Who are those guys standing around on El Camino waiting for drivers to hire them? Why did they come to the U.S. and what kind of lives are they leading here in the midpeninsula? Those questions and more will be answered in a media project unfolding at the Day Worker Center of Mountain View.
A collaboration between the Media Center and the Day Worker Center was made possible by a grant from the Silicon Valley Community Foundation. The day workers have been videotaping interviews with each other to create a piece that will describe themselves to the community-at-large. The Media Center has provided training and editing support. When it is finished - in about a month - there will be a number of presentations at local high schools and colleges, and day workers will be on hand for follow up Q&A. If you are part of a church or community group that might be interested in a presentation, please let us know. In this time when immigration reform is high on the government agenda, it is important that we hear the voices of these job-seeking emigrants from Mexico and Central America.
In addition to the video, the workers are now blogging on a newly created web site. The Spanish blogs will soon be translated into English while other entries are written in English by local folks who volunteer at the center. The center just recently opened on Escuela St. in Mountain View. After years of renting out rooms in various churches, the Day Worker Center now owns its own building. During the day, when workers are not hired for jobs, they attend English classes and sometimes do community service projects.
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