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Former CoFiA Board Member Maria Andreu will be the M.C. for “La Fiesta”, CoFiA’s fund raiser to be held on November 24, 2013, from 4 – 8 p.m. at the Legion Hall, 399 Broad Avenue, Leonia, NJ 07605. Maria’s forthcoming book, “The Secret Side of Empty,” is based on her experiences growing up in the U.S. without documents. Completely bi-lingual, Maria is very much home in our multicultural setting.

The fund raiser will also feature Grupo Folklorico Tikal, a local Guatemalan folkdance group that often performs at CoFiA occasions.

According to the Bergen RECORD, Thursday, October 24, 2013, House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner “expressed optimism on Wednesday about House action by the end of the year on stalled efforts to overhaul immigration.” In spite of strong opposition from Tea Party representatives, Boehner said, “I still think immigration reform is an important subject that needs to be addressed.”

The House has just five legislative weeks left, although lawmakers indicated that could change.

Boehner’s statement reflects the fact that business groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, labor unions, and religious organizations including U.S. Catholic bishops and evangelicals are pressing for immigration legislation.

The Senate already passed a bill with bipartisan support, but it has been languishing in the House.

Most advocates find both the proposed House bill and the Senate bill woefully lacking. The best that can be said is that the effort to pass a bill reflects the realities of an immigration system that is broken and must be fixed.

At the CoFiA Fundraiser on November 24, 2013, participants will have the opportunity to purchase beautiful handwoven goods made by members of the MayaMam Weavers of Guatemala. A program of Grupo Cajolá, MayaMam Weavers began when several people in the town of Cajolá, in the Department of Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, got together to talk about common problems. They recognized that lack of income was their major need. This group realized that they could use weaving and sewing products as a way to earn a living.

The MayaMam Weavers work within the “Maya Cosmovision”—“We are part of the earth, there is only one unity. That makes us be, live, share, communicate and commune with her, as living beings, creators, and re-creators of life….We believe that no species is superior to another. We are complementary elements, although different from each other; we are all linked in a network, like a spider’s web interwoven with relationships and interactions that are independent and complementary.”

At a display table of MayaMam weavers’ goods you will find beautiful aprons, table linens, gossamer scarves (very popular in the U.S. this season), and lovely woven bracelets—all the rage with the younger generation—and more. Come stock up on gifts for every occasion and know you are contributing to the economic development of a whole town.

For more information go to mayamamweavers@gmail, or www.grupocajolá.org.

Spread the word! La Fiesta will be held on Sunday, November 24, 2013, from 4 – 8 p.m, at the Legion Hall, 399 Broad Avenue, Leonia, NJ 07605. Live band, marimba, recorded music for dancing, food and drink–and lots of good conversation!

The Bergen RECORD on Sunday, October 13, 2013, carried an excellent article on wage theft issues in our area. Entitled “Day Laborers often silent victims,” the article, by Monsy Alvarado, presents several stories of workers who have not been paid for work which they performed in good faith.

The article describes the efforts of the CoFiA Wage Theft Committee to help them collect these wages. It features Angelica Martinez, CoFiA member and organizer, who works closely with the workers and the Wage Theft Committee. It also provides data from the 2010 Seton Hall Law School’s Center for Social Justice study that showed that 48 percent of immigrant day laborers they interviewed (many of them from the Palisades Park area) were not paid, and 94 percent were not given overtime when due. Dr. Hung En Sung, a CoFiA member and professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, is quoted as saying that his studies have found that 70 percent of workers interviewed in his research had been a victim of wage theft at least once.

Alvarado interviewed several workers who shared their stories. Segundo R. Castillo’s employer failed to pay him and three others each about $1800 in wages. He sought help from the volunteers at CoFiA and eventually, with their help, he and the other workers were able to receive payment.

Alvarado also interviewed Leonia Police Chief Thomas Rowe, who credits the CoFiA volunteers for helping to educate workers to their rights. He said he finds that the workers are keeping better records and are able to document the abuses they have suffered.

Senator Loretta Weinberg, a Teaneck Democrat who is the Majority Leader of the New Jersey Senate, is quoted as saying, “This is an issue of fairness, equity, and civil rights, and if you work you should get paid for it.” Senator Weinberg has submitted a bill to the Senate that would increase penalties for wage theft.

To see the full article and a video, click on the link below.
http://www.northjersey.com/news/Day_laborers_oftern_silent_victims_of_wage_theft.html

The CoFiA banner joined the MIGUA banner  during this year’s Hispanic Day Parade. Elias Garcia served as Executive Secretary of the event

The red-white-and-blue of the American flag was carried proudly next to the blue and white Guatemalan flag.

As always at the parade, participants looked beautiful and handsome!

All around the United States, immigrants and advocates gathered to voice their demands for an immediate reform of the broken immigration system.

CoFiA secretary and MIGUA member Guillermo Calan participated in a rally in Long Island.

In Washington, D.C., in addition to large numbers of other protestors who participated in demonstrations, several members of the House of Representatives and leaders of faith communities supported the effort by putting themselves in a position to be arrested for demonstrating on public property.

Representative John Lewis, a long-time Congressman and Civil Rights Advocate, is shown being arrested for expressing his beliefs.