Undocumented 9/11 Ground Zero Workers

[azmom]

http://drmactioncoalition.org/undocumented-911-workers-and-the-end-of-zadroga/#.VfMUSIZHarV

If you think about it, even briefly, it shouldn’t be surprising that undocumented immigrants were working at Ground Zero. It was an urgently needed construction project, and there were still too many people buried alive to bring in the heavy excavators that would certainly die under the weight of both the excavators and the rubble they moved: we desperately needed hands, and weren’t too picky about whom they belonged to. “They didn’t ask what our status was when we show showed up to clear the wreckage,” said Mauricio.

They didn’t ask us what our immigration status was, they just said that they needed help and a lot of it. You’d find people working 12 hour shifts to clear the wreckage and bodies. I brought my own mask because I was a licensed asbestos worker and asked my supervisor what filter to use. He told me to put the mask away, that the EPA had said the air was safe to breathe. I trusted him,” continued Avila.

In addition to the toxins, Ground Zero was a dangerous workplace: Mauricio fell, and now has several screws in his spinal column. Because of the environmental hazards the EPA failed to warn him of, he has laryngitis, asthma, severe stomach problems and sinusitis. He got off almost light compared to his wife, who has much of the above, as well as throat cancer. The nature of the work, toiling in 12 hour shifts in the burning wreckage of what once was familiar skyline to pull pieces of former neighbors out has affected him, and he now struggles with depression and has nightmares and trouble sleeping.

[yeoman6987]

1. I would imagine many workers are going through the same

It has to be an honor working on the building. I haven't visited it yet but hope to in time.