The first wetbacks were Jesus, Mary, and Joseph

[struggle4progress]

Monday, December 31, 2007
By Martin Barillas

The Cardinal Archbishop of Guatemala City, Rodolfo Quezada Toruño, asked Guatemalans to pray for their fellow countrymen who are leaving Guatemala ... The archbishop asked Guatemala's political authorities to be concerned about Guatemalans who live outside of the Central American republic's borders, especially those living illegally in the United States. He added “Hopefully, the new government will take care of the problem of emigrants and that the diplomatic service may serve some other purpose than cocktail parties."

In his homily on December 30, Cardinal Quezada Toruño recalled the life of Jesus and what he described as "the first emigration in the New Testament: the flight of the Holy Family from Bethelehem to Egypt" in order to express his concern for fellow Guatemalans who have left for the United States. "The first wetbacks were St. Joseph, the Virgin Mary and Jesus. They had no choice but to bundle up their things, without taking recourse of a visa, because they certainly would not have been given one", said the cardinal. He recalled how millions of people throughout the world have had to leave their homes because of wars and a lack of security and money. "Also, this year, 23,000 Guatemalans - 20 times the number who fit within the Cathedral - have been deported, sometimes even suffering assaults upon their human rights, while some 100,000 fellow citizens have crossed the border towards the United States", added the cardinal.

Quezada Toruño said that the origin of poverty cannot be measured by population figures alone but also by "greed", adding that he disagrees with the Guatemalan government's birth control measures. He added that the minimum wage approved by incumbent President Óscar Berger (approx. 10 US dollars per day for agricultural work, or 12 US dollars for industrial work) is "shameful". The cardinal said that the wage increase should have taken into account the rate of inflation and "a little more." ...

http://www.speroforum.com/site/article.asp?idarticle=13328

[provis99]

1. Joseph, Mary, and Jesus were in the Roman empire legally

Illegal Guatemalan immigrants in the US are not here legally. His comparison is absurd on its face.

[struggle4progress]

2. They certainly could have been citizens of neither Rome nor Egypt

And the old story that they fled their homeland to escape a massacre will sound all too familiar to Guatemalans

[Bad Thoughts]

6. Not citizens

First, Rome was not a nation-state. It was an Italic federation with an empire throughout the Mediterranean. The right to free movement cannot be assumed.

Second, Egypt was not part of Rome's empire, but a personal possession of the princeps.

[msongs]

3. gee and here I thought the Jews had all gone to Babylon first oh well nt

[struggle4progress]

4. What's a few centuries?

[anacreon]

5. really?

wetbacks?