This is the second in a three part series of stories my parents told me while they were here visiting Pittsburgh.
My parents are having a new back room put on their house, and for whatever reason they decided to get the whole house painted at the same time. And because in general there is a shortage of workers in New Orleans, the contractor that my parents are working with hired a group of workers from El Salvador. When they first started working, the contractor found out what part of the city they were living in, and strongly suggested that they move to a different part. Now my parents didn't actually get what part of town they were in, but apparently the contractor thought it was a dangerous enough place that a group of workers from a different country shouldn't be staying there.
Anyway, they appreciated his advice but said, no they'd prefer to stay there. It was pretty cheap apparently and they didn't feel unsafe. Well one day the workers go back to their apartment to find that a very large portion of their belongings had been stolen. When the contractor hears about this, he tells them again that they should move out of the neighborhood, but once again the workers say they are fine.
Well one day as they are coming home, the workers are approached by a group of neighborhood scholars. These guys make it very obvious to the workers that they are not welcome, and tell them that they "don't belong in this neighborhood." Again, our contractor recommends that they leave. Again, they decide to stay put.
Finally, something happens that make the workers decide it really would be prudent to leave. In the morning, they come down to head to work and find 80 bullet holes in their car. Fortunately, no one was hurt, but they seem to get the idea that, no really they aren't wanted in that neighborhood. As you can imagine, these fellows are properly scared and never show up for work again, having returned to Dallas (their previous place of residence) where things are a little bit calmer.
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