It’s All About Business in COVID-19, but Who Is Really Being Left Out?
By Andy Damian-Correa
Every day, I get up at 10:00 a.m. I go to the gym and train. Breakfast is a few fried eggs with coffee, which I sometimes accompany with beans and rice. I am working in the middle of a pandemic, using public transportation, the time is about 2:30 p.m. The option to stay home is not available to me.
The last few days have been very intense and I am no longer drawing in my sleep. I woke up to an orange sky during CA wildfires in which I thought that COVID-19 had killed me. I walked towards the window and saw an orange mist. The image reminded me of an eclipse and an old memory of when I was in Cancun, Mexico, in my teenage years.
On Thursday, I went to work for a few hours, and on my way, I decided to go down 24th Mission St, an essential Latin neighborhood in San Francisco. The district is one of my favorites in the city because it connects me with the Latin wave and Mexico. Some Yucatan countrymen work tirelessly day to day, regardless of risking their lives during a global health crisis.
Many sectors of the country have not been able to overcome this crisis. The government does not understand that the people have debts, that they cannot wait, and the government becomes blind to the people’s problem.
I walk five city blocks to work, and each time I see how Hispanic people fighting for jobs that were invented by Hispanics. Many stores sell food, souvenirs, beauty products, and second-hand clothes trying to get by because this administration’s government does not support them.
I still see a country of racism mixed with few opportunities for immigrants, who seek a better quality of life. It is clear that the white house and its president does not see it that way. Latinos are worth more in this country, and we need to be treated the same because we pay taxes like every other resident. There should be no place or space for people who think that we should be second-class citizens.
Why do I see immigrants paying taxes on their checks? Because the government requires us all to pay taxes, but not everyone gets the benefit they deserve. We have to continue to demand equal rights at all levels because Latinos have shown that they are a significant part of this country and economy. We’re all on the same boat, and if it sinks, we all sink.
Several things have been learned after eight months of COVID-19. The most disappointing factor is how the federal government cannot meet the needs of all Americans. What matters most to the government is the income of large corporations and not the lives of its everyday people.
The president lied to us when he knew the severity of the pandemic. I hope his ineptitude is rejected in the next election on Nov 3 and I hope that voters will fill the box with repugnance to a careless president.
The administration’s actions have changed my work and my life is no longer like before. My new normal is anxiety-ridden with moments of depression, sprinkled with angry customers, and an unknowing future. It seems to me that the American Dream is dying every day in our faces as I work as a restaurant manager and a full-time student.