Baltimore was asleep when the fully loaded cargo ship, adrift and without power, crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge, collapsing it within seconds.
If the disaster had occurred during the day, hundreds of cars and trucks could have been on the bridge over a canal leading to one of the east coast's busiest ports. So it was a miracle that this happened in the early hours of the morning and that the police had enough warning to stop vehicles from entering the bridge.
But the six people believed to have died in the tragedy were unable to escape. They were maintenance workers – the kind of people few people notice, but who do difficult jobs at night to keep the country running.
All of the missing were immigrants, foreigners who came to the United States from Mexico and Central America in search of a better life. Their stories and aspirations mirrored the lives of millions of new immigrants to the United States. They are much more representative of the migrant population than the extreme and misleading image often spread about migrants by Donald Trump.
The presumptive Republican nominee often falsely claims that foreign countries are sending their “worst people” as a de facto invasion force into the US. “Under Biden, other countries are emptying their prisons, mental institutions, mental institutions, dumping everyone, including large numbers of terrorists, into our country. They are in our country now,” Trump said at a rally in Manchester, New Hampshire, ahead of the state’s presidential primary in January.
Trump’s demonization of immigrants trying to enter the country illegally, who he claims are “poisoning the blood” of the country, often feels like a shorthand condemnation of migrants as a whole.
The bodies of two of the six construction workers who died after a cargo ship hit a bridge pillar have been recovered. Search efforts have been halted for the other four workers, who are presumed dead.
One of the workers was Miguel Luna, a father of three from El Salvador who had lived in Maryland for 19 years. Maynor Yassir Suazo Sandoval, a Honduran father of two, was also on the bridge. He had lived in the US for 18 years and had an 18-year-old son and a 5-year-old daughter. Two Guatemalans are also missing. And three Mexicans were among the crew working on the bridge. One was rescued from the icy waters below.
Migrants often do jobs that other people don't want to do – those with the lowest wages and the worst conditions. Some do it to support families in the US and to lay the foundation for a better life for their children and grandchildren. Many send money home to support family members living in much less affluent economies. Mexican migrant workers, for example, transferred more than $60 billion in remittances to their country in 2023, according to Mexico's central bank.
Perhaps it will be worth remembering the sacrifices of the disappeared when anti-immigrant rhetoric rises again in the run-up to November's presidential election.
And when the Francis Scott Key Bridge goes up again, it will likely be immigrants who will build it.
Source: CNN Brasil
Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.
