Story Archives 2011

To Weep or Not to Weep

"Aw,go on ahead now, child, and just cry..."

--This voice--rumbling up from the depths of conscientious self-being
Crumbled the last vestige of self control
And the reins/rains were loosed
And the claws, no longer bared
The steel trap entrance to the innermost soul
Scathingly, screechingly smidged open one big eency bit
Which produced another         which produced another       which produced
...almost more painful than that act
of holding back.
Allowing the wrenching of the floodwake upward
Salty pools,ebbing high, to ease over the
Lip of the lower eyelids
Sloshing overboard in twos and threes
Carving roadways of rivulets down
The countryside of cheek, burrowing
Alongside the hillside of nose, careening
Over the upper side of lip
Gravity dictating their shiny, wet course to
Face the face
Droplets splashing wham! zam! wherever they may land, below...

The shoulders, the back
Joined at the neck in this
Symphony of sadness
From distraught to distressed to
disdain to despair--their chambers
Mutually echoing the havoc that had been held captive
Detained by sheer willpower
Now, to only disincline the effort to strain
Against, and release the pain
ALL AT ONCE
A mammoth wrenching
erupting from inner burial grounds
Bringing with it a fury
a heretofore unknown
Barrage of melancholia
Some of it for others
Most of it for one's own sorry self.
"How I'm gonna miss you..."
Is laced within this song of sorrow

After clenching all this
With the fierce, self-imposed
Death grip to deny its release
It finally explodes! Deploying
the bucketful of aquatic agony
the terrified sobs of the otherwise
unexpressed, tortuous,
anguished agony
Finally exonerated with the flush and roar of upsurging tears
At Long Last
because of that voice
That Voice, bearing the undeniable flavor of truth
Made itself known
From within and yet, from afar...saying
"Aw, go on ahead, now, child, and just cry.

Whew! I am drinking a hot cup of herbal lemon tea, out on this cold corner people are passing by to catch the buses. Noisy traffic is darting out in every direction of the city. It's been a long cold winter but today I can see some sunshine, tis the middle of February .
 
February is the most strangest month of the year. According to wikipedia: " February was named after the latin term februum,which means purification, via the purification ritual Februa held on February 15 (full moon) in the old lunar Roman calender."
 
Some years February has 28 days: on leap years it has 29 days. It's the shortest month of the year, which is good as a spring festival because it brings us closer to spring. Spring make me think of green. Trees and grass come alive, people get out of the  "cabin-coziness- mentality" and spring forth and spend some green money, like buying a street paper from you with some of their tax return.
 
 Speaking of return, I need to return to the gym before spring gets here and get some of these overweight pounds gone.
 
My, My, My brain has been working out, reading, writing, and studying. A writer's lot, just like a street vendor's lot, aint easy. It ain't all strawberries and cream or cheese cake supreme.
 
The world without writers and street news paper vendors will be like a notebook without ink, quill me! 

Two words come to mind, right off the bat.  1) brutal, and 2) hypocrisy.  As defined by Webster's "New World" dictionary, brutal means: 1.like a brute; very savage, cruel, etc. 2. very harsh.  And hypocrisy means: 1. a pretending to be what one is not, or to feel what one does not; esp., a pretense of virtue, piety, etc.  This, I say here, is something to consider when one contemplates the motto printed on every standard police car in Seattle and beyond...To serve and protect. 

Granted, there is no doubt in anyone's mind that there are instances where brute force is necessary to apprehend a dangerous criminal...but it seems to me, that when there is an attack by a police officer or a case of severe negligence on the part of an officer on duty, words get bantied around and meanings and stipulations take on a convenient vagueness--as if one could conjure up a smoky veil to hide the hideousness of the truth when it comes to shielding the reputations of those wearing the shield. In the case of Officer Cobane who said to a Latino man as he lay face down on the ground, "I'm gonna beat the #*%@#*! Mexican piss outta you, homey.  You feel me?" he and his partner were simply reassigned duties until further actions may or may not have been taken.  It was said by the department that they did NOT use unreasonable force.  But what do you call using your boot to knock someone's hand away from their face and kicking them in the head in the meantime? Reasonable?  Whoops? I'm sorry?

The platitudes and vague, if not downright deceptive terms that get tossed around like bread crumbs to birds are a horrendous injustice to the victims of police induced hate crimes, and they make a mockery of the justice system, which, obviously, in the light of untainted facts, needs to be overhauled and, in some cases, overruled.  "Justice"--"just ice" Joni Mitchell says in one of her songs. 

One redeeming factor in all this is the fact that more and more, situations involving the police are being filmed...and there, one cannot fall back on these thinly disguised misrepresentations of the truth.  No room for the "he said, she said" syndrome to play into effect when the honest-to-goodness truth needs to come out and be made known to all, involved or not. Cameras are not inclined to lie.  Just as a civilian might turn criminal and not be civil in some situation, so can an officer go from being a decent cop into a raging pig. Humanity has its virtues and its flaws. 

 The Seattle Times quoted one woman as saying "The community is of 'one mind' about the incident on the tape...We are incensed, we are offended, we are 100 % committed to doing all we can to make sure that it never happens again."  This particular incident happened right outside of the China Harbor restaurant in The International District, about what? five miles away from where John T. Williams, the beloved Ditidaht Native American woodcarver was gunned down by a police officer working on his own volition, just a few months later.  To protect and serve--who?  Their own best interests?  Granted, enforcers of the law all over the world, in every country that has any sense of organization and hierarchy, commit various acts of heroism, saving lives and defending the hapless.  We don't always hear about them.  But then, we don't always hear about the badged criminals due, in part,  to the victim's inability to prosecute or complain...sometimes, for fear of retaliation.  Seattle is a good-sized city, but not so big that one can easily disappear. Look at the case that happened in Tacoma, where the police Chief's wife was being brutalized--what was she supposed to do?  If I remember right, and I think I do,  he finally killed her.  My only sense of consolation in cases like this is my belief in GreatGrandFather God's judgment abilities, and the afterlife, where goodness is rewarded and evil is punished--both in an eternal manner. So there.

Quoting  a representative from Amnesty International,"Muslims and people of Arab descent have joined Blacks, Asians, Latinos and Native Americans to most likely be profiled by law enforcement and other agencies.  Targeted law enforcement affects people's lives on a broader level, she said.  [They] can be racially profiled while driving, walking, flying, shopping, staying at home or while praying."  In my case, singing and putting my walkman away...
Alot of questions hang in the balance, but I think the utmost query to be posed is this: Who polices the police?--A chant I heard expressed at an October 31st rally here, in Seattle, a few years back. And the gut-wrenching question: How do we stop it, and moreso, how do we prevent it altogether?  Can it be prevented?  Will upgrading and re-aligning training procedures do any good?When you pin a badge to someone's chest and put a billy club, a taser,a set of handcuffs and a gun in their hand, is there ever any guarantee that these devices will be used to safeguard joe citizen/s life/lives? or are we deluding ourselves into thinking we will be protected by the same person or persons who can use those same devices against us--to our unwarranted demise--even our death/s? Will the availability of cameras become necessary in order to not have a "hung jury" or in order to prove, without a doubt, what happened in certain situations, so that NO ONE can lie to save their own skin or their partner's, etc.

I truly wish I had some definitive answers to these and other related questions.  All I can say, is that as United States Citizens, we are supposedly guaranteed certain inalienable rights, namely: Life. Liberty. And the pursuit of happiness. What's more--these rights are meant for everyone--not just for some and not for others.  And these rights--other than the "pursuit" part, are not vague or subject to prejudiced interpretation. They are explicit and binding.  Our Forefathers were quite adamant about this.  Many citizens fought and bled and died on the battlefield so that we could have the freedom we enjoy today.  Or are supposed to be able to enjoy without being profiled or discriminated  against.

So, there you have it. In a land of justice and freedom, it doesn't mean that a person should run wild and run amuck and hope to break even--it means a land where all individuals deserve respect and there really is no place for unwarranted brutality or the deception of hypocritcal  thinking and unfair actions.

sources include, but were not limited to: the seattle times, the real change newspaper, ch. fox 13 news, poor magazine, and the san francisco bayview publication.  A Couple of Clarifications:

--the woman that The Seattle Times Quoted as saying "the community..." is actually a spokeswoman from El Centro De La Raza.

"Californians need to get real, " as the words shot out of  jerry Brown's mouth, my  body started to shake with fear from that real.  The "real" of a near empty  stomach, the "real" of  bitter cold cement and vinyl back seats of cars to sleep on when you have no home.  i had felt that real for so many years of childhood poverty, the kind of real our children will be feeling if Brown's proposed budget cuts to Medi-Cal, welfare and child care  are implemented.

The acts of budget genocide currently being proposed to the Cal-works and Medi-cal programs in California include reductions of 13% to the meager cash grants we barely receive now for working in-system,(there is no free money, us mamaz work for every penny we recieve) limiting the amount of medicine we and our children get per month and the worst genocide of all, cutting off our children entirely from cash grants within 48 months . These already stripped "aid" programs based on the myth of the budget cuts or as i call them, budget Crumbs, are crafted on the lie that there is plenty of money to fund illegal wars that kill, poison and traumatize children and adults across the globe, but never enough for poor families to survive, much-less thrive.

I wondered what was real that morning for Jerry Brown  as he departed his condominium without  fear he would come home to a rent increase, eviction papers  or a foreclosure notice, perhaps consuming a breakfast  purchased without worrying that the rising cost of food  would overdraw his bank account. And in the reality crafted by Jerry Brown, Schwarzenegger and so many other politricians before and after them. Us poor folks live in a scarcity model defined by people who have never had to go scarce.

As humans hearing about budget genocide we tend to go to an "I got mines" mentality, denying, accusing and blaming people for the need they have, pitting one need against another, ranking oppressions and/or feeling selfish about our "own" peoples needs. This process is all fueled and supported by mainstream media supported by corporations and corrupt politicians who would rather keep the business of hate and false scarcity going as long as it keeps us from focusing on the real "real"

The budget lies actually began hundreds of years ago with the theft of land and resources from indigenous peoples through paper trails, legislative theft, and adjudicated deceit, until we suddenly had nothing to even negotiate or trade with. In the 21st century reality working people honestly pay their taxes to support an amorphous system while being duped into this collective myth of budget scarcity. Paying into 3 trillion dollar defense budgets and corporate pay-offs, whether they agree with them or not and then being confused by a consistent declaration of deficit overrun.

Real budget justice models do exist in the US budgets created by community -wide participation such as the one created by multiple organizations in San Francisco known as The Peoples Budget- In Oakland led by Ella Baker Center and the city-wide budget organized by economic justice advocates in Chicago who collaborated with alderman who were also fed up with false government and established a truly people-led budget process that managed to evenly distribute tax resources to education, city services and social services for poor and working people and was actually used in city policy.

So as Gov Brown defines "real" as budget genocide which will have deadly consequences on our children and families let's follow the leads of our brothers and sisters in Wisconsin and Egypt and rise up to demand a different kind of  "real"  that feeds our children, employs our workers and fixes our roads, really!

To Listen to the voices of mothers and daddys in poverty speaking on the impact of these cuts click here to listen to PNN-Radio We-Search

To Watch the mamas and daddys on PNN-TV WeSearch click here

"Jane Kim is a park's champion and an advocate."
Words expressed by Phil Ginsburg on behalf, and support of newly-elected S.F. District 6 Supervisor Jane Kim. Ginsburg is the General Manager of Recreation and Park Department for the City and County of San Francisco, CA.

A community forum panel took place at the Bessie Carmichael Elementary School, on February 16th, 2011 in San Francisco's South of Market District. (SoMa) Myself, and my fellow POOR comrade, Muteado Silencio attended this community meeting. As a community ourselves who live in her district, we needed to be here. Who's talking about us, who's talking with us, and for us as a community motivates our routine re-porting and sup-porting.

No voices would be taboo..............even when we're heard.

Insight was needed by us as to what S.F. Supervisor Jane Kim plans were going to be for her constituents.

After an estimated five block travel through chilly winds, we arrived just in time to hear the forum panelists address everyone in attendance. The community members were diverse, primarily of multiple Asian ethnicities (among others) and cultures. The meeting was held in the school's cafeteria.

Community organizers involved for tonight's meeting were the United Playaz and SOMCAN. The forum panelists were San Francisco departmental head employees here for a dialogue discussion.

They were from the Department of Public Health, Board of Education, the Recreation and Park Department, the San Francisco Police Department's Southern Station, the  Redevelopment Agency, and the Department of Public Works. Angelica Cabande, organizing director for SOMCAN facilitated the discussion dialogue.

Issues raised were pedestrian, public safety, accessibility for the Gene Friend Recreational Center, and plans for Victoria Manalo Draves Park. (across the street from the school)  The transparency that took place were primary concerns of complaints regarding the park, and ongoing unsavory activities occurring in it. The residents who lived in this area expressed their concerns of not being secure and safe.

A police sergeant on the panel pledged that his department would address their concerns.

Everyone was allowed to bring forth questions, concerns, and grievances to the panelists. However, everyone's answers were postponed until the meeting's end due to the "interest of time."

As I stood in line to speak to the panelists, I myself began to hear each speaker. Criticisms ranged from lack of traffic safety, neighborhood protection, and scarce beneficial resources became instantaneous to my ears. One speaker expressed his efforts to receive a small business license, but was unsuccessful. He seemed discouraged in displaying his words to them. His greatest fear was that he wouldn't be able to support himself unless he got his license.

In a two-sided circulated community flyer, I viewed a chronology of concerns. One paragraph indicated that the SoMa community "wasn't against advocating for adequate funding for the rec center and park." Another was how funds are never really allocated into the community, regardless. Also indicated in the flyer were allegations of discrimination against the United Playaz staff; and refusals to allow them partnerships into their programs.

Some students raised an awareness that somewhat shocked not only me, but some attendees regarding the school food distributed to them: Poorly prepared portions, limited, and unsatisfactory meals were given to them daily. Hydra Mendoza, the school board president quickly rose from her seat to assure everyone that the food "was much better than it was five years ago."

She also stated that the city was the process of pouring funds into the school district.

"Where is the city going to get these funds considering its continuous claims of alleged shortfalls and deficits for the schools?" I asked myself, while dining on slices of pizza and sliced portions of sandwich rolls provided at this meeting.

Moreover, if these accusations made from the youth speakers were indeed valid; how can the city and/or state expect for all children, especially in elementary to function and focus in their education without proper nourishment?

"I just have a couple of questions for Supervisor Jane Kim." I said to them while shifting my eyes towards Kim's direction meeting her's. "One of them is how do you feel about the Eastern Neighborhood's Plan to "re-zone" the Mission District? The other is, what are your thoughts regarding the opposition against this plan to remove the Red Stone Building, and replace it with a condominium?"

For what felt like to me was just a typical two-hour dry doctored dialogue, with the panelists bearing remain-to-be-seen promises. After the meeting adjourned, I approached Supervisor Kim for her to respond to my series questions I had asked earlier on. I was curious about Kim's thoughts about the Eastern Neighborhood's Plan to "rezone" the Mission District, and removing the Redstone Building.

She immediately introduced me to her staff members. It felt in this instance as if my questions would be unanswered. I extended an invitation for her to come to the next POOR Community Newsroom. Kim couldn't promise she'd attend. If she was unable to, one of her reps would be sent instead.

"I'm interested in attending some of those meetings." Kim said to me, referencing the meetings held by the Redstone Building tenants concerning the building's future.

"Roughly about five people have asked her (Kim) to come the meetings, but she hasn't shown up, nor has any of her representatives." My comrade, Elder Scholar Bruce Allison would later inform me. "One of them was a resident of Adair Alley. ( He's asked her to come to the meetings, due to the project's plan to build forty parking spaces in it. This would be an inconvenience for him to even leave out of his home."

(Panelists present at the forum included:The panelists part of the SoMa Townhall evening meeting forum: .Colleen Chawla, Director of Grants, and Special Projects for S.F. Department of Public Health. .Hydra Mendoza, President of the San Francisco School Board of Education. .Phil Ginsburg, General Manager of Recreation and Park Department. .Courtney Pash, of the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency. .Mohammed Nuru, of San Francisco Department of Public Works. .Unknown sergeant from the San Francisco Police Department)

Articles of opposition against the proposed development plan:

http://poormagazine.org/node/3373
http://poormagazine.org/node/3380
http://missionlocal.org/2011/01/opposition-builds-for-condo-complex-near-redstone-building/

Los Jornaleros y sus companeros en la protesta contra la criminalización de el gerente de la tienda UHhaul/ Day laborers and allies protest the criminalization of Uhaul store manager.

Monday, February 15, 2010

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Los jornaleros que desde hace varios anos acuden a la calle alameda enfrente de la empresa U-HAUL, hicieron un planton con apoyo solidario de varias organizaciones de la comunidad de San Francisco entre ellas Living Wage, Power, Colectiva de Mujeres, Day Labor Program, Catalist, MUA, POOR Magazine, La Raza Centro Legal  y otras,

Despues de intentos fallidos por medio de cartas enviada a la central que dirige estas    empresas explicandole la manera tan despota e inhumana con que se conduce el manager y la intervencion en el momento de que los trabajadores son abordados por las personas que buscan sus servicios, ademas de imponerles por medio de una lista quien puede o no puede trabajar provocando una division entre estos los trabajadores jornaleros. 

Jose Figueoa dijo: estoy aqui potestando porque el manager de la empesa U-Haul no nos deja trabajar el sale y nos amenaza que si hablamos con las personas que se nos acercan para darnos trabajo el va a llamar a la policia y en ocaciones interviene en el momento de contratacion y nos impide lograr el trabajo.

El hizo su propia lista y a pesar  de que hemos estado formados desde las 5 de la manana para obtener un cliente el solo les da oportunidad a los que le caen bien no importando que lleguen mas tarde nuestra necesidad de obtener un trabajo nos hace madrugar pero este senor nos bloquea.

Roberto dijo: yo he venido aqui ha buscar trabajo desde hace 3 anos y antes que llegara este manager hace aproximadamente seis meses no teniamos problemas esta persona nos ostiga y nos falta el respeto nos grita. 

Sergio un jonalero activista dijo: queremos que dejen de humillarnos, todos nuestros problemas comenzaron por la intervencion del manager, queremos que nos dejen trabajar libremente el llama a la policia con el pretexto de que le gritamos pero eso no es cierto.

Renee Saucedo lider del Day Labor de San Francisco dijo: hemos mandado muchas cartas a la directiva y no han contestado y por esto seguimos pidiendo deje de ostigar criminalizar a los jornaleros y dejen de llamar a la policia deje de anunciarse como un Centro de Jornaleros.

Maria Luna miembra lider de la organizacion Mujeres Unidas y Activas presente en esta protesta mostro su solidaridad como organizadora, y proyectando la fuerza en su voz dijo: no vamos a permitir mas ofensas a los jornaleros, lucharemos con ellos hasta lograr la victoria.
Donaji representante de POWER Gente Organizada Para Ganar los Derechos de Empleo, presente en esta protesta aun bajo la lluvia y el frio y proyectando en su voz la indignacion que sentia como vecina y mienbra de su organizacion dijo; Esta empresa esta en nuestra comunidad y se ve beneficia economicamrnte de nosotros y nosotros no podemos permitir esta injusticia hacia los trabjadores jornaleros que viven aqui, por lo tanto exigimos que pare esta injusticia y si no lo hacen que se vayan de nuestro vecindario.

Prensa Pobre fue la el primer medio en hacer acto de presencia  como reporteras de la comunidad y para la comunidad para denunciar de que manera son injustamente tratados los trabajadores que buscan en las aceras trabajo. Presente tambien su co-directora, y co-reportera  Tiny a quien la lluvia no le impidio llegar en con su bicicleta camara y grabadora en mano e inmediatamente incorporandose planton mas tarde hizo uso del microfono y dijo; yo use mucho tiempo en este servicio. En las epocas que me encontraba sin casa y el trato que me dieron fue pesimo porque me veo como gente pobre por eso estoy aqui porque los jorneleros son trabajadores pobres que estan siendo injustmente tratados.

Otro miembro de una organizacion llamada CATALYST llamado CRIS CRASS dijo: "estamos en contra al racismo y las injusticias que ocurren con los trabjadores de color."

Termino este reportaje feliz de observar la solidaridad de la comunidad y tambiem de muchas organizaciones que dijeron ya basta.         

Engles Sigue

Day laborers made history today.  Supported by several community organizations including the San Francisco Living Wage Coalition, POWER, Women's Collective, Day Labor Program, Catalyst, MUA, POOR Magazine, La Raza Centro Legal and others hundreds of workers marched, spoke truth to power and resisted the criminalization of day laborers by the managers of Uhaul. This march and protest happened after multiple failed attempts to negotiate through letters sent to the central directors running these companies explaining the workers situation.

" I am here because the manager that just started working at U-Haul does not allow us to seek work outside the building and threatens us that if we talk to people who approach us to give us the work he will call the police and on occasions during the time that we were being hired he interferes with us even getting the job,"  said Jose Figueroa, day laborer

Jose explained that the manager made his own list (of day laborers) and although we often begin waiting at 5 in the morning to get a customer, he still only gives the jobs to the people he likes even if they arrive late in the morning

Another worker named Roberto said, " I have been here looking for work for over 3 years and we had no problem. We started having problems six months ago after this manager began working at Uhaul. He harasses us, disrespects us and yells at us and calls the police."

Sam a jonalero activist said: 'We want him to stop humiliating us, all our problems started with this manager, we want him to let us work freely. he calls the police on the pretext that we shout but that's not true."

Renee Saucedo leader of the Labor Day in San Francisco said: "We sent many letters to the director and they have not replied. In our letters we asked the manager to stop criminalizing and harassing laborers, stop calling the police and finally to stop misrepresenting themselves and advertising as a Day Labor Center "

Maria Luna leading members of the organization Mujeres Unidos y Activas represented in this protest showing their solidarity with the workers and said, "We will not allow the laborers to be insulted, we will fight with them to achieve victory".

Donaji, representative of POWER, People Organized to Win Employment Rights, appeared at this protest even under the rain and the cold and said that they felt the indignation of their neighbors: "This company (Uhaul) is in our community and their economy earns money from us and we can not allow this injustice to the laborers who seek work here, therefore we demand that this injustice stop if they want to to be in our neighborhood".

POOR Magazine was the first media to make an appearance, as reporters of the community who are directly impacted by this treatment and crminalizaiton. We were there to report and support on our companeros the day laborers who are part of the community and are being treated unfairly on the sidewalks looking for work. My fellow reporter and POOR Magazine co-editor, Tiny showed up on her bicycle, not detered by the rain, with camera and tape recorder in hand and later stated at the rally,"When me and my mama were houseless in Oakland and San Francisco, we used Uhaul for storage and they always treated us meanly and with little respect and called the police on us many times for no reason, I believe that Uhaul is a corporation that treats the poor very badly which is one of the reasons I'm here in solidarity with the working poor who are being unfairly treated."

Another member of an organization called Catalyst with CHRIS CRASS said: "We are against racism and injustice that occur with workers of color."

As a worker/ reportera for Voces de inmiigrantes en resistencia at POOR Magazine and community activist I was pleased to see the solidarity of the community and the allies on this day and Im here to say enough is enough.

Migrant/Immigrant workers and community members organize a town hall meeting against the violence of immigration raids

Tuesday, August 26, 2008;

For English scroll down

Yo soy el hijo de una ola… una ola de trabajadores indocumentados… una ola ascendiendo y descendiendo… Toda mi vida hemos estado montandos esta ola, una ola de incertidumbre, una ola de altibajos, a veces sin saber si las altas fueron bajas o si las bajas fueron altas. Una ola que se celebró un momento, y fue culpadó a otro. Una ola que emigraro a estas tierras trabajando duro y dando a sus hijos algo que nunca tuvo, la oportunidad - una oportunidad para permanecer a flote; una oportunidad para comenzar nuestra vida en tierra firme. Estoy en tierra y veo las olas. Veo una ola de Pilipinos, una ola de chinos, un a ola de indios… veo una ola indígena a través de ojos indígenas. Ellos son hermosas. Yo soy la ola.

Esta es mi oportunidad - a navegar a través de instituciones de educacion, mientras escribiendo para POOR Magazine. Yo soy un residente legal de un país que criminaliza a mi familia y mi comunidad. ¿Dónde irá mi ola? Veo ahora una nueva ola - fea, fascista; una multitud envuelta en el patriotismo. Esta ola es Control de Aduanas e Inmigracion (ICE). Los ataques a la zona de la Bahía ha resultado en más de 400 detenciones de personas migrantes. El 2 de mayo de 2008, ICE ataco 11 taquerías de El Balazo adonde arrestaron 63 trabajadores inocentes. Los efectos de esta ola terrible prevalecen en nuestra comunidad. El temor, la incertidumbre y la paranoia que siente cada uno de los trabajadores y sus familias no se desaparecen, si no manchan el corazón y la mente. "Adonde iremos si nos capturan? ¿Qué haremos? Tengo miedo. He oído historias" .. . Lo vivimos.

Esta ola de opresión ha ido más allá de lo que creíamos posible. Una ola terrible - como la ola que nos hizo huir nuestra tierra. He leído acerca de un tiempo similar - un tiempo cuando personas fueron golpeadas en la calle por nada-un tiempo cuando las personas diferentes tubieron derechos sólo en papel. Suficiente es suficiente. Miro alrededor y veo que Jim Crow nunca murió, simplemente cambió su nombre a ICE. Él modifico sus técnicas de violencia, pero él sigue siendo el mismo, con la misma cara, con la misma gente que le apoya con mensajes de odio. Un día alguien va a leer acerca de nuestra situación, nuestro tiempo, nuestra ola… y ellos también leeran que a veces, suficiente es suficiente.

Hace algún tiempo, nuestra ola fue celebrada. Apoyada por el trabajo duro que hacemos por salarios bajos. Todavía trabajamos duro y apenas nos pagan, pero ahora, somos llamados delincuentes. Los culpables de la crisis económica. Blancos para el abuso. Hemos vivido con esto por un tiempo. Pero ahora esta hasta nuestro cuello, y estamos haciendo algo al respecto.

A principios de mayo de este año, los miembros inmigrantes de las comunidades del Área de la Bahía, organizaciones de defensa y derechos de inmigrantes, se reunieron para elaborar estrategias de cómo los condados del Área de la Bahía podrían colaborar para poner fin a las redadas de Control de Aduanas e Inmigracion (ICE), que siguen aterrorizando a todas las comunidades migrantes y tienen un impacto directo a nuestra economía local. Consideramos estas medidas de ejecución como una forma consciente de persecución masiva, que penalizan nuestras comunidades y separadan nuestras familias. El número de detenciones y deportaciones de este año ha creado un clima de temor que también pone en peligro la seguridad pública. Las comunidades de inmigrantes tienen miedo de denunciar los delitos, ir a las clínicas de salud - incluso enviar a sus hijos a la escuela. Como un líder en su comunidad, esperamos que puedan unirse a nosotros y hacer más para crear soluciones regionales a un problema que afecta a todas las comunidades en la mayor área de la Bahía.

La Junta del Pueblo del Area de la Bahia será un foro que reúne a politicos y familias que han sido afectados por estos ataques. Residentes inmigrantes de condados de San Francisco, Contra Costa, Alameda, Solano y Marín tendrán la oportunidad de compartir con politicos los efectos de los ataques, así como hacer peticiones concretas sobre cómo los funcionarios electos puedan responder.

La Junta del Pueblo del Area de la Bahia sera en Richmond en el gimnasio de la Iglesia San Cornelio, 201 28th St. Richmond, una ciudad que tiene una población que es predominantemente de inmigrantes y comunidades de color. Muchas familias inmigrantes se han movido a Richmond, porque no pueden vivir en lugares como San Francisco y Silicon Valley por los precios de renta tan altos. Richmond está experimentando en esfuerzos para aprobar una ID Municipal, pero esta también luchando contra las acusaciones de la policía injustas que apuntan a parar inmigrantes cuando estan manejando.

En Engles

I am the son of a wave… a wave of undocumented workers… a wave rising and falling… All my life we've been riding this wave, a wave of uncertainty, a wave of ups and downs, sometimes not knowing if the ups were downs or if the downs were ups. A wave that is praised one moment, blamed at another. A wave that migrated to this land working hard and giving their offspring something they never had, opportunity--an opportunity to stay afloat; an opportunity to begin our lives on solid ground. I stand ashore and I see the waves. I see a Pilipino wave, a Chinese wave, an Indian wave…I see an indigenous wave through indigenous eyes. They are beautiful. I am the wave.

This is my opportunity--navigating my wave through institutions of higher learning while writing for POOR Magazine. I am a legal resident of a country that criminalizes my family and my community. Where will my wave go? I see another wave now--ugly, fascist; a mob cloaked in patriotism. This wave of Immigration, Control, and Enforcement (ICE) attacks in the bay area has resulted in over 400 arrests of migrant people. On May 2nd, 2008, ICE attacked 11 of El Balazo taquerias which resulted in over 63 arrests of innocent workers. The effects of this dreadful wave prevail in our community. The fear, uncertainty, and paranoia felt by each worker and their families do not fade, they stain the heart and the mind. "Where we will we go if they catch us? What will we do? I’m scared. I’ve heard stories".. .We ride.

This oppressive wave has gone beyond what we thought possible. A terrifying wave--like the wave that made us flee our home-land. I read about a similar time--a time when people were getting beat on the streets for nothing—a time when people who were different had rights on paper only. Enough was enough. I look around and see that jim crow never died, he just changed his name to ICE. He modified his techniques of violence, but he’s still the same guy with the same face with the same people backing him up with messages of hate. One day someone will read about our plight, our time, our wave… and they too will read that sometimes, enough is enough.

Some time ago, our wave was praised. Celebrated for working hard for cheap wages. We still work hard and hardly get paid anything, but now, we are criminals. Scapegoats for the economic crisis. Targets for abuse. We lived with this for a while. But now it is up to our necks, and we are doing something about it.

In early May of this year, members of the Bay Area immigrant communities, and immigrant rights advocacy organizations, gathered to strategize how Bay Area counties could collaborate to stop the current Immigration, Control, and Enforcement (ICE) raids, which continue to terrorize entire communities and have a direct impact on our local economy. We view these enforcement activities as a massive form of conscious persecution, which criminalize our communities and separate our families. The record number of detentions and deportations this year has created a climate of fear which also threatens public safety. Immigrant communities are fearful of reporting crimes, going to health clinics-- even sending their children to school. As a leader in your community, we hope you can join us and do more to create regional solutions to a problem that impacts all communities in the greater Bay Area.

The Bay Area Regional Town Hall Meeting will provide a forum that brings together elected officials and families that have been impacted by these raids. Immigrant residents of San Francisco, Contra Costa, Alameda, Solano and Marin Counties will have the opportunity to share with elected officials the impacts of the raids, as well as make concrete requests on how elected officials can respond.

The Regional Town Hall Meeting will be held in Richmond (exact location to be announced), a city which has a population that is predominantly immigrant and communities of color. Many immigrant families have moved to Richmond because they can no longer afford live in places like San Francisco and the Silicon Valley. Richmond is experiencing exciting efforts to pass a Municipal ID, but is also dealing with allegations of unfair police check points which target immigrant drivers.

For more information download flyer for Town Hall Meeting