miércoles, marzo 23, 2005

SOLDADOS MEXICANOS MUERTOS EN IRAK

Al menos 22 mexicanos han muerto en las guerras de Irak y Afghanistán sirviendo para el ejército de Estados Unidos. Los mexicanos forman el mayor número de extranjeros en el ejército estadounidense y muchos de ellos han participado en los últimos dos años de "guerra". La mayoría de los mexicanos se enrolan en el ejército por razones económicas o para conseguir la nacionalidad estadounidense.

"En época de guerra, los extranjeros con permiso de residencia sólo necesitan servir en el ejército con integridad para conseguir su ciudadanía [...] Pero claro, también tienen que sobrevivir".




Estos soldados llegan tras su muerte a México, donde son enterrados por unas familias que en muchas ocasiones han estado en contra de la guerra. Una historia muy triste de la inmigración mexicana.

Aquí va sólo una muestra, recogida por el International Herald Tribune:

Jesús Suárez del Solar, who was eligible for a residency permit but not citizenship, wanted to be a Tijuana police officer and fight drug traffickers. A recruiter convinced him that after a stint as a marine he could easily be hired by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, his father said.
.
The family moved to Lomita, California, and after four years of high school, during which he received weekly calls from the recruiter, Jesús signed up. Part of his motivation was to become a U.S. citizen, his father said.
.
"When he got out of boot camp, he called me and said, 'Papa, now I'm a marine, but I made a mistake,"' the father said. "I don't want any of my cousins to go into the army. There is a lot of discrimination here."
.
Jesús, a lance corporal, 20, was killed by fragments from a U.S. cluster bomb on March 27, 2003, near Nasiriya, in the initial offensive to occupy Iraq. He left his widow, Marlene Zaragoza, and their infant son in Escondido, California.
.
"The recruitment system really goes after the Hispanic community," the father said. "A lot of Hispanics are born in Mexico but live in the United States and don't have citizenship.
.
"They see a good option in the army to get papers, to get citizenship more quickly, and one thing the recruiters say often is that military service will make it easier for them to become accepted in society."
.