Text Constanza Mazzotti
Photography Manuel Ortiz
They stare at the camera as if waiting for their portrait. Some of them have been working in houses or carrying out maintenance work at water plants for more than fifty years so that they can drink the vital liquid without toxins.
Others are responsible for keeping cities connected via the Internet to a population that, since the beginning of 2020, has sought refuge from the COVID-19 pandemic by working remotely from home.
Some have been working in the fields since they were eight years old, while others are responsible for maintaining the respirators used to treat patients who have been intubated due to the pandemic.
These are the stories of migrant workers from San Mateo County that, in the framework of International Workers' Day, documentary photographer Manuel Ortiz and photography curator Pablo Corral of National Geographic, make visible through portraits that show the daily life of these forgotten voices.
The photographic work was made possible with support from the Redwood City Parks and Arts Foundation and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.
Mele Baihola
Tonga /Household worker.
"We don't neglect our families, we take care of them"
She arrived in the United States on May 20, 1962. Her main occupation is and has been ever since that of a domestic worker. Through this activity, she managed to bring her ten sisters and brothers, most of whom also work as house cleaners, among other jobs.
Contrary to what people might think, Mele Baihola says that she enjoys her job because, in her words, "if we don't do this job, I don't think people will like cleaning their houses."
Coming from a culture that cares for and looks after the elderly, Mele Baihola mentions that in the homes where she works, she also tends to look after the elderly as if they were part of her own family.
Gerardo Ramirez
"Our work is behind the scenes but essential for the hospital's functioning"
Gerardo Ramírez, a specialist in the disinfection of medical instruments, including those used on COVID-19 patients and the respirators used to treat those who need to be intubated, has been a member of Kaiser Permanente Redwood City Medical Center since 2014.
The health sector in times of pandemic, one of the most affected by the saturation of patients in intensive care, is supported by work such as that carried out by Gerardo, a specialist in disinfection of medical instruments at said hospital.
Of Mexican descent but born in Redwood City, Gerardo mentions that his work includes disinfecting basic instruments used in routine checkups to the most complex ones used in operating rooms. To do this, he has specialized and professionalized in medical instruments.
She also has a specialization in the use of flexible endoscopes - an instrument used to observe inside a cavity, duct or hollow organ during surgery - and is in her last semester of the Bachelor's Degree in Data Analysis thanks to the support of Kaiser Permanente and her mentor Margarita López.
Eulalia Natividad Mendoza
Mexico/Peasant
«All my life, since I was eight years old, I have worked in the fields»
"I am from the state of Oaxaca, from a small town called Guadalupe Nundaca," says Eulalia, who has been a farmer since she was eight years old.
In Oxnard, California, he has been working in the strawberry field for fourteen years.
"This is the work I do every day, from the planting to the pipeline, which is the last thing to be raised."
Reenu Ramana
Fiji Islands/ food service worker
“My work has been essential during the COVID-19 pandemic”
Reenu Ramana works at the San Mateo County Jail in Redwood City, California.
Their work became indispensable during the COVID-19 pandemic, producing and distributing food to incarcerated people.
Born and raised in Fiji, he has worked in food service at the Redwood City Jail in California since 1996.
Koorinne Nickens
California/ Psychologist and nanny
«I try to integrate my work by guiding and supporting the children I care for»
Born in California to a Panamanian mother and a Nicaraguan father, Koorinne Nickens is a dedicated nanny and psychology student.
She has been working with three students aged 12 and 15 for three years now.
“People often think that my job is ‘just being a babysitter,’” says Kooeinne, who believes that it is important to combine her profession as a psychologist with the guidance of the children she works with.
Koorinne believes that it is necessary to create healthy environments for young people where they can be heard and seen, to nurture their world so that they can interact with the best tools and become better people.
Cesna Too
Descendant of Italian and Maltese grandparents / FedEx delivery person
«I think my job is essential because people need products that they cannot buy directly in stores. Delivery work has been essential during the pandemic because online orders have increased»
Marcello Anjos
Brazil/Dog grooming
An accessible and essential work
Although at first glance it might not seem so, Another of the essential jobs during the pandemic has been caring for pets, who also suffered, in their own way, from the drastic changes in their owners' habits.
Marcello Anjos is Brazilian and has been working in the United States since his arrival in 2010 in a dog grooming salon, beautifying dogs. He loves his job and takes care of the pets as if they were his own. The pandemic did not affect this work because it is an activity that is carried out with social distancing, since one only interacts with the pets. This type of work, he says, is “accessible and essential for everyone.”
Steve Silva
Son of Mexican immigrants/Technician for ATNT, works in fiber optic maintenance in Redwood City.
"If the system goes down, we will all be left without services"
The son of a father originally from Chihuahua, he is the youngest of five siblings and the second generation of union workers on his father's side.
He works on improving technological and telecommunications services. “Everyone has their cell phones and they always need more data, more streaming.” That is what his job is about, he says, making sure people stay connected. During the pandemic, work never stopped because the community must always stay connected.
Gurpal Sandhu
India/ Technician in Silicon Valley Clean Water
«Better water treatment provides greater safety for users»
He arrived in the United States in 1999, after finishing his formal education, and began working in different agencies. Since 2013, he has worked as a technician at Silicon Valley Clean Water, managing automated control systems, schemes, networks and everything involved in the process.
As technologies change day by day, improving the automation of water cleaning, production costs rise.
International Workers' Day
It should be noted that within the framework of International Workers' Day, unions and political organizations will carry out around 40 actions on May 1 to raise awareness throughout the United States about the presence of immigrants and thus highlight the need to take action in Congress and the executive branch on immigration reform.
According to the Public Policy Institute of California's March 2021 report, California has more immigrants than any other state, with a total of 11 million immigrants. The counties with the largest immigrant population according to the report are: Santa Clara with 391 TP3T, San Mateo 351 TP3T, Los Angeles 341 TP3T, San Francisco 341 TP3T, and Alameda 331 TP3T.
With information from EFE and the Public Policy Institute of California
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