themselves— who were immigrants at one time, who are ashamed today of the day laborers. They choose to close
their eyes as to not see his hunger or the rags in which they are humbly dressed. These individuals are not aware
that if the jornalero is a shame, it is a shame of a society that has made criminals of dispossessed men seeking for
work, but have no jobs, no status, and almost no hope.
Day laborers have also been used and abused as a political catalyst to encourage the vilest emotions against human
beings, against unfortunate men who wander in a hostile piece of planet Earth, face antagonism and insults, and
endure the demons of hate and verbal violence. An almost impossible endeavor they embark onto, risking their lives,
just to attempt to put food on a humble table in their impoverished homes, back in their underprivileged countries.
However, the capacity of Latin American immigrant workers has been demonstrated over and over again. The mind
of the jornalero is capable of transforming him into a skilled worker, and into an integrated and positive contributor to
society. Why to despise, then, this great source of human energy?
Giving day laborers their proper value and dignity both as human beings and workers is not a matter of being just
compassionate, or to just promote a society that protects them in the same sense that we strive for societies that
protect animals. It is about something more profound: to treat the jornalero as a human being who is intrinsically
entitled to earn a living to survive, and to feed his stomach and those of the family he teary and reluctantly left
behind.
Have we lost all sense of humanity? Have we forgotten that our ancestors were also seeking to improve their lives
to make ours the enjoyable experience we use today to despise the less fortunate?
Let us take advantage not only of the hands but also the mind of the jornalero; let us give him a chance to rise up
from his misery; let us treat him with the same eagerness we treat ourselves when our own stomachs are hungry.
their eyes as to not see his hunger or the rags in which they are humbly dressed. These individuals are not aware
that if the jornalero is a shame, it is a shame of a society that has made criminals of dispossessed men seeking for
work, but have no jobs, no status, and almost no hope.
Day laborers have also been used and abused as a political catalyst to encourage the vilest emotions against human
beings, against unfortunate men who wander in a hostile piece of planet Earth, face antagonism and insults, and
endure the demons of hate and verbal violence. An almost impossible endeavor they embark onto, risking their lives,
just to attempt to put food on a humble table in their impoverished homes, back in their underprivileged countries.
However, the capacity of Latin American immigrant workers has been demonstrated over and over again. The mind
of the jornalero is capable of transforming him into a skilled worker, and into an integrated and positive contributor to
society. Why to despise, then, this great source of human energy?
Giving day laborers their proper value and dignity both as human beings and workers is not a matter of being just
compassionate, or to just promote a society that protects them in the same sense that we strive for societies that
protect animals. It is about something more profound: to treat the jornalero as a human being who is intrinsically
entitled to earn a living to survive, and to feed his stomach and those of the family he teary and reluctantly left
behind.
Have we lost all sense of humanity? Have we forgotten that our ancestors were also seeking to improve their lives
to make ours the enjoyable experience we use today to despise the less fortunate?
Let us take advantage not only of the hands but also the mind of the jornalero; let us give him a chance to rise up
from his misery; let us treat him with the same eagerness we treat ourselves when our own stomachs are hungry.
How many words have been written about the
jornalero? How many about his sadness and his
impenetrable silence? Very few words have been
written, however, about the reason of his sadness:
the marginalization he endures.
Fundamentally, every single one of the day laborers
is a human being, and from this perspective, he is not
different from any other human being in this country.
But the reality is another one.
The jornalero does not fully participate in the economy
of a nation that reaps from cheap labor, and they are
not appreciated. They do not receive but the crumbs
and the leftovers of a society satiated in the gluttony
of its prosperity, and this only sometimes.
Day laborers are not even aware, nor convinced, that
as the persons they are, they have basic
constitutional rights. Do we need to go back to the
dictionary to learn the definition of person? Jornaleros
have no means to improve their precarious
conditions; tides of discrimination and rejection have
plunged them into their despair and their sadness.
There are many people whose ancestors —or even
jornalero? How many about his sadness and his
impenetrable silence? Very few words have been
written, however, about the reason of his sadness:
the marginalization he endures.
Fundamentally, every single one of the day laborers
is a human being, and from this perspective, he is not
different from any other human being in this country.
But the reality is another one.
The jornalero does not fully participate in the economy
of a nation that reaps from cheap labor, and they are
not appreciated. They do not receive but the crumbs
and the leftovers of a society satiated in the gluttony
of its prosperity, and this only sometimes.
Day laborers are not even aware, nor convinced, that
as the persons they are, they have basic
constitutional rights. Do we need to go back to the
dictionary to learn the definition of person? Jornaleros
have no means to improve their precarious
conditions; tides of discrimination and rejection have
plunged them into their despair and their sadness.
There are many people whose ancestors —or even
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