Latinos on Edge in Pennsylvania Town


El Diario/La Prensa, News Feature, Cristina Loboguerrero, Translated by Suzanne Manneh, Peter Micek and Elena Shore, Posted: Jul 31, 2008

Editor’s Note: Two weeks after the fatal beating of a Mexican immigrant by a group of white teenagers, Latino residents of this Pennsylvania town are afraid to leave their homes.

SHENANDOAH, Penn. -- In this seemingly quiet Pennsylvania town, racial intolerance is widespread and many Latino residents choose to stay home to avoid any confrontation.

Shenandoah, a small town that spans one and a half square miles and is located three hours from New York City, made headlines in recent weeks after the fatal beating of a 25-year-old Mexican man.

The victim, Luis RamÃ*rez, died on July 14, 30 hours after being savagely beaten by a group of white teenagers who are now in the custody of the court.

The dispute began in a Shenandoah park, when the teenagers began harassing RamÃ*rez, and shouted at his girlfriend: "Hey, you better get out of this neighborhood!" and "Get your Mexican boyfriend out of here."

In this city of 5,500 residents, 10 percent of whom are Latino – mostly Mexicans, followed by Hondurans and Dominicans – everyone has something to say. But people’s fears of retaliation outweigh their desire to speak up.

"We prefer to stay at home," says Rafael Rejinfo, a 42-year-old Mexican, who explains in a low voice that he came to this country two years ago "to work.â€