They came to the United States in search of a better life. In the middle of the night they found work filling potholes on a bridge and ended up dead at the port. Baltimore.
Six victims of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse These were migrants from Mexico and Central America.who were doing the grueling work that many foreigners undertake when a container ship crashed into a support column early Tuesday morning, sending them plummeting into the icy Patapsco River.
The next day, Divers recovered the bodies Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes and Dorlian Castillo about a red truck 7 meters underwater.
Four missing, presumed dead: Honduran Maynor Suazo, Guatemalan Jose Lopez, Salvadoran Miguel Luna and one more, whose name has not been disclosed. Two other workers were rescued.
The news quickly spread throughout Baltimore’s Latino community. the size of which has almost doubled in recent yearstransforming modest blocks of townhouses next to a sprawling port complex.
Churches held vigils for missing workers and human rights groups They quickly raised $98 thousand for the families of the victims.
Some said that They were not surprised that all the victims were migrantsalthough they make up less than 10% of the population of Maryland’s largest city.
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“One of the reasons why Hispanics were involved in this accident is because Latinos do the work that others don’t want to do.said Lucia Islas, president of the Baltimore Latino Committee, a nonprofit group.
Hispanic workers are more likely than other racial and ethnic groups to die at workConstruction is a particularly dangerous sector, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Government and industry data show that Hispanics are overrepresented in high-risk jobs: 51% construction workers, 34% slaughterhouse workers and 61% gardeners.
Key Bridge workers were hired by local construction company Brawner Builders Inc, which completed extensive work for the state and cited seven times since 2018 for security violations. The company said it was devastated by the loss and declined to comment when contacted. Reuters.
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Community leaders said many Hispanics in the city take low-paying jobs that offer no benefits.
“A lot of people don’t appreciate our Latino community. They think we are animals or they think we live off the government.. But that’s not true, we also pay taxes,” said Carlos Crespo, 53, a Mexican mechanic. (RTS)
Source: Aristegui Noticias
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