A memorial for Sebastian Francsico Perez, a Guatemalan man who died working in the fields in St.Paul, Oregon one week ago, when temperatures reached 104°F
An indigenous woman gives a blessing before beginning
A priest gives a blessing, he says Sebastian Francisco Perez “came to this country with dreams”
“Ay ay ay Pueblo no llores”
Lauro Mendoza “Every farm worker should have shade and water”
Gathers sing “Himno Al Immigrante”
“He got to Oregon on May 5, just a couple months ago” says Reyna Lopez ,”He was one of us”
“We’ve shown up during a global pandemic,
We’ve shown up during wildfires,
We’ve shown up during ice storms,
And now, through excessive heat.
And there is still nothing tangible for our communities” says Isa Peña
“We’ve been asking Oregon OSHA to adopt emergency rules since March, since March!
And *now* that someone has died they want to take action against extreme heat?
That is an injustice!” says Ira cuello-martinez
A roll call, like the ones laborers go through before harvest
“Sebastian Francsico Perez”
“Presente”
A second memorial in Portland, Oregon:
The mother and the wife of Sebastian Francsico Perez are watching from a live stream.
Romeo Sosa dedicates a prayer to them:
“Oración del campesino en la lucha”/ “Prayer of the Farm workers struggle” by César Chávez
"Lo que le pasó a Sebastián podría haberse evitado, y fue simplemente negligente,
exigimos un cambio ya”
“What happened to Sebastian could have been prevented, and it was simply negligent.
We demand change now.”
“We are angry, this keeps happening in our community” Says Tony DeFalco, executive director of Latino Network,
“Failure by the state to enact protective regulations,
failure to enact farm worker overtime,
failure to enact hazard pay,
results in state sanctioned murder.”
This is the front lawn of Guatemalan honorary consul Marta Guembes Herrera,
She’s on the phone with the mother of Sebastian Francsico Perez
She holds the mic up to the phone so the mother can address the crowd
“Thank you for supporting my son.”
“Sebastian was Guatemalan, I’m Guatemalan, that’s why I’m here.
He died working in the extreme heat.
Bosses should never put their employees at risk like that.
The Governments must take action“ says Romeo Sosa
“if you would like to support Sebastian we have a go fund me page for his family.”
That gofund me page can be found here: gofundme.com/f/support-seba…
Share this Scrolly Tale with your friends.
A Scrolly Tale is a new way to read Twitter threads with a more visually immersive experience.
Discover more beautiful Scrolly Tales like this.