The sound of the empty streets contrasts with the loud noises from three or four weeks ago. In South Jersey it seems like people is calm facing the corona virus, even know that this is the second State with more cases. However, everyone think that the problem is in the North, the cities that are near to New York, the most affected city by the virus in the world. The Atlantic County, in the south, have 868 confirmed cases, far less than Bergen County that, in the north, have at the end of April 15.251 cases.
This situation has affected specially to the more vulnerable communities, like the Latins and Hispanics. According to the New Jersey Department of Health, 29,5% of the positive cases were Latin people. This numbers are high, keeping in mind that the Latin community in this State represents the 20% of the population. With the measures of the governor Murphy, many people have lost their job or at the very last, their income has decreased.
That is the case of Hortencia Torres, she is an undocumented immigrant from Mexico. With her husband, she worked cleaning houses. Now, she is almost everyday in her house, “I did not have a time of rest like this since I was in Mexico, and actually, that was the reason we decided to come here, because there we did not have work”, said Torres.
In a poll made by the Pew Center, they found that 65% of the Latin community feel this pandemic as a big risk for the health. Also, half of the Latin people interviewed have seen their economic situation in risk due to the corona virus; this in comparison of the 34% of Americans that answered the same.
Nevertheless, Hortencia and her husband did not lose their job overnight. The decided not to work, because the are afraid to get the virus. “Sometimes I work, but just when the house we have to clean is empty, if there are people, then I prefer no to go”, said Torres.
These hard times, she said, are going to get over, thanks to her savings and the solidarity of the people that she works for. “Many of my bosses have called me and ask me if I am okay and then they ask me if I want to work. So, sometimes I think they offer me the job, just because they are worry for me, but not because they really need their house clean”, commented Torres, who is arriving home after a day of work cleaning a house of the beach that was completely alone.
According to the investigation center Prosperity Now Scorecard, a white family can perceive an annual income of 352,070, while a Latin family just get 5,900 dollars. That gap can get increased during these times, where is possible that the white families preserve their job working from home, but the Latin people just lose their job.
Bert López, the president of the Hispanic Association in Atlantic City, explains that from his point of view the Governor is not doing enough to solve the problem. “Yes, the Governor said that a landlord cannot kick you out if you do not have for the rent, but then there is no help to pay all the months that you cannot cancel”, said López.
Nevertheless, not everyone has lost their job. Those who work in essential jobs, are still working. That is the case of Gloria Diaz, an undocumented Colombian immigrant that works in a place that produces cleaning and cooking items. She decided to keep working, because without that income she cannot keep her life here in the US. Because she does not have valid documents, she cannot apply for the unemployment help that the state provides.
However, the case of Gloria is interesting, because due to the corona virus, her income has increased. “Many people in the company have decided left the job, they are afraid of the virus, so now the company is giving us overtime and they are paying one dollar more”, explain Díaz.
For those who the reality is worse, different civil organizations have organized activities to provide them food. The Hispanic Association of Atlantic City and El Pueblo Unido, worked together to apply for a grant of 40,000 dollars, that allow them to buy food for 500 families. “People started to stand in the line since the 7am, even know that we began the distribution at noon”, affirmed López.
The second round of free food is program to be in May 5th. “I can speak for my community and I can say you, people are joining for the more vulnerable ones. That is why this community is beautiful”, sentenced López.