Tommy Ates

A 27-year-oldBlack man from Austin, Texas, trying to get a job, keep a job, and not go crazy. I love to write! I am determined to have a voice in this
insane world.

Please hit him at:
atesbodhi5@aol.com

While Enron was being Enron, all the flying paper (not from World Trade Center) nearly blinds everyone to the little told plight of indigent, migrant workers who have helped to the cleanup Ground Zero. Contractors to clean the site as well as the streets of downtown New York recruited many of the working-class laborers who worked alongside firemen and police. Even during the extreme sadness of the tragedy, business continued as usual, with many workers being stiffed into paying for over-priced merchandizes and workers were forced into working long hours.

Now, however, many of those unsung and unappreciated heroes and heroines are developing throat and lung ailments because to their exposure. Unfortunately, the Bush administration has not taken an active step in protecting these most vulnerable workers; luckily, New York State is attempting to accommodate their needs. Apparently the administration is taking a cue from Enron--accept the credit they didn't create and leave the voiceless-others holding the bag.

However, migrant workers are not alone in their plight, many downtown residents, firemen, and police officers are also suffering from ailments due to smoke and ash that permeated the air as the towers fell. Many of them are now on personal leave unable to work. The EPA declared that it was safe for residents and workers to return in less than a week. Could it be that they, another government agency, spoke too soon in the "Keep America Rolling" campaign (i.e. the Office of Homeland Security with the shoe bomber)? I hope not; there does not need to be more innocent victims post-Sept. 11, besides the Afghan people, and the hundreds of detained Arabic men. []