Retenes Policiacos en la Mision/Po'Lice Checkpoints in the Mission

Una reunion para luchar la criminalizacion de inmigrantes en San Francisco

A Townhall on the criminalizing of migrant peoples in San Francisco

Teresa Molina/PNN-Voces de inmigrantes en resistencia
Thursday, March 26, 2009;

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Miercoles 25 de Febrero, San Francisco- “Ya estamos cansados de que la policia nos paren y nos quite nuestros carros sin razon.”

Sin escusa, la policia municipal detienen y abusan a nuestra comunidad inmigrante con los retenes policiacos en la Mision para decomisar a algunos, la unica fuente de transporte que nos lleba a nuestro trabajo y a nuestro ninos a la escuela. Tambien estan tratando de criminalizar a nuestros jovenes sin darles la oportunidad de peliar su caso o ser cargados como menores de edad. En muchos casos, hemos reportado que la policia esta trabajando con la migra para deportar a nuestra juventud sin darles una oportunidad igual a la que le dan a los ciudadanos. Cuando la policia nos quitan nuestros carros, arrestan a nuestros hijos, y abusan de su poder, rompen a nuestras familias. Yo soy Teresa, mujer trabajadora y luchadora, madre de cinco hijos y reportera comunitaria de la Prensa Pobre que lucha contra abuso policiaco en comunidades de color local y global. El problema mas que nada es la descriminacion hacia las comunidades pobres de color.

Especifiquamente, mi comunidad latina estamos muy enojados por tanta mala fama que nos estan dando los medios de comunicaciones grandes. Nosotros no asemos mas que trabajar y buscar como mantener a nuestros hijos y pagar impuestos en este paiz para prosperar la economia. Nadie merese que la policia los detengan sin ninguna razon, a lo contrario, todos meresemos respeto.

Estubimos tratando de buscar soluciones para resolver esta crisis de familia que esta produciendo los retenes policiacos. Hubo una reunion comunitaria “townhall” el 25 de febrero a la 5 de la tarde en la escuela Horace Man en la calle 22 y Bartllet en la Mision. Fue patrocinada por como 30 organizaciones comunitarias. Entre las organizaciones presentes hubo la Raza Centro Legal, La Colectiva de Mujeres, el Comite de Vivienda San Pedro, Mujeres Unidas y Activas, Carecen y unos grupos de iglesias que luchan por los derechos de los imigrantes. En todo, heramos como 200 personas discutiendo el problema de acoso policiaco en la Mision, tratando de buscar soluciones. Con todo el apoyo que hubo presente en la reunion, nos sentiamos confiados en que ibamos a ser escuchados, y eso es lo que necesitamos. Con todo el temor en el que vivimos, de ser detenidos, de ser arrestados, de que nos quiten el carro, de que trabajamos y trabajamos y nunca nos alcansa el dinero, de que la sociedad nos considera terroristas, la lista nunca acaba… el punto es de que a veces todos estos temores nos quitan el fuego que necesitamos para luchar para una mejor vida en este pais, y peor que todo, nos pone en nuestra mente la mentira que no meresemos vivir en mejor condiciones. Pero el hecho de saber que tenemos el apoyo de organizaciones y de la comunidad nos ase fuertes y nos da la esperansa de que pronto bamos a tener respuestas positivas y bamos a salir triunfantes y ganadores.

Mi testimonio fue entre los muchos testimonios que todos oimos esa noche, y fue asi.

Yo recuerdo un dia mi hija iba manejando conmigo, y mis otros hijos sintiendose muy confiada porque todo estaba bien. Su aseguransza, su licencia, y sus placas todo bien a simple bista, cuando de repente de un Rincon sale una patrulla y nos para. Ibamos mi hija, mi nieta, mi hijo y yo. Era un dia como estos dias llubiosos y frios. Mi nieta solo tenia 2anos y mi hijo solo 7 anos. Ellos estaban vien asustados, sus ojitos engrandecieron de panico, y llorando desesperadamente. Mi hijo Marcos gritaba, “Por que nos queiren cuitar el carro?”

“Esta haciendo mucho frio… y la casa queda muy lejos de aqui.”

El policia no encontro ninguna razon para poner un tiket. Solo queria demostrar su poder y invento que la silla de mi nieta no era la adecuada. Por esa razon, y solo esa razon, nos quito el carro y nos dijo que tenia que rebisar el carro porque tenia sospecha de que teniamos drogas.

“Se miran muy nerviosos.” Nos dijo el policia. “Por que? Hay una razon por que estan nerviosos.”

La verdad es que no estabamos nerviosos a ese punto, estabamos enojados. Como ibamos traer drogas cuando tenemos ninos en nuestro carro? Es ilogico. Que tipo de personas nos creian. Nos mando ala casa caminando con lluvia y frio no le importo. Cuando entrego el carro en el corralon , no entrego las llaves la policia. Al otro dia que fue mi hija por el carro no abia llaves, y tubo que esperar 4 dias porque la policia tenia 4 dias off. Por ultimo tubo que mandar aser una llave de 80 dolares y pagar la sacada del carro.

Hubieron muchos testimonios parecidos a el mio y de mi hija y la injusticia fue obia. Aunque esta noche fue solo un paso para cambiar esta injusta realidad, yo se que siempre vamos a seguir luchando hasta tener las respuestas que meresemos. No nos venseran nunca y lucharemos hasta la victoria siempre…

Engles Sigue

Wednesday February 25, SAN FRANCISCO-
“We are tired of the police taking away our cars for no reason.”

Without any good excuse, the SFPD detains and abuses our Raza community with police checkpoints in the Mission District that racially profile and take away the only source of transportation that takes us to work and our children to school. They are also trying to criminalize our youth by arresting them and deporting them without giving them the opportunity to be held as minors. When the police take away our vehicles, arrest our kids, and abuse their power, they tear apart our families and our community.

I am Teresa, migrant struggling mother of five, struggling everyday to survive and community reporter with POOR Magazine who fights against police brutality on communities of color living in poverty locally and globally. Specifically, my community and I are very angry for all the bad rep that corporate media is giving us. We work and find ways to survive, all while raising children and paying taxes to this country. Nobody deserves the police pulling them over for no reason, on the contrary, we all deserve to be respected.

We were trying to find ways to resolve this crisis that police checkpoints in the Mission are causing. There was a community townhall meeting on the 25th of February at five in the afternoon at Horace Mann Middle School on 22nd and Bartlett in the Mission District. About thirty community organizations were present at this meeting, among them La Raza Centro Legal, Mujeres Unidas y Activas, CARECEN and a few religious groups that fight for immigrants rights. In total, we were about two hundred people discussing the racial profiling issue in the Mission, and trying to find solutions. With all the support that was present at the reunion, we felt confident that our voices would be heard, and that is what we need. With all the fear with which we live, the fear of being detained, arrested, the fear of having our cars decommissioned, the fear of never having enough money to survive, the constant fear of being considered terrorists by society, the list never ends… the point is that sometimes all these fears take away the fire that we need in our hearts to fight for a better life in this country, and worst of all, it imposes a defeatist mentality that internally perpetuates the lie that we don’t deserve to live in better conditions. The fact that we know that we have the support of organizations and the community makes us strong and gives us hope that soon we will have positive answers and we will see a better day.

My testimony was amongst the many testimonies that were heard that night, and it went like this.

I remember one day my daughter was driving me and my other children back from school feeling worry-free, because everything was going well. Her insurance papers, her license, and plates we’re all legit. Suddenly out of an alley a squad car peels out and stops us. Riding in the car was my daughter, my granddaughter, my son and I, one happy family. It was a cold day and I can remember hearing the rain beat down hard on the roof of the car. My granddaughter was only two years old and my son was only seven. They were very scared, their eyes grew big with panic and then they began crying from their desperation. I could still hear my son Marcos scream.

“Why do they want to take our car away?”

“It’s too cold and we’re too far away from home!”

The cop didn’t find any good reason to give us a ticket. He still just wanted to flex his power and he wrote us up for not having an adequate child seat for my granddaughter. For that reason, and only that reason, he commanded us to get out of the car and told us that he was going to search the car because he suspected we were smuggling drugs.

“You look really nervous.” The cop said. “Why? Is there a reason why you are so nervous.”

The truth is that we weren’t nervous at that point, we were mad.

Why would he think we were smuggling drugs? We had our kids with us. What kind of people did he think we were. And just like that, the police sent my son, my daughter, my granddaughter and I marching home, in the rain, for no reason. Worst of all, when the cop turned the car into the impound, he didn’t turn in the keys. When my daughter went to go pick her car up, there were no keys waiting for her and she had to wait four days because it was a long weekend. Finally, she had to have the key remade which cost her $80, and she had to pay everyday that the car was in the pound.

There were many testimonies that night as bad as ours, or worse and the injustice perpetuated by the police was obvious. Although this night was just one step to change this unfair reality, I know that we will keep fighting until we see the results that we deserve. They will never defeat us and we will fight until victory, forever…