Background:As part of the Education and Global Social Justice Project, in summer 2013 undergraduate student Nick Dirago interviewed students who attend the College of the Immaculate in Lima, Peru.
Jorge, 16: It begins with private property. That enabled people to exclude others. Exclusion marks the history of Peru.
[Social class in Lima is a] pyramid. It’s not as if everyone...we’re almost equal or we’re very open. There are very few in class A, very few in class B, and it gets larger as it goes down the line [to class E].
Alvaro, 17: We’re a country with all kinds of people and a fairly classist perspective. We’re a country that has a lot to look for and accomplish. In Ayacucho, when the people met us, it was as if we were Spanish. But I’m Peruvian! What’s going on here?
Leonardo, 16: Out of the Cage is one of the best experiences that you have here. I arrived with this idea in my head that I was going to help everyone. When I got there, I didn’t know how I was going to live a whole week in Ayacucho. But after working and living there, they adopt you.
Piero, 16: For some people, you’re successful only if you have a penthouse and all that. But you can be truly happy living in a tiny house with only the bare necessities.
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