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A story
of migration

MCC and the Low
German Mennonites

Amish/Low German
Mennonite partnership

Low German Mennonites - A Story of Migration

Control over their children's education was one of the factors in Mennonites moving from Canada to Mexican colonies. In a typical one-room schoolhouse in a colony near Casas Grandes, Chihuahua, teacher Abram Bueckert instructs his pupils working sums on their slates. Photo: Jack Leonard

Faith and economic hardship
The journey of Low German Mennonites is a story about migration. Some of their movements, such as those to Canada in 1874 and to Mexico in the 1920s, have been characterized as controlled migrations of faith led by church ministers. By comparison, uncontrolled migrations have been influenced by individual families in economic distress.

"There is a link between the two but much of what we've seen in the past 20 years has been driven by economics as opposed to faith" says Marvin Dueck. Dueck works with the MCC Low German program in southern Ontario. "There are few opportunities for them in Mexico. Most people have come back to Canada in search of employment."

Low German Mennonites have been moving between Canada and Mexico since the 1920s but the numbers moving back to Canada have increased significantly since the 1980s. The Mexican government twice devalued the peso, effectively doubling the debt load of its people.

Dueck says the number of people MCC helped find jobs increased tenfold as a result.

Economic realities drive returning tide
The Mennonites, entitled to Canadian citizenship through their parents, returned to Canada. Many moved to southern Ontario where they found ready work as agricultural workers needed to harvest the summer vegetable crop.

"Numbers increased exponentially. We referred nine workers for employment in 1987 and over 300 workers in 1988. Government and social services called on us to help them with all the paperwork."

The tide of returning Mennonites spiked again following the introduction of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the broader impact of globalization. As a result, primary agricultural commodity prices on items like cheese and milk dropped, and production costs rose, forcing many farmers off their land. Cheaper imports flooded in from the US, Australia and New Zealand.

Prior to NAFTA, Dueck says many families would spend their summers working in Canada to support their farms in Mexico. Hot and dry weather conditions of the late 1990s has made financial viability even more difficult. He says the dream of land ownership is slowly dying as the economic reality strikes home.

"They aspire to owning land but they are realizing that it just isn't possible anymore. Now they are coming back to Canada for work."