“All of the letters I received so far are passionate and heartfelt. Some letters are pages in length and some are paragraphs, but they all have a unified message,” she said.
Most of the letter writers are foreign workers who have lived and worked in the CNMI for long periods of time, she added.
They all speak of the CNMI as their home, the former Rota teacher said.
“They tell how owing money has caused suffering for themselves and their families. They speak of bearing humiliation and loss of dignity while working under cheating employers in order to repay huge recruitments fees or to support themselves and their families,” she said.
Coalition of United Workers, NMI president Rene Reyes said they are hoping that the campaign will send a “strong message” to Washington, D.C.
The long-term guest workers are seeking an improved immigration status, Reyes said.
The campaign is also supported by the Human Dignity Movement and the United Workers Movement, NMI whose president, Rabby Syed, said he welcomes Doromal’s initiative because it allows the various groups to set aside personal interests and unite for a common cause.
“We believe in a unified force,” he said.
The guest workers will meet on Sunday at the Kilili Beach Pavilion from 7 a.m. to discuss the letter writing campaign.
Based on her initial review of the letters, Doromal said some recounted the lives they led in their homeland, how they were recruited, what employers and jobs they have held, and what their current situation is.
“I know some alien workers leave Saipan with unattended children. Some of them leave Saipan after a long term of working here. This tragedy happened every day and it is still happening,” Doromal quoted a letter from a Chinese national.
Doromal said a former CNMI government physician sent a two-page letter urging the federal government to improve the immigration status of long-term CNMI guest workers.
“We should take care of the United States children of legal contract workers at least as well as we take care of the children of undocumented, illegal aliens,” the doctor said.
Doromal said the guest workers are putting their faith in the U.S.
“I believe once the new federal laws are implemented on June 1, 2009, the U.S. government will not do the same thing that the local government did,” a letter writer said.
