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NEWS & LETTERS, OCTOBER 2003Immigrant worker freedom ridersSan Francisco--On Sept. 20, several thousand people rallied here to send off the Bay Area contingent of the national Immigrant Workers’ Freedom Ride. “Immigrant workers, living and paying taxes in the United States, want the right to apply for citizenship, to reunite their families, and to have a voice on the job without regard to legal status… rights denied by their undocumented status and outdated laws.” Maria Perla, an East Bay Freedom Rider from El Salvador who cleans hotel rooms, said: “I left my three young children 14 years ago to come to the United States so that I could provide for them. I cry every week when I talk to them on the phone. I am going on the freedom ride because I want to be reunited with my children. I am not prepared to wait another 14 years to be a family again.” Jean Damu said: “As a Black worker I support this Freedom Ride because I don’t want any people to receive the treatment we received in America. Everybody needs to support immigrant workers because it’s the only way to protect our own jobs and life conditions. If we allow bosses to drive a wedge between citizen and non-citizen workers, then we’ll all suffer, just as we suffered when they drove a wedge between white and Black workers. It’s a historic link between the Civil Rights Movement’s Freedom Ride and today.” Another participant observed that of the 130,000 troops in Iraq, more than 37,000 are not citizens. On this six-month anniversary of the beginning of the war, it was poignant to note the difference between the reasons the riders expressed for their activity and the cynicism of politicians who opportunistically flocked to the rally, too, hoping to turn the genuine desire for change into votes to just keep them in power. The rides converge on Washington, D.C. on Oct. 1 from all over the U.S., ending in New York City Oct. 4. --Bay Area supporters |
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