www.newsandletters.org
|
|
NEWS & LETTERS, December 2007 - January 2008Bush's response to fires: seize immigrantsEscondido, Cal.--Southern California is on fire, columns of smoke and flames rise up, residents flee their homes. The governor declares the state a disaster zone, and soon after the president does the same. The impact on North San Diego County is tremendous. Thousands of field and construction workers have their residences in Ramona, Valley Center, and Escondido. They took refuge in the football stadium, where they believed they would receive aid just as their neighbors did. But many of these workers are undocumented. They are afraid to go out, but the fires give them no other option. When they reached the stadium, they were shocked to find immigration officials. Some were detained and deported. Many fled and disappeared into the city's landscape. It is wonderful to see how the community has come together during this disaster. People were helping one another. Race, religion, gender, class do not matter. Californians demonstrate their unity--human rights groups, churches, and individuals unite to give as much as they can. FASCIST MILITIA Then, like a dark stain on these laudable efforts, a group of racists--the Minutemen--invaded Chicano Park and began to insult and provoke the Chicano community that had gathered to collect aid for those displaced by the fires. In this site so symbolic of Chicano history and pride, the people refuse to be provoked and continue their charitable work. The fires passed very close to my home. I watched the terrible news. The phone rang and the Escondido police said we had to evacuate. We packed a suitcase with documents and clothes and left, but no one told us where the nearest evacuation center was. So, as we waited in a parking lot filled with hundreds of cars, RVs, vans, and families, I began to wonder. IRAQ STILL BURNING In December of 2003 when I visited Iraq, I witnessed a catastrophe even greater than the one we have just lived through--Bush's war. More than 3,838 American soldiers have died, among them my son, and the American people are not moved to action. We are saddened by the fact that 14 people died in the fires. But what do we feel for the thousands killed by Bush's criminal acts? We lament the high cost of the fire damage. Who will lament the much higher cost of Bush's illegal war? We lament the fact that many homes were lost in the fire. Who will lament the loss of everything from museums to poor people's homes in Iraq? Enough hypocrisy. Enough apathy about human suffering. If, here in California, the people and the media were moved by the fires, why are they not moved by an even greater tragedy--the genocide in Iraq? Why? Citizens of the world, I invite you to consider the pain of your fellow human beings. We come together and help one another in times of natural disaster. Why do we not do the same when misguided leaders are causing more death than any fire could? Iraq is burning, but not from a natural disaster. It burns because of the bombs, bullets, and lies unleashed by immoral men. LET US ACT NOW! --Fernando Suárez del Solar Guerrero Azteca Peace Project (Translated by Jorge Mariscal) |
|
Home l News & Letters Newspaper l Back issues l News and Letters Committees l Dialogues l Raya Dunayevskaya l Contact us l Search Published by News and Letters Committees |
