La Plata, April 22, 2019.
From his prison cell, Emanuel Lázzaro, one of the four drivers arrested on April 3rd for participating in the East Line conflict in 2017, wrote an open letter in which he talks about his detention and requests not to abandon the struggle for his freedom
“My arrest was for defending worker’s rights,
a decent bathroom and not working unregistered hours”
To the Argentinean people,
I am Emanuel Lázzaro, a worker, I AM NOT A CRIMINAL! I have been deprived of my liberty since April 3rd, 2019. 19 days have passed since I was able to be with my daughter Valentina and my wife Karina. Moreover I cannot work to provide food for my family every day.
For 2 years, when I lost my job in the East Line, I never again got a decent and regular job to have economic stability. I have worked in temporary jobs and as a taxi driver when I get one. And now in prison I do not even have this possibility.
By telling you this I want to show you my sad and desperate reality to which we do not find justification. My arrest was for defending worker’s rights, a decent bathroom and not working unregistered hours.
All this time I have been in jail, my life was at stake several times. I cannot sleep and I thought about committing suicide because I had never imaged to live such a thing and in this place, where all I wanted was simply to improve my working conditions: INEXPLICABLE ,UNFAIR.
I ASK, I PRAY, I IMPLORE, do not forget about me and my comrades.
Ezequiel Lazzaro
ID 37.352.954
|
 |
Interview to Gabriel, father of Emanuel Lazzaro
“They are imprisoned for demanding a toilet and because they work 16 hours informally”
ORWW: We wanted you to tell us how the situation is for you and your children.
G: They are imprisoned for fighting, for demanding a toiled and because they work 16 hours informally. They requested that two years ago and the prosecutor had them arrested and they are deprived from their freedom.
For 15 days we have been fighting with the comrades and we thank all those who came to support us.
We cannot go back to things as they used to be, when we were not able to demand anything from the businessmen. We want to work decently. We do not want to be usurers and we neither want to do as they say for a job. We want our freedom, and freedom means expression, to work freely with our families, free to walk, free to go out. That is freedom, not only when we go to vote.
Because with the vote they used us and now they leave us alone. They are harming us. What would they expect for the next vote?
I think that the wives, children and all the people that are here for the first time are people that have worked and have never come out to the streets for something. Nowadays, what is happening is a shame.
Nobody helps us. What UTA (the union of transport workers) is doing is a shame. They do not help us to say this cannot be. The prosecutor Bravo or the judge say nothing to us. They cannot have a person in prison for asking for a job, for asking for a toilet and now they have him in jail.
They had already given jail to my son. He has been without job for two years. They do not let him work in La Plata because Mr. Corvelli (the transport tycoon, EN) owns 80% of all the city buses. Is that all right? Are they talking about freedom and democracy?
I knew repression and I knew democracy. Are we returning to repression? Are we returning to past times? They said we could speak, but we cannot.
|
|
