Raul Ramos y Sanchez's Blog, page 12
August 10, 2012
The one issue that unifies Latinos
The idea of political uniformity among Latinos is an illusion. While local Hispanic communities may have political propensities, a national "Latino vote" is a mirage created primarily by special interests who stand to profit from this political golden fleece. When was the last time you heard about a political party's popularity with Irish or Italian voters? Yet every day a legion of media pundits tries to convince us that people in the U.S. with origins in the world's 24 Spanish-speaking countries are somehow unified in their opinions.
But there is a single issue that will unify almost every Latino from the hard-line Republican Cuban exiles in Miami to the MEChistas in East Los Angeles. Surprsingly, it's not immigration reform. That issue is "English-only" laws.
Like hurricanes, tornadoes and locusts, the English-only movement seems a perennial plague of the U.S. political landscape. Undeterred by facts or constitutional precedent, this movement derives its impetus from the deep well of xenophobia plumbed by political demagoues.
The latest incarnation of the U.S. English movement comes from Congressman Steve King. The Iowa Republican has proposed the "English Language Unity Act" which would declare English as the official language of the United States. King's legislation requires the English language be used in work places and requires official government functions to be carried out in English.
Congressman Steve King, R-Iowa, has proposed the "English Language Unity Act" which would declare English as the official language of the United States.In truth, this bill is mostly political theatre. Even Rep. King likely does not expect it to be ratified by the Senate. This was the fate of a similar bill proposed by the House in 1996. But what this bill will accomplish is to win King support from people who feel threatened when they hear a foregin language spoken. The other effect of King's legislation is the message it sends Latinos and other recently arrived immigrants.It says you are not welcome here. And that animosity will do more to unify Latino opinion than anything else.
Is a single language necessary to create national unity and prosperity?
Switzerland is one of the oldest constitutional democracies on earth -- and one of the world's richest nations. It has the highest wealth per adult of any country. Zurich and Geneva have been ranked as the cities with the second and eighth highest quality of life on the planet. Oh, and one other thing...
Switzerland has four official languages.
Raul Ramos y Sanchez
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August 9, 2012
Marco Rubio's glass immigration house
Although his luster as a VP candidate is fading fast, Marco Rubio is still a star among the Tea Party faithful. Because of that support, Rubio has backpedaled on his once-moderate immigration stance and adopted the Tea Party hard-line. But Marco's own immigration story shows that one who lives in an immigration glass house should be wary of throwing stones.
To begin with, Rubio's claim to being the son of Cuban exiles is a sham. His parents came to the U.S. in 1956 before Castro took power. They came seeking a better life, not to escape communist rule. Still, Rubio tries to pass himself off as a political exile rather than an economic one and does not support the DREAM Act or immigration reform.
That's especially ironic since Rubio's family has an illegal immigration skeleton in its closet Marco has tried hard to bury. This from the Washington Post:
"His grandfather Pedro Victor Garcia entered the country illegally in 1962 and remained in violation of a deportation order. Garcia, who left Cuba because of the Fidel Castro regime and personal reasons, later may have gained retroactive refugee status."
Like most politicians, Rubio is never one to be deterred by inconvenient facts. So we can expect him to echo the Tea Party position on immigration - even when it conflicts with his own personal history.
Raul Ramos y Sanchez
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August 7, 2012
The irony of hate and ignorance
Wade Page, the man who entered a Sikh temple and opened fire on a number of innocent victims, has now been identified as someone with a long history of association with white supremacist groups according to the New York Times. Since the 9-11 attacks, the white supremacist movement has frequently singled out Muslims as the targets of their ire -- and frequently their violence.
It's impossible to know for sure, but it's likely Wade Page equated the swarthy Sikhs, whose men often wear beards and turbans, as some type of Muslim extremists. Ironically, the Sikh religion was founded by leaders who resisted Muslim rule.
But in the mind of a hatemonger, only the superficial matters.
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August 5, 2012
Is Anaheim a Glimpse into the Future?
As income disparities continue to grow and demagogues keep pandering to the xenophobes, the events in Anaheim may become all too familiar.
The city of Anaheim is suddenly in the national spotlight. The home of Disneyland, touted as the "happiest place on earth," has been the site of protests and civil disturbances for nearly two weeks. Most of those on the streets are Latinos. Most of them are poor. Most are the victims of gang violence and crime. Yet the cause of their rage is the city's police force.
The demonstrations began on July 21 after an unarmed Manuel Angel Diaz, 25 was first shot in the leg as he attempted to flee from the police and later shot in the head as he lay on the ground. Some witnesses claim the police did not immediately call for medical assistance. The Anaheim police reported Diaz was a known gang member.
The next day, Joel Acevedo, 21, was fatally shot by police after he fired at officers during a chase. The shootings of Diaz and Acevedo took the total number of police shootings in Anaheim to six through July of 2012, up from four in all of 2011. The conduct of the police in the shootings of Diaz and Acevedo may soon be under an FBI investigation.
The reaction in some quarters has been predictable. In thinly-veiled racist tones, they blame the protestors for being lawless supporters of the gangs. But civil disturbances do not happen in a vacuum.
When people take to the streets, there is usually a community-wide frustration that overcomes the natural tendency by most of us to get on with our lives. To be sure, protests are often exploited by opportunists with a political agenda. But, right or wrong, most of the local people protesting are sincerely outraged by what they perceive as callous behavior by the Anaheim police.
That's why I think an FBI investigation is in order. If the officers behaved correctly, they will be exonerated. If not, they will be disciplined. Either way, to accuse those protesting as being lawless misses the point. They live in the community and are the victims of gang violence and crime. But when they see the police as something even worse, then it's time to address that grievance. A closer look at Anaheim itself reveals what could be a deeper discontent.
There are two Anaheims. One is affluent and the other desperately poor. The poor section is predominantly Hispanic. The events in this divided city could be a harbinger of the future. As the nation continues on the path toward greater income disparity, we could see the growth of a frustrated underclass permanently trapped in the undertow of poverty.
I believe we can avoid that future. But when politicians choose to demonize the underprivileged and pander to xenophobic instincts rather than provide enlightened leadership, we may see the events in Anaheim become all too familiar.
My novels, AMERICA LIBRE and HOUSE DIVIDED, explore that worst-case future. It's a time when economic stresses and anti-immigrant hysteria fuel a Latino insurrection. In the novels, events like those in Anaheim are the spark that begins the uprising. I wrote these stories as a cautionary tale of the potential dangers we face. Seeing the novels appear prophetic is a chilling reminder that we need to turn away from this perilous path while we still have time.
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The city of Anaheim is suddenly in the national spotlight. The home of Disneyland, touted as the "happiest place on earth," has been the site of protests and civil disturbances for nearly two weeks. Most of those on the streets are Latinos. Most of them are poor. Most are the victims of gang violence and crime. Yet the cause of their rage is the city's police force.
The demonstrations began on July 21 after an unarmed Manuel Angel Diaz, 25 was first shot in the leg as he attempted to flee from the police and later shot in the head as he lay on the ground. Some witnesses claim the police did not immediately call for medical assistance. The Anaheim police reported Diaz was a known gang member.
The next day, Joel Acevedo, 21, was fatally shot by police after he fired at officers during a chase. The shootings of Diaz and Acevedo took the total number of police shootings in Anaheim to six through July of 2012, up from four in all of 2011. The conduct of the police in the shootings of Diaz and Acevedo may soon be under an FBI investigation.
The reaction in some quarters has been predictable. In thinly-veiled racist tones, they blame the protestors for being lawless supporters of the gangs. But civil disturbances do not happen in a vacuum.
When people take to the streets, there is usually a community-wide frustration that overcomes the natural tendency by most of us to get on with our lives. To be sure, protests are often exploited by opportunists with a political agenda. But, right or wrong, most of the local people protesting are sincerely outraged by what they perceive as callous behavior by the Anaheim police.
That's why I think an FBI investigation is in order. If the officers behaved correctly, they will be exonerated. If not, they will be disciplined. Either way, to accuse those protesting as being lawless misses the point. They live in the community and are the victims of gang violence and crime. But when they see the police as something even worse, then it's time to address that grievance. A closer look at Anaheim itself reveals what could be a deeper discontent.
There are two Anaheims. One is affluent and the other desperately poor. The poor section is predominantly Hispanic. The events in this divided city could be a harbinger of the future. As the nation continues on the path toward greater income disparity, we could see the growth of a frustrated underclass permanently trapped in the undertow of poverty.
I believe we can avoid that future. But when politicians choose to demonize the underprivileged and pander to xenophobic instincts rather than provide enlightened leadership, we may see the events in Anaheim become all too familiar.
My novels, AMERICA LIBRE and HOUSE DIVIDED, explore that worst-case future. It's a time when economic stresses and anti-immigrant hysteria fuel a Latino insurrection. In the novels, events like those in Anaheim are the spark that begins the uprising. I wrote these stories as a cautionary tale of the potential dangers we face. Seeing the novels appear prophetic is a chilling reminder that we need to turn away from this perilous path while we still have time.
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August 2, 2012
New York Times Finally Reports on Anaheim Disturbances
The Gray Lady of journalism, the New York Times, has finally noticed the events in Anaheim, California following nine days of disturbances. The reporting by Jennifer Medina gives some perspective on the discord that has surfaced in the city.
Excerpts from...
Fury Reveals Deep Rifts Near ‘Happiest Place on Earth’
by Jennifer Medina
New York Times - August 2, 2012
While most of the city’s population of nearly 350,000 lives on the west side of the bowtie-shaped city, in recent decades a wealthy enclave known as Anaheim Hills has flourished to the east. The hills are about 15 miles away from downtown, more like a separate town than a part of this mostly working-class and largely Latino city. There, household income is roughly twice as much as in the flatlands, as the rest of the city is known.
Like most of the City Council, Mayor Tom Tait lives in Anaheim Hills. Last week, he asked federal investigators to look into the Police Department’s practices. This week, trying to grapple with how the city could move on, he called a meeting with executives from Disney, as well as the Los Angeles Angels and the Anaheim Ducks, asking them to help come up with programs to help the most struggling neighborhoods in the city.
In those neighborhoods, the mostly Latino residents have grappled with unemployment, poverty, crime and gangs for years. Now, suddenly, those longstanding problems are being thrust into wider view.
For now at least, there is a widespread suspicion of the city’s elite. Young men complain about being unfairly singled out by the police. Mothers worry that their children are not getting enough support in schools to stay out of trouble. Activists charge that city officials have focused on development around Disneyland and in Anaheim Hills at the expense of the rest of the city.
Many residents are grandchildren and great-grandchildren of immigrants, some raised on the history of the city’s complicated relationship with Latinos. An explosive conflict between the police and residents in 1978 led to several changes in the department. A once gang-infested neighborhood just across from Disneyland was knocked down and renamed. At one point, a city official tried to stop a Mexican supermarket from opening. In the late 1990s, a chief of police ordered background reports on Latino activists who accused the department of misconduct.
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Tea Party Latino Shows Overlooked Diversity
Tea Party favorite Ted Cruz, the son of a Cuban-American immigrant, won the Texas U.S. Senate nomination of the Republican party this week. .
Cruz was born in 1970 in Calgary, Canada to Rafael Cruz and Eleanor Darragh. The elder Cruz was jailed and tortured by the Batista regime and fought for Fidel Castro in the Cuban Revolution before fleeing to Texas in 1957. Later, Rafael Cruz would say he "didn't know Castro was a Communist" and became a staunch critic of Castro when "the rebel leader took control and began seizing private property and suppressing dissent." Ted Cruz's mother was raised in Delaware in a family of Irish and Italian descent.
Nominally defined as a "Latino," Cruz is touted (along with Marco Rubio) as an example of inclusiveness in the Tea Party. In truth, Cruz's only connection to Latino culture is a name ending in "z." He was raised in middle-class comfort and his ability to speak Spanish is roughly equal to that of George W. Bush.
Still, this is the reality of the Latino electorate that pundits usually ignore. Latinos do not come in a single political flavor. All the same, every day we hear talking heads seriously discussing how candidates will court the Hispanic vote.
What do you think? Are there issues which unify all Latinos? Is it "English-Only laws"? Is it immigration reform? What defines a Latino? I hope you'll share your thoughts.
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July 30, 2012
Ninth Day of Protests in Anaheim
Excerpts from the ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
By ERIC CARPENTER, ANDREW GALVIN, TOM BERG, SCOTT MARTINDALE and SONYA SMITH
ANAHEIM – At least nine marchers who took part in unruly protests Sunday against the city's police department were arrested on the ninth consecutive day of demonstrations by residents and activists furious over two recent police shootings.
The demonstrations unfolded July 21 following the fatal afternoon shooting of unarmed Manuel Angel Diaz, 25, in a residential alleyway on Anna Drive just east of downtown Anaheim. Police said the Santa Ana resident was a known gang member who was attempting to flee from two officers when he was shot.
A day later, Anaheim police fatally shot 21-year-old Joel Acevedo after he fired at officers during a chase, police said.
Chanting "Whose streets? Our streets!" the marchers passed police cars emblazoned with the names of cities as far away as Mission Viejo and Dana Point.
The crowd was met on Harbor at Ball Road by a line of about 50 police officers in riot gear and about two dozen officers on horseback, preventing the group from advancing south toward Disneyland.
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July 28, 2012
FBI may probe police shootings in Anaheim
Reuters - 6:28pm Fri. 07/27/2012
The FBI said on Friday it will consider investigating police in the city of Anaheim, following several high profile shootings by officers that have led to protests and civil unrest in the southern California city.
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When people who are the victims of gang violence protest police tactics, it's time to address that grievance.
Civil disturbances do not happen in a vacuum. When people take to the streets, there is usually a community-wide frustration that overcomes the natural tendency by most people to get on with their lives. To be sure, protests are often exploited by a minority of opportunists who stir up trouble for the thrill of it or to indulge in looting. But, right or wrong, most of the people protesting are sincerely outraged by what they perceive as callous behavior by the Anaheim police.
That's why I think an FBI investigation is in order. If the officers behaved correctly, they will be exonerated. If not, they will be disciplined. Either way, to accuse those protesting as being lawless misses the point. They live in the community and are the victims of gang violence and crime. But when they see the police as something even worse, then it's time to address that grievance.
Raul Ramos y Sanchez
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July 25, 2012
Disturbances in Anaheim remind readers of AMERICA LIBRE
Following four days of disturbances in Anaheim, CA, several readers have mentioned the scary parallels with the opening of AMERICA LIBRE. More details in the AP article below.
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24 arrested at police protests in Anaheim, Calif.AMY TAXIN, Associated Press, GILLIAN FLACCUS, Associated Press
Updated 09:21 a.m., Wednesday, July 25, 2012
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Authorities remained on alert Wednesday after protesters set fires, smashed windows and threw rocks at officers in a fourth day of violent protests over deadly police shootings, ending with 24 arrests and several injuries.
As many as 500 demonstrators and 250 police from several Orange County cities were involved in seven hours of confrontations that ended around 2 a.m., Sgt. Bob Dunn said.
Most protesters were peaceful, but officers used pepper balls and beanbag rounds after some became violent. Police remained on tactical alert Wednesday morning.
The clashes followed a City Council meeting Tuesday in which city leaders voted to ask the U.S. attorney's office to investigate weekend officer-involved shootings that killed two men and prompted a $50 million civil-rights lawsuit.
The council chambers were packed with people and about 100 protesters were unable to get inside, Dunn said.
They chanted and held a peaceful rally outside. But the crowd swelled and when some people pushed on the windows, police came out and pushed them back, Dunn said.
Demonstrators marched to police headquarters and back to City Hall, but violence didn't erupt until around 6:30 p.m. when police detained a demonstrator who reportedly had a gun, Dunn said.
It turned out the man did not have a weapon, but some in the crowd began throwing rocks at officers, Dunn said.
While most protesters were peaceful, some appeared to be outsiders who "were prone to violence and wanted to incite" both the crowd and police, Dunn said.
Some demonstrators took over an intersection, and a splinter group walked to the scene of one police shooting and back, throwing rocks, vandalizing cars and throwing a Molotov cocktail that damaged a police car, Dunn said.
Throughout the night, knots of protesters spread through downtown, setting fires in trash cans and smashing windows of businesses, including a Starbucks, Dunn said. There also were reports that a T-shirt store was looted, he said.
A gas station was shut down after reports that some protesters were seen filling canisters with gas.
Police used pepper balls and beanbag rounds. Twenty adults and four minors were arrested, Dunn said.
About five people were hurt, including a police officer, two members of the media who were struck by rocks, and some protesters who may have been injured by police or during a fight between demonstrators, authorities said.
None of the injuries was believed to be life-threatening.
It was the fourth day of violence in the wake of two deadly officer-involved shootings.
The family of Manuel Diaz sued the city and the Police Department on Tuesday, claiming he was shot and killed Saturday while running away, lawyer James Rumm said. The family is seeking $50 million in damages.
The second shooting occurred Sunday when officers spotted a suspected gang member in a stolen sport utility vehicle. A brief pursuit ended when three people jumped from the vehicle and ran. Joel Mathew Acevedo, 21, fired at an officer and the officer shot and killed him, authorities said.
The back-to-back deaths took the tally of shootings by officers in this Orange County city to six so far this year, up from four a year before. Five of the incidents were fatal.
Police Chief John Welter said Diaz was shot after two officers approached three men who were acting suspiciously in an alley before running away. One officer chased Diaz to the front of an apartment complex.
The chief would not say what led the officer to shoot Diaz. But Welter said Diaz failed to heed orders to stop and threw something on the roof of the complex that contained what officers believe was heroin. Both officers were placed on paid leave pending an investigation.
Mayor Tom Tait said a description from court papers relayed to him by a reporter that Diaz had been shot in the leg and in the back of his head was "unsettling."
Anaheim is a city of contrasts that ranges from upscale, hilltop homes to packed, gritty apartment complexes.
The city 25 miles southeast of Los Angeles is known as home to the Angels baseball team, and above all, to world-famous Disneyland.
As California's Hispanic population has grown, so has the Anaheim's, hitting nearly 53 percent in 2010, census figures show.
Residents' concerns about the use of police force in the city aren't new. Last month, Anaheim decided to look into hiring an independent investigator to review police shootings amid protests by relatives of those killed in officers' gunfire.
Latino activists say that isn't enough and they want federal officials to investigate the Saturday shooting.
Tait, who has called for state and federal investigations, said: "If the Latino community is saying there is a rift, then there is rift, and we need to address that."
The police union issued a statement defending the officers involved in the shootings and said both men killed were gang members who had criminal records. The union also said that just before Diaz turned toward officers, he pulled an object from his waistband — a place where gang members commonly hide guns.
The FBI is conducting a review to determine whether a civil rights investigation is warranted, agency spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said.
___
Associated Press video journalist Raquel Maria Dillon contributed to this report.
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24 arrested at police protests in Anaheim, Calif.AMY TAXIN, Associated Press, GILLIAN FLACCUS, Associated Press
Updated 09:21 a.m., Wednesday, July 25, 2012
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Authorities remained on alert Wednesday after protesters set fires, smashed windows and threw rocks at officers in a fourth day of violent protests over deadly police shootings, ending with 24 arrests and several injuries.
As many as 500 demonstrators and 250 police from several Orange County cities were involved in seven hours of confrontations that ended around 2 a.m., Sgt. Bob Dunn said.
Most protesters were peaceful, but officers used pepper balls and beanbag rounds after some became violent. Police remained on tactical alert Wednesday morning.
The clashes followed a City Council meeting Tuesday in which city leaders voted to ask the U.S. attorney's office to investigate weekend officer-involved shootings that killed two men and prompted a $50 million civil-rights lawsuit.
The council chambers were packed with people and about 100 protesters were unable to get inside, Dunn said.
They chanted and held a peaceful rally outside. But the crowd swelled and when some people pushed on the windows, police came out and pushed them back, Dunn said.
Demonstrators marched to police headquarters and back to City Hall, but violence didn't erupt until around 6:30 p.m. when police detained a demonstrator who reportedly had a gun, Dunn said.
It turned out the man did not have a weapon, but some in the crowd began throwing rocks at officers, Dunn said.
While most protesters were peaceful, some appeared to be outsiders who "were prone to violence and wanted to incite" both the crowd and police, Dunn said.
Some demonstrators took over an intersection, and a splinter group walked to the scene of one police shooting and back, throwing rocks, vandalizing cars and throwing a Molotov cocktail that damaged a police car, Dunn said.
Throughout the night, knots of protesters spread through downtown, setting fires in trash cans and smashing windows of businesses, including a Starbucks, Dunn said. There also were reports that a T-shirt store was looted, he said.
A gas station was shut down after reports that some protesters were seen filling canisters with gas.
Police used pepper balls and beanbag rounds. Twenty adults and four minors were arrested, Dunn said.
About five people were hurt, including a police officer, two members of the media who were struck by rocks, and some protesters who may have been injured by police or during a fight between demonstrators, authorities said.
None of the injuries was believed to be life-threatening.
It was the fourth day of violence in the wake of two deadly officer-involved shootings.
The family of Manuel Diaz sued the city and the Police Department on Tuesday, claiming he was shot and killed Saturday while running away, lawyer James Rumm said. The family is seeking $50 million in damages.
The second shooting occurred Sunday when officers spotted a suspected gang member in a stolen sport utility vehicle. A brief pursuit ended when three people jumped from the vehicle and ran. Joel Mathew Acevedo, 21, fired at an officer and the officer shot and killed him, authorities said.
The back-to-back deaths took the tally of shootings by officers in this Orange County city to six so far this year, up from four a year before. Five of the incidents were fatal.
Police Chief John Welter said Diaz was shot after two officers approached three men who were acting suspiciously in an alley before running away. One officer chased Diaz to the front of an apartment complex.
The chief would not say what led the officer to shoot Diaz. But Welter said Diaz failed to heed orders to stop and threw something on the roof of the complex that contained what officers believe was heroin. Both officers were placed on paid leave pending an investigation.
Mayor Tom Tait said a description from court papers relayed to him by a reporter that Diaz had been shot in the leg and in the back of his head was "unsettling."
Anaheim is a city of contrasts that ranges from upscale, hilltop homes to packed, gritty apartment complexes.
The city 25 miles southeast of Los Angeles is known as home to the Angels baseball team, and above all, to world-famous Disneyland.
As California's Hispanic population has grown, so has the Anaheim's, hitting nearly 53 percent in 2010, census figures show.
Residents' concerns about the use of police force in the city aren't new. Last month, Anaheim decided to look into hiring an independent investigator to review police shootings amid protests by relatives of those killed in officers' gunfire.
Latino activists say that isn't enough and they want federal officials to investigate the Saturday shooting.
Tait, who has called for state and federal investigations, said: "If the Latino community is saying there is a rift, then there is rift, and we need to address that."
The police union issued a statement defending the officers involved in the shootings and said both men killed were gang members who had criminal records. The union also said that just before Diaz turned toward officers, he pulled an object from his waistband — a place where gang members commonly hide guns.
The FBI is conducting a review to determine whether a civil rights investigation is warranted, agency spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said.
___
Associated Press video journalist Raquel Maria Dillon contributed to this report.
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July 14, 2012
Migrants to Mexico: Two wrongs do not make a right
Rev. Alejandro Solalinde is an exceptional man. His fearless example in the face of corruption is an inspiration to the overwhelming majority of Mexico's population that opposes the unofficial dictatorship of the drug cartels.
Solalinde proves that two wrongs do not make a right. The exploitation and violence against migrants from other Central American nations entering Mexico do not excuse the demonization of migrants that enter the United States. All of them are victims of economic policies, most notably the NAFTA treaty, that allow goods to cross over borders but not labor. With their farms and local economies ruined by government-subsidized corn and other agricultural products from the United States, most of these migrants are doing what any of us would do under similar circumstances: seeking honest work elsewhere to support their families.
Excerpts from New York Times article below reports more on this remarkable individual.
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A Priest Stands Up for the Migrants Who Run Mexico’s GantletBy ELISABETH MALKIN
OAXACA, Mexico When the Rev. Alejandro Solalinde chose to dedicate himself seven years ago to helping Central and South American migrants traveling to the United States, he was an obscure country priest and the migrants moved in the shadows.
Since then, both Father Solalinde and the plight of the people he serves have emerged into a very public light.
The crimes the migrants face — extortion, rape, kidnapping and murder — have become so brazen and brutal that Mexicans can no longer ignore them. As the horrors have multiplied, Father Solalinde’s demands for the migrants’ protection have begun to resonate.
At the same time, his insistence that the authorities pursue the criminals preying on migrants and his accusations that the police and politicians protect and even aid the gangs have also turned him into a target.
In May, after receiving six death threats in two months, he decided to take precautions. He left Mexico, traveled through North America and Europe, and then spent a few weeks resting in the Mexican city of Guadalajara.
Father Solalinde, 67, did not stay away for long, though. He returned this week to his beloved state of Oaxaca, where he runs a shelter in Ciudad Ixtepec, a sweltering railroad town where migrants wait to scramble atop cargo trains that will take them on the next leg of their wearying trip to the United States.
More migrants will be arriving, he said, pushed by poverty and violence at home. A long-suspended train service directly from the Guatemalan border is being renewed. “That means the merchandise is coming, the captive customers,” Father Solalinde said.
In Mexico City earlier in the week, he met with federal officials, who promised additional security measures for the shelter, Hermanos en el Camino (Brothers in the Road), and provided him with two new bodyguards, to add to the four state escorts who have protected him since he filed a complaint against members of the Zetas drug gang in late 2010. Two more guards have been assigned to the shelter.
Even amid the threats, Father Solalinde said there were tentative signs of change. After he spent years presenting evidence of abuses to the authorities, to no effect, a handful of state police officers have been put on trial, although none have served prison time. The federal government has taken on an investigation into one prominent attack on migrants and this week presented him with a chart showing more than 40 suspects.
The story of Father Solalinde’s mission is entwined with the slow acceptance of an essential hypocrisy here: for all the complaints about the mistreatment of Mexican immigrants in the United States, Central and South Americans face far worse as they travel across Mexico.
The massacre of 72 migrants, whose bodies were found in August 2010 on a ranch in the northern border state of Tamaulipas, brought home the reality of the dangers to migrants.
The following April, the authorities found 193 bodies in mass graves not far away, many believed to be migrants kidnapped from buses traveling toward the border shared by Mexico and the United States. Experts believe that as many as 22,000 migrants are kidnapped a year, based on testimony compiled by the National Human Rights Commission in Mexico.
But victims are usually too afraid to complain, and the families who might speak for them are far away and often ignorant of what occurred.
After lobbying from Father Solalinde and other advocates, Congress passed a law last year that recognizes migrants’ human rights and no longer makes it a crime to be in Mexico illegally, although the government has yet to put the law into effect.
The priest’s outspokenness prickles some of the church hierarchy in Mexico. When Father Solalinde left the country in May, the spokesman for the Mexican church conference, Msgr. Victor René Rodríguez, an auxiliary bishop, told reporters that the death threats were not a priority for the church. At the same time, though, lawyers from the church’s pastoral division have worked with Father Solalinde to file complaints against the abuse the migrants face.
“There is enormous impunity in Mexico,” he said, vowing to continue his activism. “If crimes against Mexicans are never punished, well even less so for those against migrants.”
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Solalinde proves that two wrongs do not make a right. The exploitation and violence against migrants from other Central American nations entering Mexico do not excuse the demonization of migrants that enter the United States. All of them are victims of economic policies, most notably the NAFTA treaty, that allow goods to cross over borders but not labor. With their farms and local economies ruined by government-subsidized corn and other agricultural products from the United States, most of these migrants are doing what any of us would do under similar circumstances: seeking honest work elsewhere to support their families.
Excerpts from New York Times article below reports more on this remarkable individual.
_________________________________
A Priest Stands Up for the Migrants Who Run Mexico’s GantletBy ELISABETH MALKIN
OAXACA, Mexico When the Rev. Alejandro Solalinde chose to dedicate himself seven years ago to helping Central and South American migrants traveling to the United States, he was an obscure country priest and the migrants moved in the shadows.
Since then, both Father Solalinde and the plight of the people he serves have emerged into a very public light.
The crimes the migrants face — extortion, rape, kidnapping and murder — have become so brazen and brutal that Mexicans can no longer ignore them. As the horrors have multiplied, Father Solalinde’s demands for the migrants’ protection have begun to resonate.
At the same time, his insistence that the authorities pursue the criminals preying on migrants and his accusations that the police and politicians protect and even aid the gangs have also turned him into a target.
In May, after receiving six death threats in two months, he decided to take precautions. He left Mexico, traveled through North America and Europe, and then spent a few weeks resting in the Mexican city of Guadalajara.
Father Solalinde, 67, did not stay away for long, though. He returned this week to his beloved state of Oaxaca, where he runs a shelter in Ciudad Ixtepec, a sweltering railroad town where migrants wait to scramble atop cargo trains that will take them on the next leg of their wearying trip to the United States.
More migrants will be arriving, he said, pushed by poverty and violence at home. A long-suspended train service directly from the Guatemalan border is being renewed. “That means the merchandise is coming, the captive customers,” Father Solalinde said.
In Mexico City earlier in the week, he met with federal officials, who promised additional security measures for the shelter, Hermanos en el Camino (Brothers in the Road), and provided him with two new bodyguards, to add to the four state escorts who have protected him since he filed a complaint against members of the Zetas drug gang in late 2010. Two more guards have been assigned to the shelter.
Even amid the threats, Father Solalinde said there were tentative signs of change. After he spent years presenting evidence of abuses to the authorities, to no effect, a handful of state police officers have been put on trial, although none have served prison time. The federal government has taken on an investigation into one prominent attack on migrants and this week presented him with a chart showing more than 40 suspects.
The story of Father Solalinde’s mission is entwined with the slow acceptance of an essential hypocrisy here: for all the complaints about the mistreatment of Mexican immigrants in the United States, Central and South Americans face far worse as they travel across Mexico.
The massacre of 72 migrants, whose bodies were found in August 2010 on a ranch in the northern border state of Tamaulipas, brought home the reality of the dangers to migrants.
The following April, the authorities found 193 bodies in mass graves not far away, many believed to be migrants kidnapped from buses traveling toward the border shared by Mexico and the United States. Experts believe that as many as 22,000 migrants are kidnapped a year, based on testimony compiled by the National Human Rights Commission in Mexico.
But victims are usually too afraid to complain, and the families who might speak for them are far away and often ignorant of what occurred.
After lobbying from Father Solalinde and other advocates, Congress passed a law last year that recognizes migrants’ human rights and no longer makes it a crime to be in Mexico illegally, although the government has yet to put the law into effect.
The priest’s outspokenness prickles some of the church hierarchy in Mexico. When Father Solalinde left the country in May, the spokesman for the Mexican church conference, Msgr. Victor René Rodríguez, an auxiliary bishop, told reporters that the death threats were not a priority for the church. At the same time, though, lawyers from the church’s pastoral division have worked with Father Solalinde to file complaints against the abuse the migrants face.
“There is enormous impunity in Mexico,” he said, vowing to continue his activism. “If crimes against Mexicans are never punished, well even less so for those against migrants.”
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