Al Dia’s Nice Profile Of Me, Translated!

Many of you have seen my mug shot that appeared on the cover of Al Dia.

The article was a very flattering profile of me, my life and my work. I spoke with Adriana Arvizo on the phone a couple of times for a total of about 2 hours before the article came out. You can get a lot from a person in that much time. Good stuff, bad stuff, verbal accidents and poorly turned phrases, which I often do when I am nervous.

I stayed awake that night worrying about how something that I said might not come across as clearly on the printed page.

Ms. Arviso is a good interviewer. She made me feel very comfortable during our discussion even though we were having some small challenges with the language barrier.

When I read the article I was blown away. Arviso brought forward things that are essential to who I am. I am proud of the person in the article, though I know the real human being has many faults.

Looking back at my month and a half or so of being the coordinator of Reform Immigration for America, I will say that the Latino and immigration rights movement differs notably from the labor movement in that they really support their leaders.

Ali Kronley, brought together an amazing and strong coalition. This coalition embraced me and it is great to work with all of them.

Here is my rough translation of Emily’s translation of the article (you can download the original here)

He lives for the fight, but he is not a boxer or a wrestler. For the last 16 years he has been on the front lines of the battle to improve the lives of the unprotected.

At an young age, he fought to lift up his co-worers in the mines of Arizona.

Fabricio was born in Albuquerque, NM, his mother was American Indian and his father was an undocumented immigrant from Ecuador for 30 years.

“We moved to Arizona so that my father could work in the mine. I was not a very good student and I dropped out of school and my father got me a job in the mine,” he recalled.

He worked in the mines for six years. At one mine the workers had no right to take a lunch break or to wash their hands. This experience was fundamental to putting Fabricio on his professional path. This past week, he was named the coordinator of Reform Immigration for America in Philadelphia. “This was the spark that drove me to fight.”

Rodriguez decided to return to school in 2003 and was awarded a degree in Economic from Arizona State University.

After finishing school, he moved to Philadelphia and until last December worked as the Executive Director of Jobs with Justice.

“I like this city because it is the birth place of American democracy, that spirit continues today. If you sit at City Hall any day of the week, eventually you will see a protest go by.”

“The city is like a hungry dog. You cannot let go of the leash (I said, “We lean at our leash,” but thats a little tough to translate).”

Before he decided to battle for immigration reform, he fought to improve the conditions of low-waged, security guards.

A few weeks ago, th activist traveled to Arizona to protest against Arizona SB 1070. He said “Things are hot down there.” (!?)

“I went to go and see those activists but I did not fear for my safety I am only afraid of loosing. But if you loose, it only means that you have to find a better way to organize.”

Organizing protests, mobilizing the masses, is a great responsibility especially when talking about such extreme measures as civil disobedience.

This defender of justice is optimistic, he said, “History is on our side.”

“My vision is of a fair country, a place moving toward greater diversity. In the past women could not vote and African-Americans we not even considered people.”