Word: raids
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Burma VJ won the top award at the International Documentary Film Festival in Amsterdam in November and was screened at last month's Sundance Festival. It closes with a raid by secret police on DVB's Rangoon secret headquarters - also a reconstruction, although the events it depicts are real and tragic enough. Three reporters were arrested, others went into hiding. Joshua is now in exile, but the authorities know his name - they tortured it out of a friend - and keep his family under surveillance...
During a bitterly cold January week, penniless women and children stream into a Catholic church in the northeastern Iowa town of Postville that has served as their refuge since May 12, when 389 workers were arrested during an immigration raid at the Agriprocessors Inc. meatpacking plant. The women are among 26 former Agriprocessors workers, most from Guatemala and Mexico, charged with immigration violations and fighting deportation. Released on humanitarian grounds but required to wear electronic ankle bracelets, the women, as well as about 59 children, now depend on the community, especially St. Bridget's church, which operates a Hispanic ministry...
Eight months after the Agriprocessors raid, Postville is still grappling with what its leaders call a "humanitarian and economic disaster," compounded by the recession and a harsh winter. Life isn't much easier for "legal" workers. Inside a faded community hall serving as a relief center are Michael Barner, 47, and Patricia Williams, 41, who moved to Postville last month to work at Agriprocessors but had to leave their jobs soon after because of illness. They have arrived with an eviction notice and are seeking help to return to Dubuque. "We came here. We tried. I got sick. We just...
...largest kosher meat producer and once Postville's major employer, with 968 workers. He predicts it will be a few months before the plant is sold and run by a new owner. Agriprocessors does hope to ramp up hiring and production soon, especially to meet Passover demand. After the raid, the plant ran at reduced capacity but shut down in November, reopening in December with about 300 workers. (See pictures of Hillary Clinton campaigning in Iowa with Bill Clinton...
...some leaders say the help is not enough and worry about shortages and increasing hardships, especially evictions. In December, a citizens' group faxed a letter to state and federal leaders that said, "Postville is a community in turmoil, a broken, hurting place ... If Postville was reeling after the raid, recent events have brought the town to its knees. What happens when a place implodes...