Our Blog
Our Statement on the Francis Scott Key Bridge Collapse
“The only choice is to work, when you don’t have the same salary that a citizen might earn,” said Carlos Crespo, 53, a mechanic from Mexico.
Last Wednesday morning, we awoke to the news of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsing in Baltimore, Maryland after a cargo ship collided with one of its pillars. Thanks to the quick action of local officials, traffic onto the bridge was halted just before the ship hit — saving countless lives.
However, as authorities revealed more details, we learned that eight construction workers were on the bridge as it fell into the water. They were working to fill its potholes.
Two of them were rescued, with one being sent to the hospital and the other unharmed.
The remaining six left unaccounted for have now been presumed dead. The latest news reports that they were immigrants hailing from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. They were only in their 30s and 40s, and are leaving behind their spouses and children.
We were deeply moved here at Monument Impact after hearing about the victims. They closely mirror our own day labor workers and the people who come through our doors everyday.
“Government and industry figures show that Hispanics are over-represented in high-risk jobs: 51% of construction workers, 34% of slaughterhouse workers and 61% of landscaping workers.”
These victims were one of us. And that’s why this tragedy is particularly painful. They left everything and everyone they knew to come here, to search for a better life, as many of us did.
Their lives were just beginning as it ended. We know and feel the dreams they had for their families, and especially for their children.
We hope this tragedy shines a light on the importance of immigrant communities in our daily lives and to our economy. At Monument Impact, we believe the realities that immigrants and refugee face need to be truly considered and understood in the development of equitable services, policies and systems.
We thank the local authorities and officials for their continued efforts to recover the remaining workers and may it bring peace to their families.
Latino Racial Justice Circle created a GoFundMe page in honor of the victims and families and raised over $98,000 in nine hours. It closed to allow the funds to be sent out to the families as soon as possible. If you’d like to support the families of the victims, the Baltimore City Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs has created a fund for continued support: https://www.baltimorecivicfund.org/key-bridge-response-fund