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February 21, 2004
Si…! Undocumented
folks are between a rock and a HARD
PLACE!
By Ricardo
Castañon/HispanicVista.com
The majority of
undocumented immigrants in the land, are
uneducated farmers and crop-growers.
Their hopes for opportunity are as big as
their hearts. However, the rather
sudden change from their warm southern
villages to these latitudes often takes a
toll on their health. Here, they
find themselves unprotected for the
bitter winter and before a very different
variety of foods (not in vain
called “junk-foods”). This
combination of facts aggravates their
overall uncertain future.
PARTIAL SOLUTION
Because of
ever-increasing demand, some of today’s
supermarkets are beginning to import food
products from Latin-American countries.
Even the “corner” grocery store
in predominantly Hispanic neighborhoods
now has some recognizable brands.
Hispanic women master the ability to make
the most with very little. They know
quite well, that the way to their men’s
hearts is through their palates. Therefore
the first aspect of their problem is in
good hands.
LEGAL OBSTACLES
However, the Drug
and Food Administration and the
multimillion-dollar pharmaceutical
industry in this country are not about to
let private enterprises import
Latin-American brand drugs. Nor will the
Surgeon General allow medical doctors to
prescribe them. The current sky-high cost
of medications, fees and overall medical
treatment, make it impossible for the
average laborer to provide these
necessary commodities for his family.
Even over-the-counter --and to them
unknown remedies-- are out of their
reach. Health insurance companies require
data undocumented people don’t have,
or would not provide for fear of
deportation. What are they to do?
COMMON PROBLEM
This is a very real
and a very human problem. We have to
admit that society at large benefit from
the presence of these people. In their
very silent way, they contribute to our
economy in many ways. Can’t we, in
turn, through our local communities,
provide a solution to this health and
socioeconomic problem?
DEMAGOGY
There is talk about
a Three-year (non-renewable) Guest-worker
program that will allow the wage earner
to pay into a retirement system. If
lawmakers are talking about the Social
Security Administration (SSA), --I
seriously doubt they mean any 401(k)
program-- then, they are making false
promises because we know it takes at
least TEN YEARS of coverage (forty
quarters) to become insured. Then again,
the SSA might go broke within the next
ten years…ha, ha, ha!
BLACK MARKET
The sad side of the
story though, is that the law of “supply
and demand” has triggered a
black-market for unauthorized
medicaments. This contraband has become
among undocumented immigrants, a
necessary evil. Those merchants, who sell
it under-the-counter, do not have the
knowledge or training to recommend a
given product. All they have in mind is
to profit from the people in need. They
issue no receipt, they report no such
sales, and take no responsibility for the
use of the product sold. I cannot think
of a worse way to make a profit --to
benefit from human pain and suffering.
WAKE-UP CALL
Bringing the issue
to the attention of the general public in
print, may be the first step into a
solution for the problem. We are funny
creatures, we talk about these things,
but the topic is soon gone with the wind!
We see it in print though, and someone is
bound to come up with a constructive
idea, or more likely to offer a
counterpoint denying the whole thing! In
either case, we need to “put the
finger on the wound” literally, to
get legislators to work on a positive
approach to the problem. It affects us
all, citizens and non-citizens, legal
residents or not.
Verdad que… Si?
________________________________
Ricardo Castañón
is a bilingual essayist contributing
weekly columns to HispanicVista.com (www.hispanicvista.com)
He has authored an anthology of
motivational articles entitled “XXI
Century Nova Hispania” Book
information is at www.IkarosPress.com
Ricardo is based in El Paso, TX E-mail
him at Rico@IkarosPress.com
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