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The acute economic crisis caused by the new coronavirus pandemic ended the “American dream” of many Brazilians working in construction in the United States. With the sudden closure of jobs, undocumented immigrants are forced to ask for baskets of basic food and even ask for a loan to return to Brazil.
“I already wanted to go back before this crisis. Now everything has stopped. I had to ask for a loan to buy the ticket. If there is no change in the flight, on Monday (4) I board. I am relieved because I am going to get out of this nightmare, ”the 52-year-old Gutemberg Mozart miner told G1. “With the coronavirus, the United States is over for the immigrant. It is unsustainable.”
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Mineiro Gutemberg Mozart asked for a loan to return to Brazil – Photo: Personal archive
The Belo Horizonte miner, who has been in the United States since 2014, saw job opportunities disappear after measures to contain the virus paralyzed civil construction, an area that employs many Brazilians in the country.
“The work stopped immediately. In order not to let us stop everything, the employer establishes a type of rotation and each day one works. But how are you going to maintain the rent, which is very expensive? “, Question.
Without work, the basic baskets of Brazilian NGOs during confinement in the USA. USA
Because he does not have regular documentation, the New Jersey resident did not have access to government aid and asked for help from an NGO to feed himself.
In construction, he says the worker can get $ 120 to $ 150 a day, but the rent costs no less than $ 1,500.
“I don’t drink, I don’t smoke and I don’t save money. In these almost six years, I sent R $ 20,000 to Brazil and that was it. There are many people who lie. To make money here you have to wear the same clothes all week. You can’t have any kind of fun. ”
When he arrived, the miner said that he worked a lot and had spinal problems due to excess weight.
“Immigrant life in the United States is a great illusion, it is a great Hollywood advertisement. When you think of the American dream, you are living the American dream and not yours! You are buying her costume. It is being exploited by him in exchange for a shoe, a car, “he says.
In addition to the two suitcases that will be able to be dispatched on the flight, Gutemberg wanted to send a box in a container with work material acquired in recent years. “These are things I could use in Brazil, but I’m probably going to lose because I’m not going to get the $ 545 to send it.”
‘My life turned upside down’
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Minas Gerais commercial representative wants to pay bills and return to Brazil – Photo: Personal archive
The coronavirus crisis also caused a 50-year-old business representative from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to resign from the United States. In debt and without a job, he can no longer support his wife and two children.
“I didn’t think about leaving, we had other business ideas. This crisis turned my life upside down. I am tired, desperate to be able to return. I want to disappear as soon as possible ”, says the miner who lives in the USA. USA Since 2015.
His debts already amount to about $ 4,000. “There is a late rent and another one is due in a few days. I already received a message that the phone, water and gas will be cut on May 21. Without the phone, I can’t work. ”
Rent is one of the most worrisome debts. “It is not like here in Brazil that they say: ‘poor man, he couldn’t pay the rent.’ The sheriff comes to your house and takes you out. When I arrived, I visited several houses with clothes and furniture inside. If that happens to me, how am I going to do it with my family?
After the “confinement” (which means confinement in English) began to take effect in his state in March, he was out of a job. The flooring and carpet vendor now acts as an app driver and says he can earn up to $ 80 a day, which is insufficient to pay his fixed expenses.
Pre-diabetic, he has already had symptoms of Covid-19 and was screened for the disease twice, the last time last week. The persistent cough, however, persists.
“The tests were negative. Yesterday, the passenger called a company from inside the car to inform me. I didn’t have the courage to turn on my cell phone today to see if they would push me away. ”
Since the documentation is not regularized, only the 3-year-old son, who was born in Philadelphia with a kidney problem, receives a government subsidy. “With the help of $ 194 we buy food.”
Initially, he thought he could return to Brazil in June, but has already seen that it will be “impossible”.
“The consulate says that it cannot help, only indicated an NGO that offered help with food. I just want to pay the bills and get out of here ASAP. I want to see my parents, who are older. I just want to have a little house with a jabuticaba tree in Brazil. “
‘It was supposed to be the dream trip’
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Jamilli and Rafael, who are in New Jersey (USA), have already canceled three flights – Photo: Personal archive
Receptionist Jamilli Netto Damasceno, 24, and her husband Rafael Geovane Damasceno, 27, from Ribeirão Preto, arrived in the United States on March 19 with a ticket scheduled to return 15 days later. However, the initial idea was to extend the stay for a few more months.
“We had the intention to work and save some money to renovate our house, which is simple. And also save it so you can have a child later, “says Jamilli.
Her friend would help her find a job in the cleaning area and for her husband in construction. Rafael came to work one day, and soon after, the job opportunities for newcomers simply disappeared.
Aware of the seriousness of the situation, they decided to use the return ticket, but it was then that the couple’s drama began: the flight was canceled. Since then, the airline has rescheduled the flight three times: for April 7, May 8, and now June 2.
But will this June flight be successful? I can’t bear it until then. We only have $ 75. It was supposed to be the dream trip, you know? But I hate it. I was supposed to be happy, but I’m sad. We just want to take our things and go, ”he says.
Impact of the virus in the USA USA
Leaders of NGOs and associations helping the Brazilian and Latino community in various US states say these reports have become common after restrictions in the United States to slow the spread of the new coronavirus.
With more than 1 million infected, EE. USA It is at the top of the ranking of the countries most affected by the Johns Hopkins University pandemic. The death toll now exceeds 61,000, with New York State becoming the center of the pandemic.
When the first official case appeared in the country, President Donald Trump stated that the The situation was under control.
The target of violent criticism, Trump gradually softened his speech, suspended flights from Europe, at the epicenter of the disease, and began recommending that the elderly stay home. On March 13, Trump enacted a national emergency that allows the government to send $ 50 billion to states to help control the pandemic.
The escalation of the disease was rapid and the governors began to announce measures that restricted circulation and affected, among other sectors, civil construction, which employs many undocumented immigrants.
Thousands of basic lunch boxes and baskets
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Immigrant receives basic food basket in Allston, Massachusetts, United States, on Wednesday (29) Brazilian – Photo: Workers Center / Outreach
Government aid of up to $ 1,200 was distributed to immigrants, but the number of social Security, which has a similar function to the CPF in Brazil, and regularly pays taxes in the country. These conditions imposed by various states exclude so-called undocumented Brazilians. Itamaraty estimates, according to the Reuters agency, that 1.7 million Brazilians live in the country.
NGO coordinator Mantena, Solange Paizante, says the group used to distribute aid to about 50 families monthly in the New Jersey region, a state next to New York.
“This crisis took everyone by surprise. Many families cannot make a reservation. We alone have distributed 2,880 baskets of staple foods and 2,850 lunch boxes to infected and bedridden families, “he says.
The Brazilian Workers’ Center in Massachusetts, which normally assists immigrants in labor cases, resorted to emergency actions. It has already distributed almost 1,500 kits with rice, beans, pasta, cornmeal, oil, tomato sauce, canned goods, and vegetables. Families with young children also received milk and diapers. Images taken on Wednesday (29) at the exhibit lines queuing around the block waiting for help from downtown Allston.
In Pennsylvania, the situation is no different, says Philadelphia radio presenter Lana Palafox. She says her program mobilized donors for food, diapers, and medications for newcomers, but that the pandemic forced her to expand this aid.
“The goal was initially 50 baskets, but the Voice of the Community program, Radio Philly USA and Friends for Philadelphia has already distributed more than 1,000 baskets, 300 skins. We estimate that the aid reached 3,000 people, “says Lana.
Wanted for G1Itamaraty did not comment on the situation of the Brazilian community in the United States or on any program that can help them.
