With New York Quarantined, Ecuadorians Concerned About Jobs | International | News

The measures for the pandemic have forced the closure of factories and businesses in the United States. Compatriots are without work, most are not legal and will not be able to access compensation, says the leader.

March 22, 2020 – 06h00

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People do not mobilize, they cannot go to work. In independent businesses there are no longer clients. Companies are not calling their workers and asking them to stay at home. People no longer go out also because there are no resources. In the city that never sleeps it is curious to look at the huge, practically empty shops, nothing compared to the hectic daily movement. There is no traffic on the streets and it is easy to navigate. In addition to the concern we have, it is sad to see the city like this.

This is how Eduardo, an Ecuadorian who has lived in the United States for twenty years, describes New York and is concerned about the advance of the coronavirus that has forced the city of more than 8.6 million inhabitants to a mandatory quarantine to achieve control the virus, which adds about 5000 infections, 2000 only in one day.

100% of the workforce must stay at home, said Andrew Cuomo, the governor of New York State, which has more than 7,100 cases.

Eduardo comments, in an interview with EL UNIVERSO, that there are Ecuadorians who have already lost their jobs and what distresses them the most is how to make ends meet without money to pay rent, food, water, electricity or gas.

The situation is complicated, says Tania Cuesta, another Ecuadorian. There are no job options, all businesses are closed and there is uncertainty about online classes at universities, he says.

Daniela, who lives with her husband and children, says she was called from the company where she works to tell her that she should stay home. “I don’t know what will happen because if the city is paralyzed, we will be more isolated. God wants this to end ”, he cries out.

From the organization Alianza Ecuatoriana Internacional, Walter Sinche, its leader, laments the situation that compatriots are experiencing.

“In our community, the majority work in construction and jobs are beginning to be canceled and therefore unemployment and the economy will begin to be a concern,” says Sinche, stressing that the situation will worsen more for those who do not have legal stay. because they could not be entitled to claim unemployment compensation. “In an Ecuadorian business area, 75% were closed, it’s like a horror movie,” he says.

This week alone, 2.25 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits, eight times more than last week and the highest level on record, estimates Goldman Sachs.

Luz Gallegos, from the pro-immigrant organization Todec, tells AFP that COVID-19 is an additional stress for the community.

Among migrants there is fear of the policy of the Donald Trump government, which has implemented a series of immigration control measures.

The Government approved a $ 100 billion aid plan for workers directly affected by the aftermath of the pandemic, with benefits that will not be available to the 11 million undocumented, most of them Latino.

Worries about unemployment are also compounded by the shortage of food and products such as disinfectants, whose prices have skyrocketed, Eduardo says.

“I went to the supermarket, there was no chicken. Beef and pork only allow you to buy two trays per person, ”says Tania. “The toilet paper hangers, empty. Alcohol and disinfectants, nothing ”.

In addition to New York state, California and Illinois have also declared quarantine, forcing some 70 million residents to stay in their homes. The authorities seek to stop the spread of the virus, also concerned about the saturation of the health system that could suffer from the wave of cases.

Catalina, who resides with her family, regrets seeing New York off. The trains are empty, there are few people on the street. Everything looks sad and, above all, the fear of walking around without wanting to touch anything, every moment rubbing hands with antibacterial, counted days before the quarantine. “Here in New York there are a lot of people infected but none of us known to us.” (I)

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