OTRO SUEÑO FRUSTRADO

El sueño de Margarito, cualquiera que fuera, dejo de existir en Canadá. desafortunadamente murió al ser impactado por un automovilista en un camino cercano a las cataratas del Niagara.

Margarito era mexicano y laboraba en esa región como trabajador agricola temporal. Él como miles de mexicanos tuvo que trasladarse hasta ese País para buscar el sustento de su familia,
sustento que debió encontrarlo en su propio lugar de origen, pero las oportunidades para lograrlo es obvio que no las encontró.

Espero que las autoridades gubernamentales de ambos paises hagan lo que tengan que hacer para que su familia por lo menos reciba la correspondiente ayuda económica a la que por derecho le corresponda. Esto fue lo que la prensa de ese lugar publicó

Mexican worker dies on NOTL road; Death highlights need for better safety, transport measures for migrant workers, group says



Tuesday, May 15, 2007 - 01:00

Local News - Work at Mori Nurseries was interrupted Monday morning for a group prayer.

The solemn thoughts were in honour of a 37-year-old seasonal farm worker at the Niagara-on-the-Lake nursery who died a few hours earlier.

The man, a Mexican national, was walking in the middle of Niagara Stone Road near Airport Road just after 1:30 a.m., when he was hit by a car, police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver of the car, a 36-year-old St. Catharines man, was treated for minor injuries at St. Catharines General Hospital and released. "This morning, every group was brought together because they work in different locations," nursery owner Bill Mori said Monday. "They had a prayer with every group."

Eduardo Munoz, who operates a centre for migrant farm workers at the United Food and Commercial Workers office in Niagara-on-the-Lake, identified the man as Margarito Lopez.

He was walking home after visiting friends when the accident happened, Munoz said.

Lopez's identity has not been confirmed by police.

Munoz, who learned Lopez's name from one of the victim's co-workers, described him as a hard-working man who worried about his family back home in Mexico.

Munoz doesn't know how many children Lopez leaves behind.

Mori said many of his 150 seasonal workers want to send cards and set up a collection fund for the dead man's family, though he was not well-known among the others.

He arrived in Niagara-on-the-Lake in March for his first year of work at Mori's Line 1 operation, but it wasn't his first time working in Canada, Mori said.

A memorial service will be held for Lopez in June, Munoz said, "to remember the person and to give closure to things."

"Basically the role of the UFCW right now is try to provide some comfort to workers and make sure the family gets compensation," he said.

And also "keep pushing for some kind of resolution."

Each year, thousands of seasonal farm workers come to Ontario from the Caribbean and Mexico, working mostly on fruit, vegetable or tobacco farms and in greenhouses.

Last year, 15,576 made the trip. Roughly half were Mexican, according to Foreign Agricultural Resource Management Services.

Each year, road accidents in Ontario kill about four migrant farm workers, who get around in their spare time on foot and by bike, said Stan Raper, with the UFCW in Toronto.

This is the second time a seasonal worker employed by Mori has been killed in a road accident. Several years ago, a worker from Trinidad was killed on Niagara Stone Road - one day before his season at the nursery was to end.

The UFCW has joined with the Ontario Provincial Police and churches attended by seasonal workers, handing out bike- and road-safety brochures and reflector tape.

Munoz said the centre will try to orchestrate safety workshops this summer for seasonal workers in Niagara.

Still, both he and Raper said Lopez's death speaks to the need for better transportation options for the foreign people who toil in Ontario's orchards and fields nine months of the year.

Munoz added he would like to see a shuttle system set up for workers to use when they're off the clock.

"It's a lack of recognition of these people's liberties and rights to interact with the community," he said. "They'd go crazy just staying on the farm."

Niagara Regional Police continue to investigate and are asking anyone with information to call investigators at 905-688-4111, ext. 5500.

tmayer@stcatharinesstandard.ca
ID- 529456

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