| Written by Maria Elena Salinas |
| Monday, January 07 2002 |
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| For three and a half months, I went through the same ritual as many readers of The New York Times. Every morning, I went directly to a special section called "A Nation Challenged." There I found "Portraits of Grief," a touching look at the personal stories of people who died on the morning of Sept. 11. It's overwhelming to read, day after day, stories of those who lost an opportunity to fulfill their dreams and plans for the future. I think of their families and friends. Of the more than 3,000 children left orphaned and the nearly 10,000 more who lost one of their parents. I think of the widows and the parents who lost their kids. But I also think of those who died and never made it to The New York Times, and the families who are not receiving the aid they are entitled to because of technicalities or bureaucratic inefficiency.
Some didn't make it to The New York Times because they had no one to claim them or no one to tell their story. Many were immigrants working with false documents. Others were part of the underground economy of the World Trade Center: delivery boys; cleaning ladies; kitchen help. Many immigrants work for cash without leaving a trace of their existence. While most send money back home to their families, they don't always give them details of where they work. That's why it has been so difficult for the families of many immigrants who are believed to have died on that fateful day to claim the benefits they're entitled to.
Government officials promised that all the families of the victims would receive some kind of financial aid. But it has not turned out that way, for several reasons. In some cases, families of undocumented workers don't have a way to prove that their loved ones were victims of the terrorist attacks and are not always able to provide the documentation required to qualify for the aid. Others are simply too afraid to come forward for fear that they might be deported or might lose the opportunity to legalize their immigration status. This, despite assurances from immigration commissioner James Ziglar that legal status is not a requirement for receiving benefits. Another obstacle is the massive bureaucracy affecting hundreds of families regardless of their immigration status.
Such is the case of Grisselle Rodriguez, an American citizen of Puerto Rican descent. Her husband, Benito, worked for the American Express travel agency at the World Trade Center. When he would come home from work, he would take care of their two daughters, ages 6 and 8, while she worked as a nursing assistant. Mrs. Rodriguez has not been able to return to work and has lost insurance benefits for her children. Her husband's employer provided one month of his salary - about $2,400 - but she has not received a single cent from the more than $1.3 billion collected from private donations.
Rodriguez recently testified during a hearing in New York City Hall that while applying for financial aid, she has had to present her husband's death certificate, their marriage certificate and their daughters' birth certificates at least five times. Yet she still waits for the money.
On the morning of Sept. 11, more than 3,000 people suffered the same fate. Whether they were executive vice presidents or janitors, financial analysts or waiters, travel agents or delivery boys, students or flight attendants, that morning they all became victims of the worst terrorist attack in history. They were all human beings, regardless of their financial, social or immigration status. Their families should be treated as equals. The New York Times' "Portraits of Grief" put a face on the staggering number of victims of Sept. 11. Unfortunately, some of those stories might never be told, and their family members might become victims of a different kind. |
