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by Teresa Molina/PNN Voces de Inmigrantes en resistencia
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Yo soy Teresa, mujer trabajadora y mama de 5 hijos. Reportera de la Prensa Pobre.
Yo pienso que reciclar es un trabajo desente. Y no se tiene que abergonsarse en hacerlo. Yo se que es un trabajo sucio porque uno tiene que separar la basura y el recicle. Pero despues de terminar, uno toma un bano y vuelbe a estar limpio y presentable. Porque la gente piensa de esa manera. Si solo estamos buscando la manera de sobrevivir.
Llege a un callejon, las casas eran muy bonitas, casas muy limpias. Sus colores eran unos colores rosadas, otros verdes. Se podia reconoser que aqui vivian gente rica. El olor de sus casas era un olor agradable como las rosas de sus jardines, olor a jasmin. Mire al rededor, buscando un letrero de propiedad privada, por que yo nunca entro a propiedad privada, y no mire el letrero de propiedad privada. Empese a reciclar sacando la basura del bote negro. Separando aluminio, plastico, y vidrio, es un trabajo muy pesado. Pero yo se que reciclar de los botes azules es penado porque es como que estoy robando a la ciudad. Yo respeto eso, nunca reciclo de los botes azules y tampoco entro a propiedad privada.
De repente que me grita un hombre, “Mujer estas inbadiendo mi propiedad!” Desde su ventana gritaba como loco. Yo estaba como a 10 metros de distancia de su casa y tres pisos abajo, pero el seguia gritando.Yo no le hacia caso porque yo no estaba haciendo nada malo, nada de que avergonsarme.
Me grito, “Llame a la policia para que te arresten!” En ese momento yo senti mucho miedo. Empeze a temblar, mi corazon latia aseleradamente como si se quisiera salir de mi cuerpo.
El hombre bajo las gradas, se acerco a mi cara y me dijo furiosamente, “Largate de aqui!” Saco su telefone y me tomo fotos con su celular como que si yo fuera un animal. Me senti amenasada, acosada , y descriminada sin razon.
No estaba haciendo nada ilegal. Yo reciclo por que es un trabajo para mi, es una de las maneras como yo pongo comida en la mesa para mi familia, es parte de mi strategia economica como una madre inmigrante de cinco ninos.
El jueves 5 de marzo yo, Tiny, gloria, y otros amigos de POOR Magazine nos acompanaron para ver una pelicula en la ciudad de Oakland. Pensabamos que ibamos a ver una pelicula que se trataba de como la gente se mata reciclando para sacar unos cuantos pesos para sobrevivir, de cualquiera manera posible, separando basura y resiclaje selecinando, de como plastico, vidrio, y aluminio todos se tiene que separar cargar en bolsas hasta el centro de reciclage. Pero, la pelicula solo se trataba de un hombre y una mujer.
La pelicula los sigio toda la noche caminando y tratando de trabajar en el recicle, pero, yo no escuche nada de lo que yo queria escuchar. Le pregunte a Tiny Lisa Gray-Garcia, que era el punto de la pelicula, y ella me dijo, “Esta pelicula no fue hecha por uno de nosotros. Solamente una vez oyi la voz de la senora reconociendo que recyclando es trabajo.” Eso es lo que yo queria oir, eso es de lo que la pelicula se deberia enfocar.
Lo que nosotros hacemos es trabajo, y debe ser conciderado trabajo por toda la socied. Otra cosa que me entere sobre la pelicula que no me gusto, que el director agarro todo el dinero que fue donado para la produccion de la pelicula, los participantes no recibieron nada. La pelicula no tenia nada de beneficio para nosotros.
No tenia un mensaje que nos reconoce a los recycladores como trabajadores y la riqueza que se va ganar con esta pelicula no va ayudar economicamente a esos que lo necesitan.
Aqui en la Prensa Pobre todos creemos que el resiclar es untrabajo desente y digno, por lo tanto demandamos respeto porque solo nosotros, los pobres, hacemos esa clase de trabajo. Nosotros solo buscamos maneras de sobrevivir humildemente por causa de la pobresa que causa este paiz de algunos demaziados ricos, y la mayoria de nosotros muriendo del hambre.
De la manera en que nos sierran todas las puertas y oportunidades de trabajo, es ridiculo pensar que tambien nos quieren quitar la unica fuente de trabajo que nos queda. Yo pienso que eso es un abuso a los derechos humanos y es importante que nosotros nos unamos y luchemos contra estas injusticias.
Ingles sigue
I am Teresa, working-class woman, and mother of 5 children. Reporter for POOR Magazine.
I believe that recycling is a descent job and there is no reason to be ashamed in doing so. I know that it is a dirty job, because you have to separate recycable products from the trash. However, after that one just takes a shower and is once again presentable. Why do people think otherwise, if we are just trying to make a living.
I arrived to an alley, the houses were very beautiful and clean. Some of them were pink and others were green. It was obvious that rich people lived in these houses. The smell of their home was a pleasant fragrance, like the roses in their gardens, the fragrance of jasmine flowers. I looked around for a “private property” sign, because I never trespass private property, and I did not see any sign. I began to recycle, taking out the trash from the black bin. Seperating aluminum, plastic, and glass is a tough job. Yet, I know that recycling from the blue bins is prohibited because it is like stealing from the city. I respect that, and I never recycle from the blue bins or enter into private property.
All of a sudden a man screams at me, “Woman, your invading my property!”, yelling from his window like crazy. I was about 10 meters from his home, and three floors down, but he kept on screaming. I did not pay attention to him because I was not doing anything wrong and nothing to be ashamed.
He yelled, “I called the police, so that they can arrest you!” At that moment I felt a lot of fear. I began to tremble, and my heart began to beat faster, as if it was going to come out of my body.
The man began to come down his stairs, he came up to my face, and furiously said, “Get out of here!” He took out his phone and began to take pictures of me, as if I were an animal. I felt threatened, assaulted, and discriminated for no reason.
I was not doing anything illegal. I recycle because it is a job for me, it is one of the ways I get food on the table for my family; it is part of my economic strategy as an immigrant mother of five children.
On Thursday, March 5, Tiny, Gloria, other friends of POOR Magazine, and I gathered in Oakland to watch a film. We thought that we were going to watch a film about how some people struggle to recycle to get a couple of scents in order to survive. At all costs, these people separate the trash, recycling plastics, glass, and aluminum, which all need to be seperated, then carried in bags to the recycling center. However, the film was just about a man and a woman; it followed them throughout the night as they walked and tried to work doing recycling.
I did not hear anything I was expecting to hear. I asked Tiny aka Lisa Gray-Garcia, what was the point of the film, and she told me, “This film was not made by one of us. I only heard once the voice of the woman recognizing recycling as work.” This is what I wanted to hear, that is what the film needed to have focused on. What we do is work, and it should be recognized as such by all of society. Another thing that I found out that I did not like, was that the director received all the money that was donated for the production of the film, the participants received nothing.
The film had no benefit to us; it had no message about recognizing people who recycle as workers, and the money this film will get will not help economically to those who need it.
Here at POOR Magazine we all believe that recycling is a descent and dignified job, and for this reason we demand respect because only we, the poor, do this kind of job. We are only looking for a way to survive with humility do to the poverty this country causes. A country where there are some who are too rich, and the rest of us are dying of hunger. The way in which they shut all the doors and opportunities for a job. It is ridiculous to think that they also want to take our only source of work that we have left. I believe that this is a violation of our human rights and it is important that we unite and fight against these injustices.
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