60 rally for end to 'slavery'

Sixty Salt Lakers, including Muslims, Mormons, lawyers, teachers and immigrants, gathered at the City-County Building Saturday to call for an end to "slavery" in Utah.

"During the time of slavery, blacks were brought here because they were needed" to work in the fields, said Gabriela Cetrola of La Casa del Pueblo, a new knowledge-sharing organization based in Salt Lake City.

The "new slaves" Cetrola refers to are the Hispanic migrants who are recruited to fill jobs in the local restaurants, hotels and factories, then deported by federal immigration agents.

"We're here because you guys need us," Cetrola added. "We cook your food, we clean. It's the law of supply and demand . . . We're tired of being disposable."

Cetrola, a University of Utah professor, and others in the variegated crowd of white- and brown-skinned people didn't fit the profile of new slave. But they all stood in solidarity against federal agents' deportation of undocumented workers and to stop raids such as last month's sweep of more than 100 immigrant workers at Provo's Champion Safe factory.

"I don't feel picked on, individually," said Ghulam Hasnain, a Muslim who lives in Sandy. "But solidarity means a lot to me. We're at one-tenth the level we could be. We could be a potent force for civil rights."

State Rep. David Litvack, D-Salt Lake, brought his baby son to the front of the crowd. "I want him to be even more radical than I am," the lawmaker began. "I want him to know that fighting oppression isn't just talking about it . . . it's not enough to hold rallies and send a message. We need to translate that message into action, action to create lasting change."

Litvack promised to find a way to protect the civil rights of Utah's migrant workers.

Cetrola had suggested a general strike by such workers, to show Utahns the impact of immigrant labor.

"That's something I would love to see," Litvack said. But he and Cetrola believe that many immigrants are afraid to call attention to themselves. "Thank you for being a voice for those who are too scared to speak out," Litvack said to the assembly.

"It's very clear in our scriptures that all are alike unto God," said James Tobler, a member of Mormons for Equality and Social Justice. Calling on other LDS Church members to join the protest against deportation of undocumented immigrants, Tobler added, "We have a responsibility to work with the Latino community that has done so much to build this state."