worse they were often locked inside by the factory supervisors.

“On the lower level, the factory operated, and it had to be that way because of the repeated complaints for the loud bothersome noises at all hours of the night. Upstairs lived the workers, separated by wood and fabric, there were more than 15 families and single individuals. They shared one bathroom between everyone, one kitchen where Flora Villca Quispe (Juana’s sister) cooked each day, there were poor electrical connections, and a storage area where rolls of fabric were stored in order to be cut and sewed.”

According to one of the workshop supervisors, there were never any safety inspections, which was refuted by some of the workers, who said that they were ordered to hide when police and inspectors arrived. Because of the poor electrical connections, a fire started and lit some of the flammable materials like fabric and cloth.

“It didn’t take long for (the fire) to grow and start to devour one by one the rolls (of fabric) and other objects that could be found in its path. The children who were there screamed as loud as they could, but nothing, they could not be heard. On the first floor all that could be felt was the smell of resignation and the radio that served to lull and help the workers withstand, not only the long hours, but also the conditions in which they had to live.

They could not leave, only scream, because a lock impeded their freedom and at that moment, to be able to save their lives. They were enclosed in a mortal trap, which can be found in practically all of the places where children are located in those factories.

After a short time, the cook came down and started to yell “help! they are burning upstairs!” and then the nightmare started.”

The nightmare continued when 6 people were found dead, including 5 children. Even though the local government started to crack down on some of these illegal factories, which totaled 650 and had totaled more than 1500 infractions, it left thousands of people out of work.

The cultural group Symbiosis Cultural [es], comprised of Bolivian immigrants living in Buenos Aires, and some of which have experienced firsthand some of these factories, wants to honor those victims of that fire. They also want to raise awareness of the working conditions of many of their fellow Bolivians.

On March 30, 2010, they are holding an act of remembrance at the factory, where a book and documentary will be presented, as well as statements from survivors. The event is being promoted by the website No Olvidamos! (Let’s Not Forget!) and the group will be blogging about the event, uploading photos and sharing information on social networking sites like Facebook.

Voces Bolivianas is supporting the event as part of our activities with the Bolivian community in Argentina, and has been helping Symbiosis Cultural with the blog and assisting them with posting material and information on their site.

Written by Eddie - who has written 53 posts on Voces Bolivianas