August 28-September 3, 2003

mailbag

Letters to the Editor

by the Readers

Immigrant Song

(Re: "Missing the Boat," Daniel Brook, Aug. 21, 2003)

As an unemployed black man in a city that has high unemployment for black people, I find it difficult to welcome someone who comes into this country illegally in order to steal a job opportunity away from myself and my people. Every immigrant who has a job has it at the expense of a black American who doesn't have that job.

Black people have paid some heavy dues in this country. Hell, we built it with slave labor. To have the fruit of that labor stolen by someone who has paid no dues is poor social policy. You give an example of a person who came to America illegally because people with education could not find work in his country. Well, guess what? People with education can't find work here, now!

James Morton
Philadelphia

I am an immigrant who has lived in Philly since 1983. My country of origin is Venezuela but that doesn't matter. What matters is that Philly has always been a city where immigrants, or anyone who is different, have been treated with contempt and outright disdain and discrimination.

In the last 20 years, this city has gotten worse, not better. There is a lot of distrust and indifference toward the issues that affect immigrants, things like access to health care, civil rights and just plain walking down the street without being harassed.

Philadelphia must start realizing that the tide of immigration coming its way is unstoppable. No matter how many barriers you put up, we are going to continue to populate its borders. It is a nice, affordable city and there is a future here, unlike New York or Los Angeles.

We are not going to take your jobs. We got plenty of other things we do that you refuse to do. We clean toilets, bus tables, deliver goods, lift the heavy boxes, etc. If Puerto Ricans, Italians, Irish and African Americans were to accept this fact, this city would be much better off. We are bringing you more culture, more labor, more money and more cuisine. Wake up people, this is a good thing.

Ramon Martinez
Philadelphia

Moro Controversy

[A recent] restaurant review by Elisa Ludwig ["Grupo Fiesta," Aug. 14, 2003] left me with a bad taste in my mouth. In her review of Sabor Latino she states, "I sampled the moro, the politically incorrect term for rice cooked with black beans." Unfortunately, Ludwig is ignorant of the origins of the name of this dish. It comes from "Morros y Cristianos," which literally means Moors and Christians, Moors being the beans for their brown skin and Christians being the white rice for their white skin. It is a fact of life that Latinos are many different skin colors and naming things as they appear is not a matter of "political correctness." Latinos do not share the American obsession with race and color as we are almost all of mixed background. Perhaps Ms. Ludwig should stick to reviews of food and not culture.

Cynthia Fernandez-Romano
Philadelphia