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Md. City Smoothed Path for Laborers
Pastor David Rocha greets day laborers who gather at Grace United Church's parking lot in Gaithersburg, offering blessings and a sandwich.
(By Lois Raimondo -- The Washington Post)
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In the meantime, the parking lot remains a draw for many immigrants who have moved to Gaithersburg and other communities in the northern part of the county, where the building boom has created the need for workers.
About 7 a.m. on a recent day, Rocha stood in the lot, looking relaxed in black pants, a black T-shirt and sandals. A gold chain with a cross, dangling from his neck, glistened in the hot sun.
Rocha knew all the workers' names and native countries. He walked around and checked on each one, offering a "God bless you" and a sandwich from a plastic bag. At times, they crowded around him to chat, their eyes darting away when a car pulled up. Sometimes, the police arrest men for disorderly conduct if they see them drinking. Rocha usually gets involved on their behalf.
"I saved you a sandwich," he told a man who walked up to him wearing overalls with paint stains.
"How much did they pay you?" Rocha asked in Spanish.
"Twelve dollars," the man responded.
"For the job you do, it's cheap," Rocha said.
"It's not that you want to come here," said Gerardo Pacheco, who came here from Mexico. "It's that you have to. I have to work."
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