wfn.org | UMCOR feeding Out-of-Work Migrants

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"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS" by SUSAN PEEK on Aug. 11, 1991 at 13:58 Eastern,
about FULL TEXT RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (3447 notes).

Note 3447 by UMNS on Feb. 20, 1997 at 15:59 Eastern (4959 characters).

SEARCH:  Florida, freeze, Bob Blair, UMCOR, migrants, farmworkers
Produced by United Methodist News Service, official news agency of
the United Methodist Church, with offices in Nashville, Tenn., New
York, and Washington.

CONTACT: Thomas S.McAnally                        93(10-71B){3447}
         Nashville, Tenn. (615) 742-5470             Feb. 20, 1997

NOTE:  Photo available to accompany this story.

United Methodists assisting migrant
workers hurt by freeze in Florida

by Bob Blair*

     HOMESTEAD, Fla. (UMNS) -- Out of work because of a disastrous
freeze that killed vegetable crops in this region one month
earlier, migrant workers and their families lined up Feb.18 for
the first day of assistance provided by Florida United Methodists
and about 20 other religious, volunteer and social-work
organizations.
     No one knows how many people will come to the aid
clearinghouse, housed in the Sacred Heart Catholic Church here. 
^From 20,000 to 40,000 migrant workers and their dependents are
estimated to be out of work because of the freeze in Dade 
County.  A large portion are illegal immigrants who dodge applying
for help that might be linked to deportation.  Next crops will not
be ready to harvest for at least another month.
     The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is lending
support and financial aid to the Florida United Methodist Annual 
Conference, which started a fund-raising effort for migrants
through the state's 722 United Methodist churches.
     The consortium of organizations is screening applicants based
on need and making referrals for food, rental assistance and other
forms of aid.  United Methodists are supplying bags of groceries
to feed a family for a week, plus diapers and baby formula. The
center will function from 2 to 7 p.m. each work day until the
emergency passes.
     On the first day, somber migrants quickly filed into the
auditorium, received a number at the door and quietly took seats
on metal folding chairs.  Table-like desks were lined in front of
them where the "committee" conducted individual interviews to
determine the extent of need.
     The auditorium was full with perhaps 300 people.  Some were
single but most were families of five or six people.  The
auditorium was quiet except for the cries of an infant.
     The numbered cards quickly reached 100, even before the
interviews started.  An announcement was made that all others with
higher numbers should return the next day.  As others arrived,
many in pickup trucks, they were politely invited to return the
next day.
     The state of Florida has opted not to seek federal disaster
aid for migrants through the Federal Emergency Management Agency,
although the governor requested and received help for the farm
owners through the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
     Working with the effort here is the Rev. Craig Nelson of
Miami, disaster response coordinator for Florida United
Methodists, who uses his fluent Spanish, learned while a
missionary kid in Costa Rica.
     He chatted with migrant families who came for help Feb. 18,
including Jose Hernandez; Margarita Sanchez; and children Jose and
Ricardo.
     Since the freeze, Hernandez has worked only a couple of days
helping scavenge the fields for vegetables that had not rotted. 
He was paid a couple of dollars a day.  Now they have exhausted
their savings and eligibility for unemployment assistance, and no
longer can send money back to Mexico to support his parents.
     Another family that shared its plight with Nelson was Estela
Salmeaon, who has three children in the United States and seven
children in the care of her mother in El Salvador.  She can no
longer send money home to support her children and her work permit
will expire next month.  She is faced with leaving the United
States but with no money for travel or food.
     Nelson breaths a sigh of relief that more people had not
appeared in the clearinghouse.  "We have more people here now than
we can effectively serve with the money currently available," he
said.  "I don't know where the money will come from to put food on
their tables next week."
     The Rev. Johanis Martin, who is pastor of a congregation of
200 Haitian farm workers in nearby Florida City, is also here to
help.  He has already provided 30 Haitian families with a week's
supply of food purchased with UMCOR funds. "The Haitians are
afraid to come here," he said, "but they will accept help from
their United Methodist Church."
     Those wishing to make a contribution to the migrant relief
effort in Florida may call UMCOR at (800) 554-8583.  Additional
information on UMCOR's worldwide relief activities may be found on
the Internet Web Site of UMCOR: http://gbgm-umc.org/divisions/ 
umcor.  Gifts should be designated Florida Freeze #901670-1.
                              #  #  #

     * Blair, a retired FEMA employee, is working as a volunteer
with UMCOR.

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