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Las Veinas Abiertas del Pueblo Latino (The Open Veins of the Latin Community)
Recently, Newsweek magazine labeled Latinos the ethnic group on the rise in the United States. Generation ñ, as we've been labeled, is identified with such notables as Jennifer Lopez, Oscar de la Hoya, and Ricky Martin. These celebrities, however, are clearly exceptions. Reality for most Latino youth is very different. In the barrio, reality consists of poverty, brutality, inferior education, drugs, high incarceration rates, and fractured families.
Capitalizing on the obstacles facing Latino youth, the armed forces plan in 1999 to harvest a bumper crop of Latinos. For the past year, Secretary of the Army Luis Caldera has been crossing the country, invading inner-city schools, telling tales of unlimited opportunity for Latino youth in the armed services. But if careers in the military are a world of opportunity for Latino youth, why are only 3% of commissioned officers Latino while their white counterparts make up 81% of officers? Furthermore, why is it that, according to a June 21, 1999 Army Times article, "Most enlisted Hispanics are in the lower pay grades, with the biggest concentrations in the private first class and corporal/specialist ranks"?
The opportunity to be cannon fodder?
While grossly under-represented in the officer corps, Latinos have historically been over-represented in one crucial area: casualties in war. An overwhelming 28% of the names on the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, DC are Latino. This statistic points Col. Hector Topete, who recently wrote a report on the under-representation of Latino officers in the military, to an overwhelming sense of patriotism as the answer for this high Latino death rate. "The Hispanic-Americans contacted through this study consistently expressed a genuine intent to fight for this country if needed," Topete claims.
There is, however, a more logical explanation than patriotism for this devastating Latino body count and for the fact that during Operation Desert Storm over 50% of the front-line troops were people of color, largely Latino. The draft of the Vietnam era forced poor people and people of color into the military's lowest, deadliest ranks. Today's "poverty draft" is more devious, but just as effective.
Also known as economic conscription, the poverty draft primarily targets youth of color from low-income areas, both urban and rural. Military recruiters prey upon the most vulnerable and economically challenged of our African, Latino, Native American, Asian, Arab, and Pacific Islander communities. Quite simply, the armed forces target people of color for recruitment disproportionately, thus we die in war disproportionately.
Puerto Rico: a lab for recruiting the poorest of the poor
A glaring example of the poverty draft at work is the case of Puerto Rico. On the island, unemployment is 13.5%, more than double the national average of 5% according to the National Center for Policy Analysis. In addition, wages and salaries are low - per capita income is $8,000 annually, compared to $18,000 in the poorest state, Mississippi. No wonder the Army Times reports the San Juan and Aguadilla recruiting companies averaged nearly 900 Regular Army and Army Reserve recruits in 1998, and nearly 800 in 1997. In contrast, the average for the Army's other 240 recruiting companies was half that! This situation in Puerto Rico is but one case of what is happening in Latino communities across the land.
News flash! Time to expand JROTC again!
Desperate to meet recruiting goals, the military has undertaken another mass expansion of its Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) program. These programs traditionally target communities of color, especially areas of Latino concentration. It comes as no surprise that this expansion comes when overall recruiting is down. By October, the end of the Army's fiscal year, the recruiting mission is expected to be short at least 5,000 recruits. As is often the case, whenever there is a possibility of Latino youth decreasing in the make-up of the military, the U.S. wastes no time.
The prior JROTC expansion took place in 1992 in the aftermath of the Gulf War and the L.A. uprising. Writes Shelly Reese, for American Demographics Magazine, "The riots underscored the lack of opportunities for teenagers in economically disadvantaged areas. That led General Colin Powell to lobby for expanded JROTC."
JROTC brings its military curriculum, along with an oppressive price tag, to communities of color with lofty claims. It claims to be a dropout prevention program, a civics program, a course on citizenship, and a 'Say No to Drugs' class. When asked to substantiate these claims, Lt. Col. Torbert of Atlanta JROTC admitted, "Getting this data is like nailing Jell-O to a wall."
What can be nailed down is the connection between brutality, injuries, gangs, shooting incidents and JROTC units across the country. While many are working to get guns out of our schools, JROTC offers "marksmanship programs" - teaching students to assemble, load, aim, and shoot guns within our schools. Nor can anyone deny the connection between JROTC and the disproportionate presence of economically challenged youth in the lowest ranks of the military. Reese goes on to say, "About half of all graduating high school seniors with more than two years' participation in JROTC end up joining the military."
A gold mine for whom?
The military will use any means, direct or deceitful, to accomplish their goal of herding Latinos into the military corral. Latino youth are seen as a commodity, a group to be won and profited from, as opposed to living breathing people with futures. "The Army has suddenly begun to appreciate the value of Hispanics. They are literally an untapped gold mine of human resources. [Caldera] is taking unprecedented action to bring more of them into the Army fold," says McHugh.
We, as citizens, students, parents, educators, activists, and justice-minded people must equip ourselves with the information necessary to resist the recruiting war being declared on the Latino community. This is a struggle we can win by educating one person at a time about the myths and realities, the truth and lies of the United States military. We must not allow the military recruiting mission to open the veins of our community and take our very blood - our youth.¦
To contact the Third World Outreach Program, or the Military Out of Our Schools Campaign, call toll-free: (888) 236-CCCO or email kevin@objector.org. |