SEATTLE (AP) — Suely Ngouy came to the United States as a refugee from war-ravaged Cambodia 20 years ago. Her family struggled to adjust to a new home and new language, and endured what they said were unfair labor conditions.
With that history in mind, Miss Ngouy said she would board a bus yesterday, joining some 900 others on a cross-country ride to raise awareness about illegal immigrants and labor issues in the United States.
“I understand what it’s like to be an immigrant struggling with a new culture and new language and learning to assimilate. I want to support the immigrants who struggle, making it easier to live here,” said Miss Ngouy, 22, who was born in a refugee camp in Thailand.
Taking a page from the civil rights movement of the 1960s, the Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride kicked off Saturday in 10 cities throughout the country, with 18 buses making planned stops in more than 100 communities.
Participants plan to hold rallies calling for improved workplace protections and recognition of immigrants’ civil rights, regardless of their legal status. Buses are leaving from Seattle; Portland, Ore.; San Francisco; Los Angeles; Las Vegas; Houston; Minneapolis; Chicago; Miami; and Boston.
Destinations include Washington, D.C., for meetings with members of Congress on Oct. 1, and New York, where organizers hope to draw 100,000 supporters to an Oct. 4 rally.
“We’re trying to bring attention to the whole struggle of having rights, justice on the job. People work hard, there should be justice for everyone,” said Bob Gorman, an AFL-CIO spokesman in Seattle.
At a kickoff rally in San Francisco on Saturday, about 1,000 people gathered to cheer about 100 freedom riders. Many in the crowd wore orange T-shirts with “Laborers” on the front, chanting “Si, se puede” — Yes, we can.
Freedom rider Maria Perla, an immigrant worker from El Salvador, said she hopes the event will lead to changes in U.S. immigration policies that will allow immigrants to stay connected to their families.
“I left my three young children 14 years ago to come to the United States so that I can provide for them,” Mrs. Perla said. “I cry every week when I talk to them on the phone.”
The idea for the symbolic ride was developed in July 2001 by leaders of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union. After decades of considering new arrivals as adversaries, many unions now seek to organize even illegal immigrants, whose lower pay and lack of worker protections threaten to reduce standards across the board.
The Urban Institute, an economic and social policy research group in the District, estimates the number of illegal immigrants living in the United States totals about 8.5 million, although the number is debated.
The original Freedom Ride, organized by the Congress of Racial Equality, left Washington on May 4, 1961. Whites and blacks rode together through the South, protesting segregation on buses and trains. They faced angry mobs and mass arrests.
Today’s freedom riders — representing 17 countries and including several illegal immigrants — say they’re anticipating more favorable receptions.
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