Global News to Local Action

As I sat down to my morning coffee, I finally accepted the fact that I need to catch up with my news. What I read made me want to scrap the coffee and go back to bed.

"I was awoken by the sound of screaming on Monday. I realised they had set alight a shack belonging to a Mozambican immigrant. He tried to escape the fire. But the residents were armed with all sorts of traditional weapons and AK-47 rifles. They shouted: "Umbambe engabaleki", which means "Don't let him run away" in Zulu. They threw a brick at his head and he fell down. The mob caught up with him, doused him with petrol and threw him back into the burning shack. The screams of the burning Mozambican still haunt me. When I close my eyes to try to sleep, I see the man screaming for help. But no-one helps him. I have never seen such barbarism. I cannot stand this kind of life."

How can this happen? How can anyone do this to another human being? As depressing as these news are, I know that I can’t ignore them. The fact is that as economies worsen, so does violence against migrants. Many see them as a root of the problem, taking jobs away from the native born and decreasing overall wages. Please, I urge all, take a step back and really think about this.

Migrants are not the cause of the problem. People leave their homelands because of horrible economies, persecution, and war. Migrants usually take the lowest paying jobs because those are the only ones available to them, especially if they cannot speak the new language, don’t have the right connections, or don’t have working papers. Since they are so vulnerable to exploitation, companies will grossly underpay and overwork them. And if they try to speak up for the right to be treated as human beings, they are persecuted again and deported.

This is a worldwide phenomenon, and it is also happening in the United States. Last week's Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid in Postville, Iowa was the largest single location raid in U.S. history. Nearly 300 workers, from a town of less than 3,000 residents, where detained in the largest kosher meatpacking plant in the country. So what?

Well, the youngest workers were 13 years old. Yes, 13 years old. And no, that isn’t legal. The slaughterhouse was being investigated by the state’s Attorney General for labor law violations, including child labor laws. Other allegations include not paying overtime, not allowing bathroom breaks on 10 ten-hour shifts, and verbally and physically assaulting workers. In one case a supervisor duct-taped shut a worker’s eyes and then beat him with a meat hook. If you are asking yourself how could these workers have taken this abuse without complaining? The answer is that management intimidated them with threats of calling ICE. And when the undocumented workers voted to join the union, the company stated that the vote didn’t count because the workers were “illegal”. As the Attorney General was investigating the plant and as the union was forcing the plant to honor the workers’ votes, Immigration and Customs Enforcement descended on the plant and rounded up fathers and mothers, children, friends and neighbors of this little town.

I know many people truly want to help but have no idea what they can do. I urge them, as I urge you, to inform yourself of what is happening in the world, in this country, in this state and in the community. Educate others. Write letters to the editor (I’d be happy to show you!) and comment at the end of online news articles. Speak up when you hear hate speech. Donate time or money to organizations helping people such as those caught up in the Postville raids. Host events showcasing books and film dealing with immigration and immigrants. Volunteer as an English tutor or Citizenship tutor for immigrants.

Something you can do right now is sign the Welcoming Massachusetts pledge.

I commit to publicly reject the politics of division and isolation that fan anger and hate against any person or community and to work towards just, workable and humane immigration policies that are anchored in America’s finest ideals and core values.

If you have already signed it, then recruit 5 more of your friends, co-workers, family, or neighbors to sign it as well. Spread the word.