While holding flowers and wearing construction hats and yellow or orange vests, Maryland construction workers on Friday honored their peers who died when Baltimore’s Key Bridge collapsed this week.
After praying for healing and safety, the community workers, some of whom are members of the immigrant rights group CASA, recalled some of the dangers they have experienced in their jobs.
They described the risks they face every day simply by going to work, and considered that it could have been them repairing potholes on the bridge when the Dali cargo ship struck it.
Standing in solidarity with the six workers who died in the incident, the group called on federal lawmakers to honor the lost lives by “providing substantive relief that recognizes their sacrifices to this country, with work permits, and temporary protected status,” CASA said in a news release.
“Here, we are reminded once again about the enormous contribution that the immigrants make to this country,” said Gustavo Torres, CASA’s executive director. “We build this country.”
Two of the construction workers whose bodies have yet to be recovered, Miguel Luna and Maynor Yassir Suazo Sandoval, were CASA members, the organization previously said. Recovery efforts are still underway to find the remaining four who were also on the bridge at the time of the collapse.
At Friday’s news conference, many workers described the risks they’re faced with and injuries they’ve experienced.
Darwin Orlando Lopez, for one, has been in the U.S. for 21 years. As a construction worker, he remodels houses and offices.
“In my work as a construction worker, I face danger,” Lopez said through a translator.
Lopez said he once fell through a roof.
“This great danger has caused me physical pain, including a fracture in my arm,” Lopez said.
Erica Aleman, meanwhile, said through a translator that she’s a single mother with two kids, so the job is essential for supporting her family.
“It’s such a weight that all of us face when we leave for work very early in the morning,” Aleman said. “We don’t know what will happen.”
Victoriano Almendares, a construction worker and CASA member, said he has two discs fractured in his back and continues to battle with his health.
A Maryland nonprofit has raised almost $100,000 on GoFundMe for the families of the victims in the incident. State Del. Joseline Peña-Melnyk said Gov. Wes Moore and other federal and state officials are working to offer their support, too.
Efforts are also underway to provide relief for the thousands of workers who haven’t been able to do their jobs since Tuesday because of the port closure.
“I want to tell you with all my heart that we are with you,” Peña-Melnyk told the workers. “With time, we will find a way to honor your loved ones, because immigrants are the gas to this country. We are the people that build bridges, that take care of our roads, take care of our systems, every system in society.”
Torres, CASA’s executive director, said he’s been communicating with the families impacted by the collapse. They’re focused on finding their loved ones’ bodies, he said, so “they can send the bodies to the country of origin.”
“Emotionally, they are in pain,” Torres said. “They are suffering tremendously.”
One of the largest cranes on the Eastern Seaboard arrived in Baltimore on Friday to help crews clean up debris. Officials have said that step should help their recovery efforts.
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