By Pamela Cruz. Peninsula 360 Press [P360P].
"Undocumented, migrant, domestic worker and activist," is how Laura Rubio describes herself, a woman who on her path to self-improvement found her greatest passion: helping all those like her who have suffered injustice, fear and uncertainty in East Palo Alto, the city that has opened its arms and given her a purpose.
Laura, 47, was born in Maravatio, Michoacán, Mexico. She has been in the U.S. for 19 years and has become an active member of her community for the past seven years, "because before I didn't know I could do anything and so I fell in love with the activism I can do in my community.
She arrived in this country when her youngest daughter was barely two years old, with only one dream, to be able to give her two little ones a better quality of life. Without knowing the language, Laura did not put barriers in her mind, she worked as much as she could, taking care of children and cleaning houses, work that she still does and that she combines with her activism, which, she says, drives her to want more and to train herself to achieve new goals.
With two grown children, this domestic worker told P360P that a few years ago she was about to be evicted, and she, like many others, did not know that, despite her immigration status, she had rights.
"When I first came to a tenants' meeting, I said, 'Wow! If I had known about this it would have saved me so much headache and worry because I thought I was going to be evicted. Now I know how to protect myself and my neighbors, how to help and assert my rights.
In the morning, Laura gets up, makes coffee and breakfast and gets ready to go to work. By 6:00 p.m., when she gave this interview, she had already cleaned houses and helped two families facing evictions. The pain in her feet doesn't get the better of her, and after talking with us she rushes off to a meeting where she continues her activism.
"One thing leads to another," says Laura, who says that after belonging to a neighborhood group, she found connections with organizations that have put her on the right path to improve the quality of life of others.
Laura Rubio will serve on several organizations: the Latino Caucus Board of Directors for five years; the Rent Stabilization Board; the Tenant Board of Directors comprised of three East Palo Alto organizations, a member of the National Domestic Workers Alliance; the Pop Cultural Board of Directors of the National Domestic Workers Alliance; and the Board of Directors of Senator Josh Becker's Latino Advisory Committee.
It is also part of the ETB-EPA coalition, in which residents, religious congregations, immigrant groups, community organizations, and youth engage in planning, development, and land use issues committed to the principles of affordable housing, neighborhood stabilization, tenant protections, human dignity, and democratic land use planning.
If the day is short, Laura also volunteers at street clean-ups, vaccination centers, informs the community of their rights door-to-door and sometimes collaborates with the non-profit organization, Casa Circulo Cultural.
"During the pandemic I decided not to stay at home, I went out knocking on doors and asking my neighbors if they were okay, if they had paid their rent, and if not, to seek resources and talk to organizations."
Despite the fact that she has a barrier, language, the activist does not stop. "I think and believe in language justice. This city is ready to provide us with a translator to help people from Africa and Asia and the Pacific Islands who live here in East Palo Alto, so that these residents have the confidence to come to our meetings and present their concerns in their own language and know that they can be heard.
"My view is that a knowledgeable person is an empowered person."
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