Postville, IA

After graduating in December, I spent some time in Iowa. While I was there, I had to opportunity to participate and learn from a project being built will the goal of not forgetting the raid in Postville, IA. So much happens in our daily lives and around the world that it’s not difficult to forget about incidents such as this raid. We follow the story, the details, and maybe even participate by volunteering our time or marching in protest for what occurred…but unfortunately very few stay on or keep up with what is going on in the months after the initial surge of support. One of the ideas behind this project is to keep people informed about how people in this town have been affected by the raid and what the lasting consequences of the raid have been. I participated by meeting, interviewing, and videotaping some of the people in the community. Check out the short video (click here) introducing some of the women I interviewed that will be writing a weekly blog (starting in May 2010) about what their lives are like now--including how their legal cases are proceeding, how the economy in Postville has been affected, and their perspective on current issues such as health care and immigration. More video, including full interviews, will be coming soon. Also, keep a look out for an awesome documentary, abUSed: the Postville Raid (see trailer here), by Oscar Nominated Guatemalan director Luis Argueta (also directed Guatemalan film El Silencio de Neto).