Tuesday, April 26, 2005

Hard working immigrants

Watching the news today I saw that two men died in an accident where a car fleeing from police in Minneapolis crashed into them. The men were from Ecuador. One of the comments from a friend interviewed about their death was something to the effect that one of the two men was working two full time jobs to support his wife and 2? kids, and to send money back to Ecuador. I don't want to undersell the tragic loss these families are experiencing, as I am sure it is enormous. But what was triggered in my mind by this was a whole chain of thoughts about how hard working many Central and South American immigrants are, specifically those I work with at Red Lobster. The majority of our night time staff in our kitchen, prep, and dish areas are Central and South American. Some are pretty new to the country, many have been here 5-10 years. Most speak passable English (which is more than I can say about my Spanish). Many of them work 2 or 3 jobs. Almost every waking moment of thier lives is spent building the hope of a better tomorrow. They often work harder than any "American" would in the same job at the same place. They complain far less than their peers, and they almost never miss a shift or show up late. I enjoy working with them, and I think their work ethic is a blessing to me. Many have stories of great hardship they have overcome in just getting to the USA. I think we as Americans take a lot for granted, our jobs, being close to family, and safty to name just a few. Please keep these families in your prayers, and praise God for what you do have.

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