"Lovable old coot" mine owner finally gets Spanish interpreter;keeps Hispanic families "sequestered"

[Bluebear]

"The face of this tragedy" according to CNN.
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...Sanchez's sister said Wednesday that relatives had not been given enough information about the rescue efforts, and that three Spanish-speaking families were not provided an interpreter in the first three days of the crisis.

"We've provided translators for the Hispanic families and crisis counselors," said Bob Murray, chairman of Murray Energy Corp., part-owner of the mine. "We've kept them sequestered and I feel we've administered to their needs very much."...

"The fact that half of the trapped workers are Latino tells us a lot about the mining industry," said Theresa Martinez, a sociologist at the university. "I would hope that people come to terms with the fact that we have fuel and energy because of those mines and that may be thanks to men and women who are considered illegal aliens."

Even with starting salaries as low as $8 an hour, Mexican miners are still sending thousands of dollars back home to pave streets and build church steeples through groups like one Lazalde named for his village. It is called the Club Santa Rosa.

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/08/09/ap4004875.html

[KharmaTrain]

1. The Tragedy Inside The Tragedy...

$8 an hour is like $500 an hour when you live in a village of poverty and little chance of any future. Taking the chance with coyotes and then walking across a desert just cause the desperation in Mexico is so bad that working in a cold, dark mine looks better than staying in a land or town their family has had roots to for generations. That says a lot, but it's a story that's rarely heard.

Unfortunately, for many the fact these people are Mexicans (we still don't know if they're legal or illegal) is sure to diminish the sympathy many people have towards the plight not only of the miners, but also their families. The anti-Mexican xenophobia out-trumps the human tragedy and can somehow legitimize the terrible conditions Murray put them in and how he exploited them and their families.

I'm willing to bet that if its found out that some of these minors were illegals, the corporate media will focus on the illegality vs. the human tragedy. They'll get Lou Doobies screaming this disaster could have been averted with a 50 foot electric fence, moat and crocodiles with oil and fire trenches beyond...and narry a word about Murray. But then we'll be back after this word from your friends at the American Coal Council...

[CTyankee]

2. Sick. TO. Death. of this guy. Get him outta my sight! n/t