GAINESVILLE, Georgia.— It is 5:30 am and about 15 volunteers deliver bags of masks and an informational pamphlet about the Georgia Senate elections to the entrance of a Gainesville factory.
This is known as the 'poultry capital of the world', where 40.7% of the population is Latino.
The compound smells of raw chicken and the temperatures are freezing, but
that does not stop the activists from approaching with a smile under their masks and sympathizing with the employees
.
"Grab another bag for the kids in the house," Khaled Simon tells a woman who runs to work without a mask.
[Results of the Senate elections in the second round in Georgia]
“These [Latino non-profit] organizations are the soldiers who are working so that our people can vote.
It is not fair that there are places like these where our people are servants of injustice, ”
says the Hispanic activist, who explains that the employees of this factory work for the minimum wage ($ 7.25 an hour) at 35 degrees Fahrenheit.
In addition to masks, Simon, who owns a taqueria in Chicago, was delivering food in the last days of December.
“We serve 350 tacos to people who voted early to convince them to go [to the polls], because we know that people like free food and our tacos are very good,” he notes.
The young man says that in the week he has been in Georgia he has run into many Hispanics who believe that the day they have to go to vote is Wednesday the 6th and not Tuesday the 5th.
"Many people are very confused because there is false information
,
"
he laments.
Chicago-based Latino volunteer Khaled Simon hands out masks and information about the Georgia Senate election to poultry workers in Gainesville, Georgia, on January 4, 2021 Sarah Yáñez-Richards
Simon is not the only volunteer who has traveled miles to speak with Latinos in Georgia.
In this group of activists there are people who have traveled from Virginia, New York or California, in addition to the locals.
[The elections that will define the next Government: who are the candidates for the Senate in Georgia?]
Andrés Rodríguez began talking to voters from the West Coast, because before moving to the southern state, he spent a week telephoning Georgians to inform them of the importance of these elections from California.
In its many phone calls, in addition to explaining to Latinos where to vote or who the candidates are, this component of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) strove to highlight the importance of the Senate to the time of the approval of many laws and measures in the country.
"Many thought that when they voted in November it was over, but we still have this, which is even more important than the election of the president,"
emphasizes the also Hispanic.
Volunteers offer masks and information about the Senate elections, in Gainesville, Georgia, on January 4, 2021 Sarah Yáñez-Richards
Graco Hernandez, another California volunteer who has been informing the Gainesville Latino community about the plebiscite since November 15, also believes that these elections are key as it will be decided whether Republicans or Democrats will have the majority in the House High.
The red party needs one of its two candidates, David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, to win.
While the blue would need to win the two seats in Georgia, Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, to reach 50 senators and for Vice President Kamala Harris to tie the majority.
“This is going to decide who is going to be in the Senate and how we can get through immigration reform and things like that
.
For the people of our community, the people who are here in these skirts is something that is very important ”, underlines the young recent graduate.
Graco Hernández, a Latino volunteer living in California, in Gainesville, Georgia on January 4, 2021 Sarah Yáñez-Richards
The head behind this activity is the executive director of Georgia Familias Unidas, María del Rosario Palacios, who set up this organization with the arrival of the coronavirus pandemic.
"We started at the beginning of July, my family got sick, many people we knew got sick and we had people who died from the pandemic," recalls the thirty-year-old as she rubs her hands to warm herself.
[They describe tactics of the Republican campaigns for the Senate in Georgia as racist]
Palacios' goal is to empower the Latino community in his area so that through their vote and voice they "can make their own decisions."
The Mexican-American activist happily explains that, unlike the general elections,
In this Senate race, both parties are focusing much more on the Latino vote, not only in advertisements, but also in personally reaching out to the community.
For example, she has been called three times in recent weeks to encourage her to vote, something she has never seen before.
According to data from the Census Bureau, Georgia's Hispanic population grew 96% between 2000 and 2010 and
the state has nearly one million Latino residents
.
The Associated Press news agency's Votecast poll indicates that of the five million voters in Georgia on November 3, 3% were Latino and that 60% voted for President-elect Joe Biden.
Group of activists handing out masks and information about the Georgia Senate election to workers at a poultry factory in Gainesville, Georgia, on January 4, 2021 Sarah Yáñez-Richards
“Normally, we don't have access to information in our language
and they don't come to our houses to let us know that they want us to vote, that our vote is important to them.
Hopefully after this he will continue to the same level ”, adds the Georgian.
For Palacios, keeping the workers of the chicken shops informed, who are mostly Hispanics who come from Mexico or Central American countries, is key, because although only 40% of the employees have the right to vote, they can make their family members who are already citizens vote.
“We know that our families depend on our vote and it is my hope that they tell their families, their children
.
Many parents tell me: 'Yes, I'm going to tell my son or daughter to go vote,' he concludes.
