2010 June | VivirLatino

Archive for June, 2010

ICE Sees BP Oil Spill as an Opportunity to Flex Enforcement Muscle

6:32 am By Maegan la Mamita Mala · Immigration · 4 Comments

7 Jun 2010

As reports regarding the negative health effects of the BP oil spill in the Gulf Coast region on workers and residents come in, some of those hired or under contract by BP faced a different kind of hazard on top of the physical risk. A joint report by Feet in Two Worlds and El Diario La Prensa tells how U.S. Federal Immigration Officials used the BP oil spill as a chance to check the immigration status of those cleaning up the damage.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Louisiana confirmed that its agents had visited two large command centers—which are staging areas for the response efforts and are sealed off to the public—to verify that the workers there were legal residents.

“We visited just to ensure that people who are legally here can compete for those jobs—those people who are having so many problems,” said Temple H. Black, a spokesman for ICE in Louisiana…

ICE, a branch of the Department of Homeland Security, visited two command centers, one in Venice and the other in Hopedale, twice in May. ICE agents arrived at the staging areas without prior notice, rounded up workers, and asked for documentation of their legal status, according to Black.

Introducing: The Other Latina!

2:40 pm By la Macha · VivirLatino|Women · 7 Comments

5 Jun 2010

We here at VL have gotten a massive influx of trolls lately, I’m not really sure why. But the way I can tell a troll is that no matter what I, la Macha, editorista, have to say, Teh Trollz are always fairly certain that I am really la Mala, i.e Head Editorista. Because all us Latinas are the same, right?

And if Teh Trollz have no problem posting twenty-five comments under different names, then us Latinas don’t either, right? (Hello Brenda, gringa, another gringa, concerned, and a fair lady!).

Needless to say, I am a different person than la Mala–and I enjoy being her head goon. I will continue to delete anybody who is not commenting about something directly connected to a particular post, and I will even laugh while I do it.

Until then, I guess I should write more posts or something.

Have a great weekend,
la macha
Destroyer of Freedom of Speech since 1995

Stephany Flores Ramirez : The Dead Latina in the Missing Gringa’s Shadow?

12:49 pm By Maegan la Mamita Mala · Media|Peru|Violence|Women · 94 Comments

4 Jun 2010

I just wanted to write a quick note to express my discomfort with how the mainstream media is covering the arrest of Joran van der Sloot in Chile.

Lost in the headlines, is 21 year old Stephany Tatiana Flores Ramirez, the Peruana who was found dead with a broken neck in a hotel room under Van der Sloot’s name.

Don’t get me wrong. I think what happened to Natalee Holloway, which we may never fully know is horrible and my heart goes out to her familia but so much of the U.S. media’s coverage shows how much more valuable the life of an attractive white young woman is compared to a Latin American woman in a Latin American country.

So much of the coverage is how this could be a breakthrough in Natalee’s case. There are new interviews with Natalee’s parents and see whose picture you see more of, Natalee’s or Stephany’s.

I abhor violence against all women, regardless of what language they speak or what country they come from and I would hope that in the media’s effort to find new scoops and angles to this story, they recognize that Stephany and her familia deserve justice, however that is defined, just as much as the Holloway family does, and that the loss of Stephany’s life is much more than just a means to an end.

Why Does it Feel Like too little too late with Elected Officials and Immigration?

10:01 am By Maegan la Mamita Mala · GLBT|Immigration|Politics · 5 Comments

4 Jun 2010

Even though I’m going to be on a panel next week on HITN to talk about NY State elections (stay tuned for details), electoral politics gross me out, especially the way I have seen paid politicians play the issue of immigration and it’s reform. The name of game is careerism, not doing what is best for the communities they were elected to represent. This is especially true for poorer immigrant communities who don’t have the power of the donation dollar behind them or even the power of the polls since they cannot vote. This makes it easy for politicos to do the politically expedient thing as opposed to the right thing. I’m not stupid, I know that’s the way the game is pero it doesn’t make it right especially when we are talking about people’s lives.

Let’s take Congressman Luis Gutierrez for example. I’m not picking on him because I am against him, or because I have a beef with him, but rather because he himself has put himself out there. No es a quitate tu pa ponerme yo. I have no interest in “doing” electoral politics if you will. My feet are firmly planted in the calle.

Recently, Gutierrez came out in favor of the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA) as part of larger Comprehensive Immigration Reform. In some ways, this a great but there are two problems. One : For months, when Gutierrez was pushing his CIRASAP Bill, the exclusion of LGBT families was a calculated move, aimed to keep the support of faith organizations. Two : most DC insiders say that comprehensive immigration reform is dead this year. So what’s the point? What’s the game? It’s pretty much the same bait and switch that is currently being played with the DREAM Act.
Read more…

Massachusetts Senate Goes the Way of Arizona

7:29 am By Maegan la Mamita Mala · Immigration|Massachusetts · 14 Comments

4 Jun 2010

I came across this via Facebook last night. Seems like the Massachusetts Senate has caught a case of the Russel Pearce’s. Their State Senate passed a budget amendment, 28-10, that would bar the state from doing business with any company found hiring undocumented immigrants. It would also toughen penalties for creating or using fake identification documents, and explicitly deny in-state college tuition for undocumented students.
The amendment would also require the state’s public health insurance program to verify residency through the Department of Homeland Security, and would require the state to give legal residents priority for subsidized housing.
The measure would also create a toll-free hot line for anonymous reporting of companies that employ the undocumented and opens the door for the state to work with the Feds, a la 287(g).

I could be wrong and I invite Mass. people to comment here, pero as this is an amendment, then the governor does not need to sign it not does the governor have the opportunity to veto it.

So if Massachusetts goes the way of Arizona, do we boycott them as well?

Via / Boston.com

Update on Those Starving for a DREAM in NYC

3:14 pm By Maegan la Mamita Mala · Activism|Education|Immigration|New York City|youth · 1 Comment

3 Jun 2010

I went back to 47th Street and 3rd Avenue, in front of Senator Chuck Schumer’s office, to check up in how the 9 young people engaged in a hunger strike were doing as they entered Day 3 of their fast for a stand-alone DREAM Act.

All of the participants were in good spirits and were reading recent media coverage from the New York Times and the NY Daily News.

Senator Schumer’s office has yet to acknowledge that there are 9 young people outside his office demanding action. The fasters will be holding a vigil tomorrow night, at 7 pm, at 47th Street and 3rd Avenue.

Racial Profiling is Not a Reality Show or a Game Show

7:56 am By Maegan la Mamita Mala · arizona|Immigration|Ohio|radio · 1 Comment

3 Jun 2010

When the perception is that a law will only impact the lives of “others” whom you have already dehumanized it’s easy to make fun, make light, and make a game. For many Latinos in Arizona, SB1070 is not a game. Living in Maricopa County under Sheriff Joe has never been fun.

Columbus, Ohio, radio station WTVN-AM thinks that racial profiling is fun!

Click on the picture to enlarge it.

The contest allegedly was a reaction to Columbus Mayor, Michael Coleman’s decision to ban city employees from visiting Arizona on official business in protest of the new law.
Read more…

Youth Producing Change 2010: Human Rights Watch International Film Festival

7:46 pm By BiancaLaureano · Arts|Culture|Media|youth · 1 Comment

2 Jun 2010

Vivir Latino will be covering the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival, specifically the world premiere of Youth Producing Change series where young media makers from all over the world create and produce messages and share stories important to them! From June 18-19th there will be 11 films featured.

Adobe Youth Voices presents the World premiere of Youth Producing Change, an innovative program of youth-produced short films from across the globe showcased with the Human Rights Watch Film Festival. Eleven films will be shown this year, selected from over 250 international submissions.

All screenings are at Film Society of Lincoln Center Walter Reade Theater
165 West 65th Street, Upper Level (Between Broadway and Amsterdam) in NYC. The films are affordable and there are special discounts! For example:

Special Offer: BUY ONE TICKET for $8~ GET ONE FREE
Select the “YPC Special” online and receive a 2nd complimentary ticket at the Walter Reade Theater box office. This offer is subject to availability and only good for the YOUTH PRODUCING CHANGE screenings in the HRWIFF10. For group tickets please email ypc@hrw.org

I’m so excited to be able to see these films. Below is a list and brief synopsis of each film at the festival this year. Are there any specific films you VL readers would love to hear more about?

HANDS OF LOVE:
For David Were and his community in Kibera, the largest slum in Kenya, having access to simple facilities like a bathroom can be a matter of life and death. After a devastating attack on his father, David and his friends know their work to provide security, latrines, and clean-up projects is more than a struggle for a healthier environment —it is part of ensuring the survival of their community. *David Were and Justus Ongera will attend the festival.

KAMRAN’S STORY:
Drawing from a series of dramatic life-changing events, 14-year-old asylum seeker, Kamran, narrates the story of his courageous escape from Afghanistan and his unaccompanied journey to the United Kingdom. *Kamran Safi will attend the festival.

MIGRATION:
Young people find themselves left on their own when parents are forced to seek work in other countries in order to support their families. Migration provides a new take on immigration, from the perspective of children left behind.

ALIMENTATION D’UN CONGOLAIS MOYEN
(AN AVERAGE CONGOLESE MAN’S DIET):
For 14 years, Congo has been ravaged with conflict. In Congo, food insecurity remains the norm. Millions have died mostly due to malnutrition or lack of access to basic medicine. The simple truth for children in Congo – having a meal isn’t always a given.

17 & UNIDENTIFIED:
Born in Batey Cuchillia, Dominican Republic of Haitian descent, Deivei was never provided with a birth certificate. Without it, he cannot continue his education, find a job, marry or travel. *Filmmaker Alicia Wade will attend the festival.
GROWING UP IN INDIA:
In the northeastern desert state of Rajasthan in India, Sangita feels the limitations of her culture’s caste system when she decides she must forgo an education to train as a dancer in order to support her family.

BABICA:
The Roma people have been the target of persecution and discrimination for centuries. A Roma grandmother shares her hopes for future generations as she prepares bread with her granddaughter. *Martina Hudorovič will attend the festival.

HUDUD:
Being 16 in the Occupied Palestinian Territories today is to have one’s life dictated by curfews, clashes with soldiers at check points, arbitrary searches and arrests. Hudud (an Arabic word for restriction) illustrates the challenges that Israeli construction of the “separation barrier,” or wall, pose for Palestinian youth.

MARIPOSA:
As Espie prepares for her quinceañera, a traditional rite of passage celebrating a 15-year-old Latina’s debut, her family comes to terms with Espie’s decision to “come out” in a different way. Espie’s story embraces the complexity of family tradition and sexual identity with an honest and brave heart.*Espie Hernandez will attend the festival.

SEE. LISTEN. SPEAK. NGARRINDJERI’S BEING HEARD:
After water is diverted from natural streams and lakes in the rural Coroong community and delivered by pipeline to larger cities, the aboriginal Ngarrindjeri face a disastrous water crisis, threatening their way of life. Ngarrindjeri youth speak out to protect their culture and traditions.

IMAGE OF CONTAMINATION:
The course of Air Force enlistee Diana López’s life changes forever when she learns that toxic waste has been seeping off nearby Kelly Air Force Base and into her community’s ground water. *Elizabeth Gonzalez and Antonio Rodriguez will attend the festival.

VL (sort of) At The Cine: Alice In Wonderland Blu-ray/DVD

7:16 pm By BiancaLaureano · Arts · 2 Comments

2 Jun 2010

I’ll be the first to admit that I had no interest in seeing the latest Tim Burton film Alice In Wonderland in theaters because I already knew the story. I’m usually more excited to see a film whose storyline I have yet to see before (which is one of the reasons I have some diverse tastes in directors). Plus, after reading ProfSusurro’s amazing review of the film, why even try to write my own review? I mean ProfSusurro even did a two part review where she brought into the convo the SyFy Channel remake!

Starving for a DREAM : Interview with DREAM Faster Gabriel Martinez

2 Jun 2010

Earlier this morning, I wrote about a 72 hour fast that was being supported by some local non-profits and NYC politicos for comprehensive immigration reform and the DREAM Act.

But….

All my sources in D.C. tell me Comprehensive Immigration Reform is dead, so why all the fronting? Why the show for the media and why not support the students who have been risking deportation by putting their undocumented lives on the line through civil disobedience actions? Seems like there is a rift in the struggle. So today, instead of going downtown to where the politicians would be, I went to where the students were, 47th and 3rd Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. There 9 young people are camped out in front of Senator Biometric Chuck Schumer’s office on an indefinite fast demanding that he stop bs’ing and get to stepping on the DREAM Act.

One of the Starving for a DREAM activists, Gabriel Martinez, was nice enough to allow me to sit with him on the sidewalk and speak with me as traffic rushed past.

I will be adding a transcript after the video later.

VivirLatino

Archive for June, 2010

ICE Sees BP Oil Spill as an Opportunity to Flex Enforcement Muscle

Introducing: The Other Latina!

Stephany Flores Ramirez : The Dead Latina in the Missing Gringa’s Shadow?

Why Does it Feel Like too little too late with Elected Officials and Immigration?

Massachusetts Senate Goes the Way of Arizona

Update on Those Starving for a DREAM in NYC

Racial Profiling is Not a Reality Show or a Game Show

Youth Producing Change 2010: Human Rights Watch International Film Festival

VL (sort of) At The Cine: Alice In Wonderland Blu-ray/DVD

Starving for a DREAM : Interview with DREAM Faster Gabriel Martinez

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