Word: townes
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Immigration may be the hot topic in France's presidential campaign, but who'd have thought it would spark such a fury in the quiet, pastoral Breton town of Montfort-sur-Meu? But unlike the tough, often vaguely xenophobic, immigration positions of some of the presidential candidates, the good people of Montfort are demanding the return and regularization of 23 illegal Malians arrested for deportation when they turned up for work last month...
...with vigor and enthusiasm, gradually gaining speed and skill to become valued employees. Much of their earnings were sent home to families in Mali - among the poorest countries on earth - but Montfort's Malians kept enough to be able to fully participate in municipal life. They rented homes in town, played for the local soccer team and coached its youth squads; learned to read and write, and improved their French; participated in town activities and festivals, and hosted and accepted dinner invitations with fellow Montfortais. Deportee Sidy Coulibaly had lived with a young local woman for three years...
...Virtually everyone in town seems to agree. Montfort's city council has appealed for the Malians to be released and offered a path to legalization based on the merits of their situations. Their employer has sought work permits that would allow the 23 Malians to obtain resident visas, noting that productivity in his nearly 700-employee facility has fallen over 10% since their arrest. Petitions demanding the Malians return gave garnered between 4,000 and 6,000 signatures; Montfort merchants have expressed their solidarity by tying white strips of cloth outside their stores; and marches and rallies continue drawing large...
...Montfort residents vow to continue calling attention to the case until all 23 are free to return to the town with papers. This week, they got help from Malian presidential candidate Tiabali Dram?, who lived for almost two decades as a political exile in France, and saluted the "the kindness, charity and humanity France has traditionally offered immigrants." He added, "Some in France want that to change, but I come to Montfort today thank its people for demonstrating how that tradition remains alive." The fate of the 23 Malians arrested in the town, however, may depend on whether the French...
...death of Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer as a murder case, the kitschy marketing jingle has taken on a note of brutal irony. How could the noble, gentle game of cricket lead to murder? Who would want to kill a coach respected and adored by players and fans from Cape Town to Karachi? What happened to all that love and unity...