Most, if not all, of us have been in an airport
at some point in our lives. We see different things, different people, but do
we ever pay attention to them? Not so much. This blog is dedicated to a group
of people that we not only haven't noticed, but many times we have discriminated
against...... The Latino Community in airports!
WHO ARE THEY?
First we need to start
by knowing them. Latinos are a beautiful group of people that live in the U.S.
and come from a Hispanic background. Most of them shine because of
their enthusiasm and hardworking spirit. In the U.S.
the Latino population in the U.S. "constituted
16.3 percent of the nation's total population" as stated for
the government's census in 2011. In a little more detailed way, Fox
News Latino stated that the Hispanic population is not anymore a minority, but
a majority in 28 major U.S. cities, and that in the past decade, "Latinos made up 15.2 million of the 27.3 million new
residents".
Now to the point, what
about the ones we see in airports? This is a special blog that tries to show
you guys that all the stereotypes that society has put into our minds
is not true.
Read more: http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2011/06/01/hispanics-majority-28-major-cities/#ixzz1sFWJWMYg
WHAT DO THEY DO?
Latinos in airports are
seen as the people who take the bags, the ones who clean the bathrooms, the
ones that take the garbage out i.e. the ones that would take the jobs that
almost nobody would do because they are undocumented. There are three things
to fight against here. First of all undocumented people are not bad, most of
them are people that had to stay illegally because they found better
opportunities in this country, but this is not a political blog so we won't
discuss this topic. Second of all, there is not a 'not good enough job' because
every single job has its own purpose and if a job exists, it's because it's
needed. All jobs are and need to be respected. And the last thing I want to add
is that yes there are a lot of people, who have these jobs, and yes most of
them are Latinos, but this doesn't mean that every Latino/a you see has this
job. Have you seen the pilots at the airports? Guess what, there are a lot of
Latino pilots out there. There is even an association called "Hispanic
Professional Pilots Association" where these guys get trained and educated
to be the best pilots of the country. Have you seen the people that you
fly with? Open your eyes and one of these days you'll see yourself flying
next to beautiful famous Latinas such as Shakira, Selena Gomez, Salma Hayek, Zoe Saldana, Eva Longoria,Gloria Estefan, Michelle Rodriguez, Christina Aguilera or Natalie
Morales. You didn't know they were Latinas? Or, what about incredible men such
as Tony Gonzales, Mark Anthony, Ricky Martin, Alex Rodriguez, Fat Joe or George
Lopez? Yes they are all Latinos and traveling you find them in airports
as easily as you find stewards.
THE PROBLEM
What is the
problem? Easy: stereotypes. We have been taught a series of stereotypes that
the society has established that instead of helping us understand our community
it’s taking us to discriminate others. Not just because some Colombian people
decided to deal drugs does that mean every single Colombian –like Luisa- is a
drug dealer. Not because some have caused a lot of harm means that every
Latino/a could be a terrorist. Not because your skin has a different color and
your accent is not the same as everybody else, does it mean that you are not a
good person. Stereotypes only help us to misunderstand the people around us.
This is why there are so many families trying to forget their Latino heritage,
trying to name their children with American names so they don’t suffer
discrimination. Try not judging people for what they look like and instead give
them the chance to show you who they are.
THE CHANGE
With the help
of people and movements such as “100 Latinos –a Journey of Success” in Miami
things are changing. The beautiful project that’s taking place in “Miami
International Airport” is all about highlighting Latinos from Florida who were
successful in their lives. Its purpose: Showing good examples of discipline and
commitment. Other airports such as the AMAC are also celebrating Hispanic
Heritage month in September in order to recognize the Hispanic community –in
which Latinos are included- and this is helping to expand businesses.
Thank you
everybody for being interested in this topic showing interest in this topic. We
hope that in case you viewed the Latino community negatively prior to this
presentation, your views have now changed. Latinos are humans like everybody
else and deserve our respect just as any other person does.
