[from hope to grief. i do not know marcello lucero or his family but on veteran’s day i will be thinking of him as a fallen soldier in the cultural wars that are going on right now. looking through this list of links, i feel like i should keep going on and posting these announcements of his passing and the outrage that a group of kids could think of his murder as sport. but then i look on his name and see how even in his death he still has no name as american, ecuadorian, and world news organizations can’t agree on one spelling. is that too much dignity to ask? my renewed hope that started on election night has been a pragmatic one from the start, i was waiting to see what news from washington or abroad would shift the spotlight away from the promises of change and remind us that nothing has really changed. i would have never guessed it would be a murder of a fellow ecuadorian immigrant just making it day-to-day. when i first saw the headline, i was afraid it was family. after reading the tragedy of his death, i can say, ‘yes, it was somebody i knew, he was somebody just like my family.’]
Ecuatoriano asesinado por motivos raciales
Marcelo Lucero, 37 años, fue apuñalado. Era soltero y tiene a su madre en Ecuador
NUEVA YORK.- El ecuatoriano Marcelo Lucero, de 37 años, fue asesinado el sábado anterior en Long Island (condado de Suffolk) por una pandilla de adolescentes blancos.
Lucero fue atacado con armas blancas, y murió de una puñalada en el pecho. En el momento del ataque, estaba acompañado por un amigo que resultó ileso y avisó del hecho a la PolicÃa.
Por su parte, los uniformados detuvieron a unos siete jóvenes de entre 16 y 17 años, miembros del grupo atacante, que fueron acusados por ataque en pandilla.
De acuerdo con una publicación del diario colombiano El Tiempo, la fiscal asistente del condado de Suffolk, Nancy Clifford, mencionó que el ataque tuvo tintes racistas, pues en las confesiones de los chicos habrÃan mencionado que, la noche en la que mataron a Lucero, salieron “en busca de algunos hispanos”.
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Otro asesinato racista
BBC, José Baig. Mundo USA
La muerte de Marcello Lucero, el sábado en la noche en Patchogue, estado de Nueva York, habrÃa pasado como otra cualquiera en las estadÃsticas de la violencia urbana. Excepto por un detalle: sus asesinos habÃan salido decididos a matar a un hispano.
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Hispanos en Nueva York denuncian asesinato de ecuatoriano
10 de Noviembre de 2008, 06:58pm ET
PATCHOGUE, Nueva York, EE.UU. (AP) – La comunidad hispana de las afueras de Nueva York denunció el lunes el asesinato de un ecuatoriano que supuestamente fue apuñalado en el pecho por una pandilla de adolescentes blancos.
La fiscal asistente del condado de Suffolk, Nancy Clifford, dijo que uno de los adolescentes apuñaló a Marcelo Lucero, de 37 años, la noche del sábado porque era hispano. El asesinato ocurrió cerca de la estación de trenes de Patchogue.
Grupos de defensa de derechos de los inmigrantes reaccionaron con estupor a la noticia y condenaron el ataque.
“Pedimos que toda la comunidad se una, no sólo para condenar el ataque y expresar simpatÃa a los Luceros, pero para denunciar por qué estos adolescentes pensaron que tenÃan vÃa libre para atacar salvajemente a otro ser humano”, declaró Luis Valenzuela, director ejecutivo de la Alianza Inmigrante de Long Island.
El activista denunció a través de un comunicado el “ambiente anti-inmigrante” que se respira en el condado de Suffolk.
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Police: Slaying of NY immigrant was a hate crime
By FRANK ELTMAN – 5 hours ago
YAPHANK, N.Y. (AP) — Seven high school students looking “to beat up some Mexicans” attacked an immigrant from Ecuador on a Long Island street, with one of them fatally plunging a knife into the man’s chest during the brawl, police said.
A prosecutor compared Marcello Lucero’s death over the weekend to a lynching, and the attack was officially labeled a hate crime by Suffolk County authorities. Some outraged supporters of Hispanic immigrants suggested that recent crackdowns on illegal immigration fomented an atmosphere of intolerance that contributed to the attack.
“Today, some of the highest leaders of our community also have blood on their hands,” said the Rev. Alan Ramirez, a longtime advocate for Hispanic day laborers and Latino immigrants. “I have said for a long time that it would only take time for something like this to happen.”
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A Death in Patchogue
Marcello Lucero was killed late Saturday night near the commuter railroad station in Patchogue, N.Y., a middle-class village in central Long Island. He was beaten and stabbed. The friend who crouched beside him in a parking lot as he lay dying, soaked in blood, said Mr. Lucero, who was 37, had come to the United States 16 years ago from Ecuador.
The police arrested seven teenage boys, who they said had driven into the village from out of town looking for Latinos to beat up. The police said the mob cornered Mr. Lucero and another man, who escaped and later identified the suspects to the police. A prosecutor at the arraignment on Monday quoted the young men as having said: “Let’s go find some Mexicans.†They have pleaded not guilty.
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§New York Governor David Paterson’s Statement
“Today, I ask New Yorkers to join me in mourning the death of Marcello Lucero, a Hispanic man of Ecuadorian descent who was the fatal victim of a vicious hate crime over the weekend in Suffolk County. This disgraceful act should serve as a source of outrage for all of us.
“Suffolk police tell us that Mr. Lucero and a friend were attacked late Saturday night by seven teenagers who were driving around looking for a Hispanic to beat up. The companion walking with Mr. Lucero escaped, but Mr. Lucero was stabbed to death. This senseless and cowardly attack by these teenagers cannot stand. I am directing State law enforcement agencies to assist Suffolk County officials in any way possible to ensure swift and certain justice for this heinous crime. Our State has zero tolerance for such bigotry and I urge authorities to move quickly to prosecute the perpetrators to the fullest extent of the law.
“Today, I ask that you offer your prayers to Mr. Lucero’s family. I would like to extend my deepest condolences as they come to the terms with the enormous pain of this loss. Mr. Lucero’s death is a jarring reminder that we must remain vigilant and continue our fight to eradicate prejudice in our words and in our actions.”
