104 20 70360 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource "Voices That Must Be Heard" Articles Description An account of the resource The Independent Press Association (IPA) translates articles from the ethnic press (when necessary) and distributes them via web and fax newsletter to mainstream and ethnic press, government offices, nonprofits, and interested individuals. Voices That Must be Heard was designed by the Independent Press Association staff in New York City in response to the horrifying events of September 11. After Sept. 11th, Voices focused on the South Asian, Arab and Middle Eastern communities in New York. Since February 2002, the project has expanded, selecting articles from the broad range of ethnic and community newspapers throughout the city. Here, the Archive has preserved the Voices collection from its inception until November 2002. VTMBH Article VTMBH Article: Edition 14 VTMBH Article: Article Order 6 VTMBH Article: Title Nearly 350 yellow cab drivers attend NYTWA hearing VTMBH Article: Author Gloria Suhasini VTMBH Article: Publication Desi Talk VTMBH Article: Original Language English VTMBH Article: Translator VTMBH Article: Section news VTMBH Article: Blurb Taxi drivers confronted representatives of government agencies and charities, charging that drivers have been left out of September 11th relief efforts. VTMBH Article: Keywords VTMBH Article: Body A cabdriver is like a lonely animal, said a disheartened James Gant. Nobody wants to listen to us. This was the sentiment echoed by at least 10 other drivers who spoke at a public hearing organized by the New York Taxi Workers Alliance on March 26. But the reaction of representatives of federal agencies was mixedsympathy and criticismfor drivers who did not seek help by contacting relief agencies. The common grievance of the drivers was that through October 11 they were still required to make payments on the medallion and cab lease, even though they suffered a loss of income. Javid Akthar broke down when he said that after running away from the Twin Towers as debris fell on him, he had not been offered any assistance. I ran to Battery Park and then walked across the Brooklyn Bridge to reach home. He said he did not receive any assistance, despite being a direct victim of the attacks. We cannot do anything unless you make that one phone call to us to ask if you are eligible. If you dont call us, we dont know you need help, Mary Elem Martinet of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) told the audience. She said the relief organizations received as few as three applications from drivers. Nearly 350 yellow cab drivers attended the hearing held at Hunter College, according to Biju Mathew, one of the organizers. Half a dozen representatives from government agencies, including FEMA, the Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC), and the Department of Labor, and advocacy and charity groups like the Unemployment Project, United Services Group and Safe Horizon also participated in the event. Martinet's reaction to the complaints of drivers representing NYTWAs more than 3,000 members that they have been unfairly denied any federal aid. Several of the drivers who spoke at the hearing said they had not applied for any aid because their friends had told them it was a waste of time and we are not eligible. Chaumtoli Huq, staff attorney of NYTWA, told Desi Talk, just through me, at least 30 drivers applied for relief and I also helped several other fill in the forms, so I dont see a tally here. Mmamnun Ul Huq, a cab driver, said that he did apply for FEMA relief, but was denied assistance since he did not have a business in downtown Manhattan. He said though cab drivers live in different boroughs of the city, or even as far away, as New Jersey, their prime business was in Manhattan, dropping off passengers at the financial district or tourists visiting the World Trade Center site. Ishrat Zaidi, a member of the organizing committee of the alliance who also spoke at the event endorsed this statement, saying Everything from the business district to airports to hotels and tourism has been affected, and that means yellow cab drivers lost business on every account. He said it was unfair that the airline industry gets billions of dollars in aid and so do other related industries like the hotel industry, while the agencies turned a blind eye to cab drivers. The Department of Labor was also criticized for not aiding the drivers who claimed lost business in the aftermath of September 11th. (Labor) laws are outdated, discrimination prevails and you have also been denied interim rule (for unemployment assistance), said Jonathan Rosen, representing the Unemployment Project. He noted that lawmakers, including Sen. Hillary Clinton, have been urged to rewrite the unemployment assistance rules. The drivers also said they faced hardship due to declining income, high lease rates, and the fear of racial harassment. People dont take my cab anymore, said Surinder Singh Walia, a Sikh. They think Im a terrorist because I wear a turban and have a long beard. He said it was becoming harder day after day, with diminishing income and fewer people hiring his cab. Dorothy Le Conte, the only woman driver to speak t the even and the mother of a four-year-old boy, drew out a certificate presented by the TLC in appreciation of free service into downtown Manhattan during the troubled time soon after the terrorist attacks. She said, however, This [acknowledgement] is not enough. When I went to FEMA, they said, we dont know where you are from. We call ourselves business people but we are forced to work like slaves, LeConte added. The owner-driver said that there was no help for any agency in terms of relief and still she had to follow TLC regulations such as buying a new car at the end of five years, and paying high interest rates and insurance. Yellow cab drivers have been systematically denied assistance and refused opportunities to apply for recovery assistance, said Bharavi Desai, NYTWA staff coordinator. She told Desi Talk that she was glad to see that the government agencies, for the first time, took notice of the fact that cab drivers were impacted by the events of September 11th and were direct victims of the terror attacks. I hope they did not think this was a venting session. They heard us and our proposal. Now we hope that they go back to their supervisors and convey our concerns. Now we wait for them to put their money where their mouth is. Allan Fromberg, deputy commissioner of the TLC, who also attended the event, told Desi Talk that he heard the concerns of the drivers and could empathize with them. But we have our hands full with what we have to do and have been doing. He indicated that TLC may not be able to do anything in terms of relief for yellow cab drivers. VTMBH Article: Line Breaks 1 VTMBH Article: Date 2002-04-05 VTMBH Article: Thumb VTMBH Article: Article File v14n6.doc VTMBH Article: Hit Count 149 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Nearly 350 yellow cab drivers attend NYTWA hearing 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. article Original Name The original name of this item. Taxi drivers confronted representatives of government agencies and charities, charging that drivers Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-04-05 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource "Voices That Must Be Heard" Articles Description An account of the resource The Independent Press Association (IPA) translates articles from the ethnic press (when necessary) and distributes them via web and fax newsletter to mainstream and ethnic press, government offices, nonprofits, and interested individuals. Voices That Must be Heard was designed by the Independent Press Association staff in New York City in response to the horrifying events of September 11. After Sept. 11th, Voices focused on the South Asian, Arab and Middle Eastern communities in New York. Since February 2002, the project has expanded, selecting articles from the broad range of ethnic and community newspapers throughout the city. Here, the Archive has preserved the Voices collection from its inception until November 2002. VTMBH Article VTMBH Article: Edition 46 VTMBH Article: Article Order 1 VTMBH Article: Title Study: undocumented workers in U.S. pay $7 billion in annual taxes VTMBH Article: Author Emelyn Tapaoan VTMBH Article: Publication Filipino Express VTMBH Article: Original Language English VTMBH Article: Translator VTMBH Article: Section briefs VTMBH Article: Blurb VTMBH Article: Keywords VTMBH Article: Body The presence of undocumented immigrants in the United States makes a net positive contribution to the U.S. economy. That is the finding of a study conducted by the National Immigration Forum, a not-for-profit organization protecting immigrants rights. The study found out that undocumented immigrants pay about $7 billion annually in taxes. Some taxes paid by the undocumented, including $2.7 billion annually to Social Security, and $168 million into state employment benefit funds, are direct subsidies to these systems, since undocumented workers cannot by law collect any benefits for their contributions. To empower the finding, the Asian American and Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) in New York said that undocumented immigrants are the source of enormous profit in industries dependent on the labor of workers without papers. Undocumented workers fill in the gap of the labor force on jobs that most U.S. citizens would never take, said Sin Yen Ling, a staff attorney at the AALDEF. She was referring to industries such as: agriculture, food service, residential construction, building services, tourism (including the hotel and restaurant industries), garment production, retail, health care and domestic services. In this light, it is clear that the labor of undocumented workers not only pumps tens of billions of dollars into the nations economy, but that the workers themselves receive only a small percentage of it, a much smaller percentage of the value that they produce than is received by workers who are either citizens or legal residents, the female lawyer said. Despite some tremendous contributions, many advocates of immigrants rights argue that U.S. anti-immigrant legislation, such as the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) and the U.S.A. Patriot Act, has been directed at undocumented immigrants. At the heart of the IRCA is employer sanctions which requires them to keep records of workers immigration status, and impose fines on those who hire the undocumented. The real impact of the law is on workers, making it a crime for those without documents to hold a job, wrote David Bacon, a West Coast journalist, who conducted an investigative report on the political economy of undocumented workers. In his report, Bacon said this watershed action has had widespread ramifications. It has influenced the wage levels and vulnerability of immigrant labor. It has spawned other proposals for the denial of their rights, such as the right to education or medical care. The original premise that undocumented immigrants have no right to work or earn a living has been broadened to include the denial of their rights to most basic elements of normal life, including the right to be part of a community. It has led to the demonizing and dehumanizing of undocumented immigrants in public debate and political life. But when the September 11th attack on World Trade Center occurred, life for immigrants became more unpleasant. The U.S. Patriot Act has imposed stricter controls on immigrant labor… oftentimes blaming them for what happened, Yen Ling said. Still, many argue that while immigration has beneficial effects, the entry of undocumented immigrants also has a negative effect on society. The Urban Institute, in its May 1994 study, Immigration and Immigrants, Setting the Record Straight, estimated that the undocumented population of the U.S. stood between 2.5 and 3.5 million people in 1980, and increased to 3 to 5 million just before the passage of the IRCA. After IRCAs amnesty program, which helped undocumented immigrants to normalize their immigration status, the population fell to 1.8 to 3 million, and had risen to 2.7 to 3.7 million by 1992. VTMBH Article: Line Breaks 1 VTMBH Article: Date 2002-12-15 VTMBH Article: Thumb VTMBH Article: Article File VTMBH Article: Hit Count 125 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Study: undocumented workers in U.S. pay $7 billion in annual taxes 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. article Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-12-15 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource "Voices That Must Be Heard" Articles Description An account of the resource The Independent Press Association (IPA) translates articles from the ethnic press (when necessary) and distributes them via web and fax newsletter to mainstream and ethnic press, government offices, nonprofits, and interested individuals. Voices That Must be Heard was designed by the Independent Press Association staff in New York City in response to the horrifying events of September 11. After Sept. 11th, Voices focused on the South Asian, Arab and Middle Eastern communities in New York. Since February 2002, the project has expanded, selecting articles from the broad range of ethnic and community newspapers throughout the city. Here, the Archive has preserved the Voices collection from its inception until November 2002. VTMBH Article VTMBH Article: Edition 42 VTMBH Article: Article Order 4 VTMBH Article: Title Sharpton calls for peace during the holidays VTMBH Article: Author Herb Boyd VTMBH Article: Publication Amsterdam News VTMBH Article: Original Language English VTMBH Article: Translator VTMBH Article: Section war1 VTMBH Article: Blurb VTMBH Article: Keywords VTMBH Article: Body Few voices from the activist community have been as unyielding in their opposition to the Bush administrations war plans against Iraq than the Rev. Al Sharpton. The minister pushed his stance against that potential conflict up another notch on Monday, when he met with Iraqi UN Ambassador Mohammad Aldouri. Prompted by the approaching holidays, particularly the beginning of the Muslim observation of Ramadan, Sharpton issued another call for peace. I just dont see how we can celebrate the holy daysRamadan and Christmasand not, in our own conscience, say we did what we could to avoid shedding blood, he said outside the Iraqi Mission on the Upper East Side after the meeting. If we could get religious leaders who could talk to all sides…then it can be productive. Sharpton expressed concern that the turmoil has been reduced to a standoff between President Bush and Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. Our concern is for the innocent and the bloodshed of American troops and Iraqi children, he stressed. He offered a similar position several weeks ago during a press conference with Martin Luther King III, which was called by Ron Daniels of the Center for Constitutional Rights, at the Riverside Church. No specific solution was proposed by Sharpton or the ambassador. They were there merely to convey a message of peace, in keeping with the holiday spirit. Sharpton said we must try, even if it amounts to nothing. Ambassador Aldouri said that the people of Iraq were lovers of peace and that they would do their best to obtain that noble goal. VTMBH Article: Line Breaks 1 VTMBH Article: Date 2002-11-20 VTMBH Article: Thumb VTMBH Article: Article File VTMBH Article: Hit Count 34 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Sharpton calls for peace during the holidays 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. article Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-11-20 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource "Voices That Must Be Heard" Articles Description An account of the resource The Independent Press Association (IPA) translates articles from the ethnic press (when necessary) and distributes them via web and fax newsletter to mainstream and ethnic press, government offices, nonprofits, and interested individuals. Voices That Must be Heard was designed by the Independent Press Association staff in New York City in response to the horrifying events of September 11. After Sept. 11th, Voices focused on the South Asian, Arab and Middle Eastern communities in New York. Since February 2002, the project has expanded, selecting articles from the broad range of ethnic and community newspapers throughout the city. Here, the Archive has preserved the Voices collection from its inception until November 2002. VTMBH Article VTMBH Article: Edition 40 VTMBH Article: Article Order 1 VTMBH Article: Title Belafonte did the right thing by speaking against Powell and war against Iraq VTMBH Article: Author VTMBH Article: Publication New York Carib News VTMBH Article: Original Language English VTMBH Article: Translator VTMBH Article: Section edits VTMBH Article: Blurb Harry Belafonte voiced deeply a held feeling among whites and Blacks about Powell when he called the Secretary of State a house slave. Belafontes action may not have been the politically correct thing to do in todays environment, but he must be applauded for his courage in speaking out. VTMBH Article: Keywords VTMBH Article: Body Theres an old saying, in the days of slavery, there were those who lived on the plantation and there were those slaves that lived in the house. Harry Belafonte, one of Americas great and most enduring entertainers, and civil and human rights advocates, was recalling an ugly part of Americas and, indeed, the Caribbeans history: the horrible centuries of slavery and the ability of the white slave master to manipulate human beings for his own unsavory ends. But Belafonte, the son of West Indian parents, Jamaicans to be exact, wasnt simply referring to a sad chapter in history. He used the analogy to complain about the role of U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, a highly respected public figure who also traces the roots of his familys tree to Jamaica. Colin Powells committed to come into the house of the master, Belafonte said. When Colin Powell dares to suggest something other than what the master wants to hear, he will be turned out to pasture. The master, in this case, is President George Bush and what the White House occupant doesnt want to hear is any criticism of his push to stage a pre-emptive strike against Saddam Husseins Iraq. Was Belafonte out of line to use the slave master analogy or was he voicing a deeply held feeling among whites and Blacks about Powell? We believe the latter is the correct answer. And it took a very brave man to go up against such a titan as Powell in the way that he did. Belafontes action may not have been the politically correct thing to do in todays environment, but he must be applauded for his courage in speaking out, knowing full well that he may have to pay a heavy price for it. But, then, taking on the powers that be has never deterred the internationally famous actor, singer and political figure. His forthrightness and bravery have been rewarded, first with his ability to live comfortably with himself, knowing that he stands for something, and secondly, with the recognition he has received through awards and honors from a variety of national, regional and international institutions. Clearly, the Bush administrations plan to launch an attack on Iraq has unnerved millions of Americans who are concerned that Washington would send their sons to fight and die in an unjustified war. After all, they say, the Bush administration has cozy relations with several countries that currently possess nuclear weapons; Russia, Pakistan, India, Ukraine and Israel are a few examples, but there isnt any talk about going to war over their weapons of mass destruction. Worst of all, there isnt any clear proof that Iraq possesses such weapons to begin with or that it intends to use them in the future. In simple, straightforward terms, a case hasnt made for an attack on Iraq that would justify the loss of hundreds, if not thousands, of Americans lives. The problem is that while people in both black and white communities across the United States have expressed their misgivings about Bushs plan of action, no one with the stature of Belafonte has displayed the intestinal fortitude to stand up and criticize Powell, who has been given the awful job of selling the idea of war against Iraq to the international community and to the American people. Whats difficult for many people to accept is the way Powell has been carrying out his job, with gusto. But Iraq isnt the only issue that has lead to disappointment in Powells performance as the first black person to head the State Department. The unilateralist positions, which the Bush administration has initiated in such areas as the environment, disarmament, international trade, and family planning and abortion, have left nations around the world wondering where he stands. Blacks are also appalled by the Bush administrations treatment of Powell. It is widely known that he has lost many key foreign policy battles, so much so that earlier this year there was intense speculation that he would quit in protest. A mix of disquiet and disappointment is also being heard, albeit privately, in some Caribbean circles as well. Some public figures are saying that the nice words of interest voiced by Powell and National Security Advisor Dr. Condoleezza Rice, have not been matched with concrete action on the Third Border Initiative and other priority matters by the Bush team. That explains why a prominent politician sided with Belafonte when he spoke out against Powell. The Caribbean public figure was quoted as saying that the entertainer had simply said what he too felt about the Secretary of State but couldnt say it publicly. Like most things done in the United States these days, the interest and concerns of black people, when it comes to Iraq, are at the bottom rung of the ladder of the administrations priorities. And Powells apparent failure to bring those concerns to the table is deeply disappointing. VTMBH Article: Line Breaks 1 VTMBH Article: Date 2002-10-30 VTMBH Article: Thumb VTMBH Article: Article File VTMBH Article: Hit Count 78 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Belafonte did the right thing by speaking against Powell and war against Iraq 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. article Original Name The original name of this item. Harry Belafonte voiced deeply a held feeling among whites and Blacks about Powell when he called the Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-10-30 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource "Voices That Must Be Heard" Articles Description An account of the resource The Independent Press Association (IPA) translates articles from the ethnic press (when necessary) and distributes them via web and fax newsletter to mainstream and ethnic press, government offices, nonprofits, and interested individuals. Voices That Must be Heard was designed by the Independent Press Association staff in New York City in response to the horrifying events of September 11. After Sept. 11th, Voices focused on the South Asian, Arab and Middle Eastern communities in New York. Since February 2002, the project has expanded, selecting articles from the broad range of ethnic and community newspapers throughout the city. Here, the Archive has preserved the Voices collection from its inception until November 2002. VTMBH Article VTMBH Article: Edition 35 VTMBH Article: Article Order 1 VTMBH Article: Title Conferences for Egyptians in America: Where are the Coptic Christians? VTMBH Article: Author Nader Girgis VTMBH Article: Publication Al-Horeya VTMBH Article: Original Language Arabic VTMBH Article: Translator Amir Aziz Soliman Hodhod VTMBH Article: Section edits VTMBH Article: Blurb I was anxious to know what the Arab Christiansthe overwhelming Arab-American majoritysaid at a recent conference about cooperating with our Muslim brothers to coordinate an political strategy. But there were no Arab Christian included at this conference. VTMBH Article: Keywords VTMBH Article: Body With great interest, I followed the articles in Al-Ahram about the conferences in Washington, D.C., moderated by Dr. Mohamed El-Sayed Said, called, Muslims in America and their role in public elections. The first section was published in Al-Ahram on June 28, 2002, and the second section on July 5, 2002. From the speeches highlighted, it is clear that Egyptians and Arab Muslims attended the conferences. The Islamic conference for work in the United States discussed the dimensions of Muslims political existence and focused on strategies for Islamic work post-September 11th, Al-Ahram reported. The second section focused on todays election policies and the position of Muslims in the next elections, as well as the important role that Arab Christians play in this country, for their homeland and for the Palestinian cause. In fact, the Arab Christians were pioneers in building up Arab-American identity and rebuilding the connections between Arab-Americans and their countries of origin, Al-Ahram reported. I was anxious to know what the Arab Christians said at this important conference about their cooperation with their Muslim brothers in creating an Arab-American policy for the upcoming elections. Especially since Arab Christians in this country constitute more than 70 percent of the Arab-American populationmaking them the overwhelming majority. I read the entire issue of that newspaper, but I could not find a single name of an Arab Christian who took part in this conference. For example, one speaker said, If we focus on our strong points, we will find that states like Michigan, New Jersey, California, Florida, Ohio and Illinois are the most important states from the electoral perspective. They fluctuate between the Republicans and the Democrats because neither party has had a lasting effect. In those states, we will find that Muslims have great influence. The writer went on to explain the meaning of Islamic work and the need to strengthen the unity of Islamic groups. We start by making alliances that serve American interests. We have to work on the energy problem that conservative Republicans are also trying to solve. We must tell them that their new energy policy should not use dams, nor should they continue their ridiculous attacks on Arabic and Islamic countries. Those countries will produce the oil and export it. He added that the Islamic groups share conservatives ideas about culture, and that mosques and Islamic institutes are pioneers in the struggle against alcoholism and the rehabilitation of criminals in prison. His comments made it clear to me that the conference focused completely on Islamic issues and did not mention anything about the role of Coptic and Arabic churches in cultural and social programs. And thus, everyone involved in the meetings focused on the role of his Islamic groups effect on the hearts and minds of Americans. It also focused on putting monetary and spiritual pressure on political candidates to garner support for Islamic and Arabic causes. But they turned a blind eye to the American Arab Christian majority who did not participate in the conferences. I do not know whether this omission was intentional or accidental. But why his remarks included the important role played by Arab Christians in this country for Palestinian and Arabic causes is a mystery. Without representation of Christians in the conference, his address was meaningless. But we must recognize that Arab Christians played a very important roleperhaps more than any otherin defending Muslims and Arabs since September 11th. For example, Dr. James Zogby, co-founder and president of the Arab American Institute in Washington, D.C., was able to succeed, with the help of many Christians of Arabic origin, in convincing then-President Bill Clinton to organize and participate in the first Arabic conference. I participated in this conference and wrote about it three years ago. The Al-Ahram writer was also one of the first people interviewed by the American mainstream media after September 11th. He asked the media and the American government to help protect Arabs and Muslims living in the United States from any attacks by ignorant Americans. He gave an example of the murder of a Coptic Christian man in Los Angeles, who was killed solely because he was Egyptian and resembled the September 11th hijackers. Therefore, it is strange that the Al-Ahram international newspaper asked us last July, in a piece written by Nabal-Luka, to follow the line of one Coptic organization, which supported the Egyptian position and the Palestinian cause, and asked the Coptic organization to join their Muslim brothers to create one united Egyptian-Lobi group. Al-Ahrams reporter does not know that there is a Coptic newspaper like this one, which defends the Palestinian cause and those who are victims of the conflict and demands that the other Arabic papers call for an independent Palestinian state. Finally, at the end of this commentary, we blame Dr. Mohamed El-Sayed Said and Al-Ahram because they ignore, and silence, the Arab Christian majority who work for the benefit of its motherland. And we insist that this majority be represented in such conferences because the minority of Arab Muslims cant have a stake in U.S. politics without the help of the Arab Christian majority. So, if Muslims and Christians unite defend their causes in Arabic, they can do a great job, and they can have a great influence on American public opinion, because here, state policies are separate from religious divisions. VTMBH Article: Line Breaks 1 VTMBH Article: Date 2002-08-31 VTMBH Article: Thumb VTMBH Article: Article File VTMBH Article: Hit Count 151 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Conferences for Egyptians in America: Where are the Coptic Christians? 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. article Original Name The original name of this item. I was anxious to know what the Arab Christiansthe overwhelming Arab-American majoritysaid at a recen Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-08-31 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource "Voices That Must Be Heard" Articles Description An account of the resource The Independent Press Association (IPA) translates articles from the ethnic press (when necessary) and distributes them via web and fax newsletter to mainstream and ethnic press, government offices, nonprofits, and interested individuals. Voices That Must be Heard was designed by the Independent Press Association staff in New York City in response to the horrifying events of September 11. After Sept. 11th, Voices focused on the South Asian, Arab and Middle Eastern communities in New York. Since February 2002, the project has expanded, selecting articles from the broad range of ethnic and community newspapers throughout the city. Here, the Archive has preserved the Voices collection from its inception until November 2002. VTMBH Article VTMBH Article: Edition 42 VTMBH Article: Article Order 2 VTMBH Article: Title Strict new guidelines affect undocumented Filipinos VTMBH Article: Author Emelyn Tapaoan VTMBH Article: Publication Filipino Express VTMBH Article: Original Language English VTMBH Article: Translator VTMBH Article: Section news VTMBH Article: Blurb Since the passage of the USA Patriot Act, banks and other financial institutions have become more strict about who can send money overseas. For Filipinos, both undocumented and legal residents, anxieties about both the INS and their inability to send money home are rising rapidly. VTMBH Article: Keywords VTMBH Article: Body For many years, Felix Reyes, 51, consistently sent money to his family in the Philippines, and he never encountered any problem with his identification. But last week, the 51-year-old Filipino immigrant worker had a different experience as he approached a bank teller to remit $600 to his wife in the Philippines. May I have your I.D. please? the bank teller replied in a pinched voice. After presenting his identification card, the bank teller also asked about his Social Security Number (SSN)and other federal identifications. I was pissed off. I'm a frequent bank remitter, yet they kept asking for my identification. One I.D. is no longer enough. I felt my privacy has already been encroached with these regulations, Reyes said. Since the passage of the USA Patriot Act in October 2001, the scene is already a familiar routine across the United States. Before, one I.D. is enough, but now they ask more about documentation, said Imelda Juan, a New York-based nurse. If you had a problem with any of that, you were advised to keep it to yourself, or else you are told of what you say. Or if anyone dared to question government measures that paid little heed to the civil liberties of immigrants, you might receive a quick rebuke like this: your complaint only aids the terrorist, quipped Myrna Santos, a teacher in the Philippines who is now a nanny in New York. Some are already afraid to ask questions, housekeeper Mae Coloma explained. They might get you, and you cant say anything. After September 11th , the U.S. government has imposed strict controls on the banks and companies that handle all immigrant payment remittances. Under the U.S. Patriotic Act, we are required to verify the identities of remitters. But now, there are stricter guidelines issued by the Federal Reserve Bank, said Efren Dikitanan, compliance officer of Philippine National Bank (PNB) New York. In the interim, we followed the New York Customer Policy wherein we check remitters against the specifically designated blacklisted persons provided by the Foreign Assets Control, Dikitnanan pointed out. He added, however, that PNB is now strictly required to verify the identity of clients and other documenting record of information such as the name, address, SSN and other identifying information. Dikitanan said the new system is advantageous to remittance centers because "it helps in preventing money laundering and terrorism. Previous media reports indicated that three days before the September 11th attacks, two terrorists allegedly transferred about $15,000 to one recipient in the United Arab Emirates, dividing the cash into four transactions and using different Western Union outlets. Since then, the state banking department began sharing money transfer information last March 2001 with the local office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). All money transmitters are checked against lists of suspected terrorists. Rudy Soriano, compliance officer of Metropolitan Savings Bank (Metrobank), also said that they are required to comply with the enhanced due diligence program of the USA Patriot Act. This means that we have to be diligent in dealing with customers enjoining them to submit ID, SSN, birth date verified by official documents, and as much appropriate valid information from each customer, Soriano said. But we have to ensure customer privacy required under the Privacy of Consumer Financial Information. For example, if we get information , we dont divulge it to a third party, the compliance officer said. Small companies, such as the Johnny Air Cargo are also following the strict new controls required by the U.S. government on money remittances. Ginalyn Lopez, remittance division staff of Johnny Air Cargo in Queens said we require Filipino customers drivers I.D., company I.D., SSN, and other identification if they send $1,000 dollars and above to the Philippines. For our records, we photocopy such documents, added Jasper Pechara of the package section of the Johnny Air. But as far as Lopez and Pechara's experience in the remittance sector, no Filipino customer has ever been apprehended and charged with money laundering or any act of illegal remittance. We have obedient and law-abiding Filipino customers, Lopez said. But a close scrutiny of the USA Patriot Act indicates that law enforcement officials can force companies to hand over records of who remitted such amount to other countries, and what addresses theyre sending to without the high bar of probable cause required for searches under the Fourth Amendment. Further, company staff and officials, must not tell anyone such records have been requestednot even the patron being investigated. If they refuse to fork over the records, they can go to jail. The post Sept. 11 controls on cash remittances is considered a major problem for many immigrants. It is a common knowledge that the core market for money transfers are immigrants who do not have drivers licenses or other government-issued IDs. As of now, immigrants, be they legal or undocumented, are afraid of exposing themselves to the authorities, said Ronnie de la Cruz, a permanent resident. VTMBH Article: Line Breaks 1 VTMBH Article: Date 2002-11-24 VTMBH Article: Thumb VTMBH Article: Article File VTMBH Article: Hit Count 106 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Strict new guidelines affect undocumented Filipinos 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. article Original Name The original name of this item. Since the passage of the USA Patriot Act, banks and other financial institutions have become more st Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-11-24 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource "Voices That Must Be Heard" Articles Description An account of the resource The Independent Press Association (IPA) translates articles from the ethnic press (when necessary) and distributes them via web and fax newsletter to mainstream and ethnic press, government offices, nonprofits, and interested individuals. Voices That Must be Heard was designed by the Independent Press Association staff in New York City in response to the horrifying events of September 11. After Sept. 11th, Voices focused on the South Asian, Arab and Middle Eastern communities in New York. Since February 2002, the project has expanded, selecting articles from the broad range of ethnic and community newspapers throughout the city. Here, the Archive has preserved the Voices collection from its inception until November 2002. VTMBH Article VTMBH Article: Edition 24 VTMBH Article: Article Order 3 VTMBH Article: Title Protesters interrupt former Argentinean President Menems speech during New York conference VTMBH Article: Author Enrique Soria VTMBH Article: Publication El Diario / La Prensa VTMBH Article: Original Language Spanish VTMBH Article: Translator Hannah Emmerich VTMBH Article: Section news VTMBH Article: Blurb Former Argentinean President Carlos Menem was interrupted by protestors shouting tyrant, liar, and sellout as he presented his doctoral dissertation at Fordam University. VTMBH Article: Keywords VTMBH Article: Body Former Argentinean President Carlos Menem was interrupted yesterday by a group of protesters at a conference at Fordham University, where he presented his doctoral dissertationa study of the political, social, and economic crises facing Argentina today. The conference, organized by Fordham University Law School and billed as an important academic event, quickly deteriorated into a confrontation between Menem and angry ex-patriots. The protesters gathered in front of the school before and after the conference holding signs calling Menem a sellout and a thief. Inside the conference, Menem was interrupted when he began to speak of his accomplishments during his decade-long reign, and throughout the question and answer period when Menem failed to respond to the protesters questions. The confrontation came as a surprise to Latin American officials and diplomats who attended the conference, as well as its organizers, who remained at a loss as to how to deal with the angry group. Shouts of tyrant, liar, and sellout erupted from the audience as protesters challenged Menem to explain his role in the corruption and privatization of services that characterized his administration. The group also demanded that Menem address his participation in the sale of arms to Croatia and Ecuador and his involvement with organized crime in Argentina. At one point Menem angrily addressed the protesters, saying, I demand respect because I have not attacked anybody. However Cecilia Bolocco, Menems wife, said afterwards that her husband was not affected by the interruptions. If there is anyone who has lived through difficult times and has been criticized unjustly in Argentina, it has been he [Menem]. He was detained for five years by the military and it was he who pardoned them years later. This kind of thing [the incident at the University] is unpleasant, but it also doesnt affect him because those who suffer most are those who attacked him, commented Bolocco. Menem, who presents himself as the only politician who can save Argentina from its current crisis, highlighted parts of his proposed plan for economic and political reform, including instituting the dollar system and reforming the constitution. He also suggested implementing a new, unicameral legislature that would not exceed 150 members. Menem defended his administrations decision to privatize several services, including the telephone, gas, and electric companies. He added that when he was elected as president the public sector provided poor services (including a wait as long as 10 years to have a home telephone installed), did not pay taxes, and faced a debt of thousands of millions of dollars. Menem criticized the Fernando de la Rúa administration on two major issues. Firstly for discrediting the political heritage of his predecessor and also for incurring an unbalanced budget. In less than three years we ceased to be a paradigm of economic success in Latin America and became the protagonist of our own failure, explained Menem. The ex-president pointed to stronger leadership and government reform as the only way to reestablish monetary stability and fiscal equilibrium in Argentina. He added that Argentina is unable to compete in todays economy because of the cost capital and not labor. He assured the audience that they would not see an economic recovery unless Argentinas credit was expanded. Menems visit to New York is part of the former presidents campaign to return to the polls as a new hope for Argentina. A recent survey conducted by the Argentinean newspaper Clarín showed that 70 percent of those polled did not favor Menem; however 51 percent believed he could win a presidential election. Menem also met with former President Bill Clinton and investment banks J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley, and visited Ground Zero to pay his respects to the victims of the World Trade Center tragedy. Today he will meet with former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and later have an interview with the New York Times. VTMBH Article: Line Breaks 1 VTMBH Article: Date 2002-06-18 VTMBH Article: Thumb VTMBH Article: Article File VTMBH Article: Hit Count 407 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Protesters interrupt former Argentinean President Menems speech during New York conference 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. article Original Name The original name of this item. Former Argentinean President Carlos Menem was interrupted by protestors shouting tyrant, liar, and s Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-06-18 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource "Voices That Must Be Heard" Articles Description An account of the resource The Independent Press Association (IPA) translates articles from the ethnic press (when necessary) and distributes them via web and fax newsletter to mainstream and ethnic press, government offices, nonprofits, and interested individuals. Voices That Must be Heard was designed by the Independent Press Association staff in New York City in response to the horrifying events of September 11. After Sept. 11th, Voices focused on the South Asian, Arab and Middle Eastern communities in New York. Since February 2002, the project has expanded, selecting articles from the broad range of ethnic and community newspapers throughout the city. Here, the Archive has preserved the Voices collection from its inception until November 2002. VTMBH Article VTMBH Article: Edition 42 VTMBH Article: Article Order 4 VTMBH Article: Title Jews, Latinos set to launch a formal dialogue VTMBH Article: Author Marc Perelman VTMBH Article: Publication Forward VTMBH Article: Original Language English VTMBH Article: Translator VTMBH Article: Section news VTMBH Article: Blurb Reaching across an economic gap and a sharp divergence in communal priorities, top Jewish and Latino groups plan to set up a formal structure for intergroup dialogue, called the Latino Jewish Leadership Council. Its to be launched by lawmakers in February. VTMBH Article: Keywords VTMBH Article: Body Reaching across an economic gap and a sharp divergence in communal priorities, top Jewish and Latino groups plan to set up a formal structure for intergroup dialogue. The organization, called the Latino Jewish Leadership Council, is to be launched officially in February during a meeting of Jewish and Latino congressmen in Washington. For the Jewish participants, the formation of the council is a recognition of the growing clout of Americas 35 million-strong Latino community, and a partial response to studies showing a troubling degree of anti-Semitism among Hispanics. The Latinos are the largest minority in America, the fastest-growing population group, and they will have more and more voting power, so we need to reach out to them, said Dina Siegel Vann, the Mexican-American director of Latin America and U.N. affairs at Bnai Brith International and the driving force behind the project. On the other hand, the Latinos want to become more savvy politically and more economically empowered, and they see Jews as a model. The councils board will comprise five Jewish groups: Bnai Brith, the American Jewish Committee, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, and, pending final decisions, Hillel and the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. The five participating Latino organizations are the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, the League of United Latin American Citizens, the National Council of La Raza, the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials and the New America Alliance. The creation of the council was approved in a closed-door meeting in Washington in September. The groups first conference call took place on Monday, though the final details still need to be ironed out. Observers said the two communities will try to reach a quid pro quo on their top issues the Latinos will seek Jewish support in promoting a more generous immigration policy, while Jewish groups will want more Latino backing for Israel. The task will not be easy. Jews have become more established and less sensitive to the plight of immigrants, especially since September 11th and the ensuing tightening of immigration regulations. And the intifada has created a sense of underdog solidarity between the Palestinians and the Latinos, rendering support for Israel more problematic. Another hot topic will likely be foreign aid. Several Latino groups advocating increased American aid to Latin America have questioned the high level of aid received by Israel. According to Ann Schaffer, director of American Jewish Committees Belfer Center for American Pluralism, a compromise could be reached by having the Jewish community support increased aid to Latin America in exchange for Latino backing for unchanged levels of aid to Israel. In addition, some Jewish groups are concerned by indications of a high level of anti-Semitism in the Latino community, most recently highlighted in a June study by the Anti-Defamation League, which showed that 35 percent of Hispanic-American respondents were strongly anti-Semitic. The same study indicated that 44 percent of foreign-born Hispanic-American respondents showed strong anti-Semitic beliefs, compared to only 20 percent of Latinos born in the United States. While most participants in the council downplayed the problem, they agreed that one of the objectives is to dispel stereotypes on both sides. We need to learn about each other Latinos should not consider all Jews media moguls and Jews should know that all Latinos are not maids, said Siegel Vann, who has forcefully criticized the findings of the ADL study. The Latino community also hopes Jewish groups can help ensure more Latino presence in the media and provide useful tools for economic and social integration. While Jewish and Latino officials have met several times in recent years, it was essentially on an ad-hoc basis. Bnai Brith and others pushed for the creation of a more institutionalized structure, similar to the ones fostering black-Jewish dialogue. But while the idea was proposed back at a July 2000 Latino-Jewish Congressional roundtable, and reaffirmed at a Latino-Jewish meeting in March 2001, it took many months to finally agree on a formal structure. Observers cited the diverging priorities and the absence of front-burner conflicts between the communities as the main reasons for the delay. This is long overdue, said Larry Gonzalez, the Washington director of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials. The potential political impact of a Jewish-Latino alliance could be huge. Just imagine the situation in New York, Florida and California. The plan is to have a board of directors with the 10 groups and five outstanding individuals involved in Latino-Jewish affairs. A former San Antonio Mayor and Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President Clinton, Henry Cisneros, has had his name bandied about, but there are only two confirmed individual board members. The first one is Sarita Brown, a Mexican Jew who heads the Hispanic Scholarship Fund Institute and was active in promoting educational initiatives for Latinos during the Clinton administration. The other is Emily Gantz-MacKay, a human rights activist who was one of the founders of La Raza and also works for the New Israel Fund. We have a unique situation where we have people who are both Latino and Jewish, said Gantz-McKay, head of the not-for-profit consulting firm Mosaica. The two communities have very similar values, common experiences as immigrants trying to achieve a place in American society, so there is an obvious connection. The initial budget for the council is slated to be $45,000 and the objective is to raise funds from foundations and individuals. Not all Jewish groups responded to the invitationmost notably the ADL. Stacey Burdett, the ADLs associate director of government affairs, said this was due to a scheduling problem and that the ADL had not made a formal decision. Participants said the American Israel Public Affairs Committee would only be an associate organization since it is a one-issue group. Hillel and the Religious Action Center, while fully supportive of the initiative, still need to decide on levels of involvement, officials at the two organizations said. The American Jewish Committees Schaffer stressed that her group had long been interested in Latino-Jewish relations. The AJCommittee published a book on the issue last year and its board of governors is slated to discuss the Latino vote in the recent elections at its December annual meeting. This is an important initiative and having top Latino groups involved in it is important because we need parity to show this is a real commitment, she said. We have many common policy stances like a fair and generous immigration policy, promotion of civil rights and anti-discrimination. VTMBH Article: Line Breaks 1 VTMBH Article: Date 2002-11-15 VTMBH Article: Thumb VTMBH Article: Article File VTMBH Article: Hit Count 86 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Jews, Latinos set to launch a formal dialogue 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. article Original Name The original name of this item. Reaching across an economic gap and a sharp divergence in communal priorities, top Jewish and Latino Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-11-15 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource "Voices That Must Be Heard" Articles Description An account of the resource The Independent Press Association (IPA) translates articles from the ethnic press (when necessary) and distributes them via web and fax newsletter to mainstream and ethnic press, government offices, nonprofits, and interested individuals. Voices That Must be Heard was designed by the Independent Press Association staff in New York City in response to the horrifying events of September 11. After Sept. 11th, Voices focused on the South Asian, Arab and Middle Eastern communities in New York. Since February 2002, the project has expanded, selecting articles from the broad range of ethnic and community newspapers throughout the city. Here, the Archive has preserved the Voices collection from its inception until November 2002. VTMBH Article VTMBH Article: Edition 31 VTMBH Article: Article Order 5 VTMBH Article: Title Butt out, Bloomy: Bar owners slam smoking ban; vow to fight Bloomberg plan VTMBH Article: Author Georgina Brennan VTMBH Article: Publication Irish Voice VTMBH Article: Original Language English VTMBH Article: Translator VTMBH Article: Section news VTMBH Article: Blurb Irish bar owners are hopping mad about Mayor Bloombergs new proposal to ban smoking in bars and restaurants. Many bar and restaurant owners believe it will have a devastating affect on their businesses and are banding together to tell the mayor to butt out. VTMBH Article: Keywords VTMBH Article: Body Irish bar owners are hopping mad and banding together citywide to tell New Yorks mayor to butt out of their businesses and not to impose a smoking ban on their premises. Last week, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced plans for a tough new law banning smoking in bars, company cars and all restaurants. This is something that you really have to move right up to the front of the list, and I think the public will see any delay for exactly what it isan attempt to injure people, the mayor told reporters this week. Form Tribeca to Riverdale, however, bar owners are in an uproar over the mayors plans to ban cigarette smoking in bars. Its a disappointing case of a billionaire businessman, a limousine liberal, telling the little people how to live, said Joe Gillespie in PJ Hogans, an Irish bar in Queens. Terry Connaughton, originally from Co. Roscommon, owns the Riverdale Steakhouse in the west Bronx and said he was devastated by the news. Its a sad day when you cant have a cigarette at a bar, he said. One of Connaughtons main worries is his proximity to the Westchester county border where smoking is allowed. I am only four blocks away. My customers could go four blocks to have a cigarette indoors, and that will hurt my business, he said. In Desmonds on Park Avenue South, owner Hughie Connolly complained that most of his customers smoked. The city should not be able to tell people if they can have a cigarette or not, it should be a matter of choice, he said. Advocating the use of signs to advertise a smoking bar, Connelly asked that the mayor let the market, instead of the city, decide who can smoke. In ONeills on Third Avenue, owner Ciaran Staunton said the future for small businesses was gloomy. Already we have suffered in a depressed economy. This may mean the demise of small businesses already floundering, he said. Staunton compared New York to California, pointing out that similar legislation on the West Coast saw the closure of many businesses and huge losses for others. He says it could be even worse here. ONeills serves many commuters who drop in for a drink and smoke before going home from Grand Central. I think I can see them come in, have their drink, go outside to light up and just keep going, he said. As it stands, New Yorkers can smoke in bars, on streets, on beaches and outdoors. With this new legislation, New York will become smoke-free with tougher anti-smoking laws than those in California. About 14,000 bars will be affected. Downtown, Danny Traynor in Tribecas Due South feared his business would suffer with the passing of the legislation. Traynor already suffered because of his proximity to Ground Zero. I think people will go back to their homes and skip the bars, he said. I am a member of the New York Restaurateurs Associations and Ill be talking to my city councilman. Together, the bar owners are preparing to rally for a fight against the legislation, and in all cases are seeking support from their local representatives. Councilmen for the two Irish enclaves hardest hit by the proposed legislation, Woodside and Woodlawn, are already fielding calls from their constituents seeking support against the bill. In the Bronx, however, Councilmen G. Oliver Koppell is firmly behind the mayor, according to a spokesperson, and will be pushing the bill into law. In Queens, Councilman Eric Gioias offices refused to comment on the legislation without seeing it, but sources in Queens politics point him as a staunch anti-smoking advocate. We may not get the support from the city, or from the Health Department but we will be making our voices heard at the citys hearing, said a depressed Gillespie. Meanwhile, on the other side of the bar, some customers are raising arms in anger at the prospect of empty bars with little or no atmosphere when smokers are banished. Ive been to California and to be honest, the atmosphere is very different there, a bit too clean, said Queens resident David Kyne, 28. I like the dingy bars in New York where you can have a cigarette with your drink. If I were to be completely truthful I am trying to give up smoking myself anyway so this would help, but the atmosphere inside pubs may change for the worse, he feels. Bronx resident Mary Allen said the ban would not make her kick the habit. I would take myself across city limits to Yonkers where I could enjoy socializing, she said. I dont live in California by choice and I will drink by choice. That choice will be influenced by my comfort. According to Bloomberg, the legislation is being fast-tracked to prevent injury to workers in currently smoky atmospheres. The American Cancer Society has wholeheartedly backed the move and has stated that a poll they commissioned showed that 73 percent of those surveyed agreed with the ban, and that seven in 10 New Yorkers would go to bars more often if smoking were prohibited. It is exactly what New Yorkers want, said Rob Kugler, president of the American Cancer Society of New York and New Jersey. Elena Deutsch, director of tobacco control at the American Cancer Society, agreed. New Yorkers will no longer have to go out for a drink and come back with their clothes and lungs filled with smoke, she said. Bartenders and wait staff will not have to breathe second hand smoke, a Class A carcinogen, in order to hold a job. VTMBH Article: Line Breaks 1 VTMBH Article: Date 2002-08-20 VTMBH Article: Thumb VTMBH Article: Article File VTMBH Article: Hit Count 202 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Butt out, Bloomy: Bar owners slam smoking ban; vow to fight Bloomberg plan 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. article Original Name The original name of this item. Irish bar owners are hopping mad about Mayor Bloombergs new proposal to ban smoking in bars and rest Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-08-20 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource "Voices That Must Be Heard" Articles Description An account of the resource The Independent Press Association (IPA) translates articles from the ethnic press (when necessary) and distributes them via web and fax newsletter to mainstream and ethnic press, government offices, nonprofits, and interested individuals. Voices That Must be Heard was designed by the Independent Press Association staff in New York City in response to the horrifying events of September 11. After Sept. 11th, Voices focused on the South Asian, Arab and Middle Eastern communities in New York. Since February 2002, the project has expanded, selecting articles from the broad range of ethnic and community newspapers throughout the city. Here, the Archive has preserved the Voices collection from its inception until November 2002. VTMBH Article VTMBH Article: Edition 22 VTMBH Article: Article Order 4 VTMBH Article: Title Law enforcement agencies trying to recruit Muslims VTMBH Article: Author VTMBH Article: Publication Mirror International VTMBH Article: Original Language English VTMBH Article: Translator VTMBH Article: Section briefs VTMBH Article: Blurb VTMBH Article: Keywords VTMBH Article: Body Law enforcement agencies reached out to the Muslim community last weekend to ease tensions created following the September 11th attacks and to fill the need for agents and other officials with Arabic and other Farsi language skills. Federal, state and local agencies, including the FBI, the Secret Service, the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the New Jersey State Police held a job fair at the Islamic Center of Passaic County, one of the largest mosques in this area. "The career fair is for everybody. Obviously we're grateful to get the Islamic people here, too," said Anthony Colegary, a recruiter for the Secret Service. Anas Abedrabough, a Syrian immigrant, was one of the people who came to the mosque Sunday, both to pray and look for a job. He said he would not be uncomfortable if he was asked to monitor a mosque's activities, which is allowed under new FBI guidelines. "I'm OK with that. I don't have a problem. We have nothing to hide," Abedrabough said. Mosque leaders said they had a good working relationship with the FBI prior to the September 11th attacks. After the attacks, agents came to the mosque, seeking information. The FBI has detained thousands of Muslim non-citizens on immigration violations since September 11th, and civil rights groups have sued to force the Justice Department to release information about them. Sohail Mohammed, an attorney for 18 of those being held, helped sponsor the job fair. He said Muslims should be represented in federal law enforcement agencies. "Why don't we have fair representation of American Muslims in your forces? We ought to be asking that. Why [are] your agencies suspicious of Muslim activities?" Mohammed asked. "Why are our places of worship the focus of your attention, when you know the hijackers weren't worshipping at religious centers, but they were hanging out at bars?" VTMBH Article: Line Breaks 1 VTMBH Article: Date 2002-06-02 VTMBH Article: Thumb VTMBH Article: Article File VTMBH Article: Hit Count 98 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Law enforcement agencies trying to recruit Muslims 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. article Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-06-02 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource "Voices That Must Be Heard" Articles Description An account of the resource The Independent Press Association (IPA) translates articles from the ethnic press (when necessary) and distributes them via web and fax newsletter to mainstream and ethnic press, government offices, nonprofits, and interested individuals. Voices That Must be Heard was designed by the Independent Press Association staff in New York City in response to the horrifying events of September 11. After Sept. 11th, Voices focused on the South Asian, Arab and Middle Eastern communities in New York. Since February 2002, the project has expanded, selecting articles from the broad range of ethnic and community newspapers throughout the city. Here, the Archive has preserved the Voices collection from its inception until November 2002. VTMBH Article VTMBH Article: Edition 38 VTMBH Article: Article Order 4 VTMBH Article: Title The flip side of Wyclef Jean VTMBH Article: Author Emmanuella Turenne VTMBH Article: Publication Haitian Times VTMBH Article: Original Language English VTMBH Article: Translator VTMBH Article: Section news VTMBH Article: Blurb Though it is widely known that hiphop star Wyclef Jean is Haitian, the public largely has no idea that he makes any other type of music than hip-hop. But Jean has been experimenting with integrating Haitian culture into his music since he released his first album with the Fugees. VTMBH Article: Keywords VTMBH Article: Body Wyclef Jean is not a household name. In the hip-hop world, Jean is known as an innovatora larger-than-life persona whose music career dates back to his work with the Fugees, which enjoyed tremendous success in the early 1990s. Jean also released a solo album Carnival, which was followed by two more projects The Ecleftic: 2 Sides II A Book, and most recently Masquerade. With all this success, one question still lingers on many peoples mindswhat about the konpa? On each of his solo albums, Jean has given the public a taste of this unique Haitian style of music, exposing millions to sounds they didnt know existed and feeding the Haitian communitys appetite for music from home. Though it is widely known that Jean is Haitian, the larger public, unless they have bought his albums, have no idea that he makes any other type of music than hip-hop. But Jean has been experimenting with integrating Haitian culture into his music since he released his first album with the Fugees. The first record we did was Blunted on Reality, Jean said. For everyone that wants to know how real the Fugees is on what they stand for when you talk about the flags and Haiti and all of thatthey need to pick up Blunted on Reality. Fugees stands for refugeeswe were revolutionaries, we wanted to make a statement. We were talking about where we were from, the immigrant vibe about whats going on. Jean plans to continue to produce music that focuses on the Haitian culture. He bases the music on his experiencescoming to this country as an immigrant from Croix Des Bouquets, Haiti, when he was a young boy and navigating his way through a culture and society that was not his own. When he came to New York, he didnt speak English and was not prepared for what he encountered in the Brooklyn projects he moved to. He went through many of the experiences young immigrant Haitians go throughbeing called names and taunted because of their background. When I came here, I went through what I call the Haitian war. The period was, basically, HBO, Haitian Body Odor, Boat People, get back on the boat, after school, were going to beat up as many Haitians as we can. I was never having none of that, Jean said. But his father was a minister who raised his children to follow the nonviolent route. If you ever feel a situation where youre being challenged, and violated, you have a chance to stand there and be peaceful, like Martin Luther King Jr., but sometimes the Malcolm X in me came out, he said. Jean said that the only thing that kept him alive in Brooklyn was his love of music. When his family moved out of Brooklyn, to New Jersey, the music followed. Jean became involved with the band in his church, where his father was minister. It was in New Jersey where Jean met Praswell Michel, who later introduced Jean to Lauryn Hill. They formed the hip-hop group the Fugees and started off underground. After the release of their single Nappy Heads, the popularity and success of the group was unstoppable. That success allowed Jean to be able to release his own work. His past two albums, and the recent release of Masquerade, have shown that Jean is interested in doing more than just straight hip-hop. Experimenting with different genres of music, such as country, reggae, pop, ska, and even rock have given Jeans music an edge. For him, integrating konpa into his repertoire is natural. I dont even want people to forget that before all of this I was a snotty, grimey kid in Haiti, Jean said. I didnt grow up doing konpa, because I didnt understand it. I come from a hip-hop background and [now] when I go to my crate, I see all of them Tabous and Coupes and all of that, Im influenced by all of that too. So, while Im getting all of this credibility from the mainstream audience, I feel its important. People say, heres a piece of reggae, heres a piece of the salsa, this I say, heres piece of the konpa. For Jean, it is much more than just konpa. The style of music that he is sharing with the world is coming from the influence of other music he was exposed to on the streets. These influences, mostly hip-hop, and reggae, create a sound that is not your typical konpa. I attack the Haitian konpa music on a whole other angle, Jean said. When I do konpa, I aint gonna want it to sound like the konpa thats out there. Thats why I call it the MVP. MVP can easily be misconstrued as Most Valuable Player, but for Jeans camp, it means Multicultural Visionary Pioneers, calling for the culture to be the dominant factor in the music. It seems, though, that not everyone is buying into this new form of konpa. Jean has met some resistance along the way. People are wondering why a hip-hop artist is doing konpa. They are asking, what does he know about it anyway? I got put on to my konpa music [by] my uncle, and he [would] play crazy konpa in the house. Id be like, what this? Hed be like, this is Tabou Combo, Coupe Cloué, and so subconsciously, youre learning about all this Haitian [music]. [But], theres mad Haitians that be hating on me too as a Haitian. For example, theyll say, Why is he doing konpa? We aint messing around with his hip-hop, why is he coming here messing with our konpa? I put it on there because its multicultural. Bob Marley would make sure that reggaes on the CD no matter what. I have to make sure that Creole, my language and my native tongue is on the CD. If I dont do it in the position that Im in right now, while I got everybodys ear, whos going to do it? Its a few Haitian bands thats hatingthey shouldnt hate, they should participate. I would like love to do stuff with certain Haitian bands. But this resistance hasnt seemed to stop Jean, who put songs in Creole on his albums, and has even collaborated with Haitian artists such as Sweet Micky and Jocelyn Bernard of the group Kassav. According to Jean, his fans love it. They dig it, my American kids. When they hear that MVP Konpa, they be like, Yo, son, I dont know what you saying, but yo! They can feel it, Jean said. Its not like Im arrogant or whatever. Im firm at what I do and I keep my two feet on the ground. We like 15 years strong in this. There is, however a motive behind the attempt to expose the world to Haitian music and culture. Jean envisions the music as a vehicle and a voice for youth to express themselves, the way he used music as a youth to get through hard times. I call it Generation X, Jean said. I feel life thats what every Haitian whos living in America today [is], every former refugee. Because you come, you dont really know how youre going to fit in and how youre going to blend in. Everybody looks at you like X, like the unknown, like who is this person, what are they doing in this country? On the heels of the release of his current album, Jean plans to release an all-Creole album in the near feature. Ask him and he will tell you whether its spitting rhymes in Creole or English, or producing records, he and his camp are not going anywhere. Unity is power, he said. Once you form a force, thats the strongest thing. Im basically trying to leave an empire and an inspiration for my young little cousins and those to come. And we rep the movementHaiti for life, period. Thats what were repping. Basically, were not going nowhere. Well be here till the end of existence. VTMBH Article: Line Breaks 1 VTMBH Article: Date 2002-10-08 VTMBH Article: Thumb VTMBH Article: Article File VTMBH Article: Hit Count 87 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource The flip side of Wyclef Jean 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. article Original Name The original name of this item. Though it is widely known that hiphop star Wyclef Jean is Haitian, the public largely has no idea th Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-10-08 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource "Voices That Must Be Heard" Articles Description An account of the resource The Independent Press Association (IPA) translates articles from the ethnic press (when necessary) and distributes them via web and fax newsletter to mainstream and ethnic press, government offices, nonprofits, and interested individuals. Voices That Must be Heard was designed by the Independent Press Association staff in New York City in response to the horrifying events of September 11. After Sept. 11th, Voices focused on the South Asian, Arab and Middle Eastern communities in New York. Since February 2002, the project has expanded, selecting articles from the broad range of ethnic and community newspapers throughout the city. Here, the Archive has preserved the Voices collection from its inception until November 2002. VTMBH Article VTMBH Article: Edition 17 VTMBH Article: Article Order 3 VTMBH Article: Title Allah, Adonai, Jesus VTMBH Article: Author Tamar Suknik VTMBH Article: Publication Yedioth-Ahronot VTMBH Article: Original Language Hebrew VTMBH Article: Translator Jonathan Lincoln VTMBH Article: Section edits VTMBH Article: Blurb No Israeli could have been drunk enough to attend the anti-Israeli fundraising evening that took place on Sunday at the Knitting Factory club in SoHo. On the invitation was written, a fundraising evening with the aim to abolish Israeli rule in the West Bank... VTMBH Article: Keywords VTMBH Article: Body No Israeli could have been drunk enough to attend the anti-Israeli fundraising evening that took place on Sunday at the Knitting Factory club in SoHo. On the invitation was written, a fundraising evening with the aim to abolish Israeli rule in the West Bank, and those who held these invitations were forced to undergo strict security checks, including body frisking and bag searches. It was very strange to see the young girl in a Ramones t-shirt, who would normally be serving beers at a bar, organizing an event with such a serious look on her face. Inside, the atmosphere was pleasant, despite the fact that at 8 p.m., when the event was supposed to start, there were still a lot of empty chairs and only a few people enjoying glasses of white wine. The place filled up by 8:30, when the background music was turned off and one of the organizers got up on the stage. The fact that you came is proof that not everybody in the United States has lost their marbles, he announced. A saxophonist and a bass player got on stage and began to play a deafening piece. Meanwhile, two of the evenings organizers were handing out flyers. The top of the page read, a salute to a free Palestine and underneath it was a picture of an Israeli soldier with a gun pointed at a crying Palestinian boy. Stop Israeli terror, read the caption. Stop the occupation, stop all American aid to Israel; the right of return for all Palestinians. On the other side of the pamphlet was written, in Hebrew style letters, Jews Against the Occupation, and brief details about the organization. Another pamphlet distributed during the course of the evening stated certain facts about the 34 years of the occupation of Palestine. Fact, the first statement began: the occupation is illegal under international law. Fact, the paper continued, the occupation kills children and innocent civilians. Various other facts included: The Israeli government destroys houses, The Palestinians suffer from sever water shortages, More than 1,000 Israelis have refused conscription into the army because of the occupation. The audience, mostly Jews, greatly appreciated the announcements and honored the musicians by applauding loudly. Although the music was not up to par, it did not seem to bother the sympathetic audience. A young Jewish boy got on the stage and thanked the organizers for at least doing something. He then invited Katy Engel, a frizzy-haired girl, to read something she wrote after a visit to the Middle East in 1990. In 82, I became an activist against Jewish brutality in Israel, she read in a shaky voice accompanied by an accusatory stare. I did not understand why everyone was quiet when it came to Palestine. Who are my people? she continued. I am sure that nations should not exist at the expense of other nations. This was followed by a round of applause. Before I traveled to Israel, my three-year-old daughter held me and said Mommy, dont die, continued Engel. Who will throw them into the sea? she asked in a loud voice. The old woman I saw in Hebron, the seven year old girl, Lulu, who went to get milk for her mother and was shot in the head by an Israeli soldier and is now paralyzed in her bed? The soldiers are everywhere, she said as she revealed her findings from her short trip to Israel 12 years ago. The Palestinians are not allowed to grow fruit trees. I spoke to a settler who said that in Israel when a Jew kills an Arab, nothing happens, but when an Arab kills a Jew he is punished severely. Engel also spoke about American aid to Israel, a subject that came up over and over again throughout the evening. Lulu was shot with a gun bought by American tax-payers, she said, finishing her tirade to the loud cheers of the audience. When Engel left the stage one of the organizers asked the musicians to return. It took them an hour to get ready to play. After they took their places, one of them, wearing a colorful Bukharan kepa and dressed in black like everybody else at the event, announced that the next song was from the prayers called Selichos. He said it in an Eastern European accent, most likely denoting a bit of ignorance. The musicians said a few words about the meaning of peace, but no one understood them because the microphones were not working. Still the audience cheered. When the really loud music started, some in the crowd were forced to put their hands over their ears. Other speakers and musicians went up on stage and shared their views on the current situation in the Middle East. The crowd received all of the speakers and musicians with raucous cheers in spite of the technical difficulties and the sometimes deafening music. After the music, one of the hosts, an Arab girl named Nehad, went up on stage. Wearing her kaffiya, she was welcomed by the crowd. I will sing a song about the Palestinian refugees who want to return to their homes, she said, and broke out into an Arabic song. The clarinet player wore a t-shirt with the Palestinian flag on it with the words We liberated Palestine! After that a young oboist from Syria played. A young Egyptian played on the piano, on which was hungwhy nota red kaffiya. After a long hour, Barbara, a woman in her fifties with red hair, wearing a bright red plastic shirt, got on stage. I am from another planet, and my weapon is more than my roar, she said in really good Hebrew. The crowd burst into laughterafter a quick translation, of course. In her southern accent she went over the same chorus again and again: Allah, Adonai, Jesus. Between each chorus, she told jokes that cracked up the audience. Her act and the evening were ended with the words, I dont understand how Jews, who suffered through the Holocaust, could do the same thing to another people, followed by whistling, clapping and cheers loud enough to break ones ears. VTMBH Article: Line Breaks 1 VTMBH Article: Date 2002-04-26 VTMBH Article: Thumb VTMBH Article: Article File VTMBH Article: Hit Count 221 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Allah, Adonai, Jesus 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. article Original Name The original name of this item. No Israeli could have been drunk enough to attend the anti-Israeli fundraising evening that took pla Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-04-26 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource "Voices That Must Be Heard" Articles Description An account of the resource The Independent Press Association (IPA) translates articles from the ethnic press (when necessary) and distributes them via web and fax newsletter to mainstream and ethnic press, government offices, nonprofits, and interested individuals. Voices That Must be Heard was designed by the Independent Press Association staff in New York City in response to the horrifying events of September 11. After Sept. 11th, Voices focused on the South Asian, Arab and Middle Eastern communities in New York. Since February 2002, the project has expanded, selecting articles from the broad range of ethnic and community newspapers throughout the city. Here, the Archive has preserved the Voices collection from its inception until November 2002. VTMBH Article VTMBH Article: Edition 3 VTMBH Article: Article Order 1 VTMBH Article: Title Terror Debate Seen as more vibrant in India than US VTMBH Article: Author Ela Dutt VTMBH Article: Publication News India-Times VTMBH Article: Original Language English VTMBH Article: Translator VTMBH Article: Section edits VTMBH Article: Blurb The level and intensity of debate engendered in the two countries the level and intensity of the debate engendered in the two countries by Indias Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance (POTO) and the Americas anti-terror legislations. VTMBH Article: Keywords VTMBH Article: Body While governments in both the United States and India have a history of assuming more powers in perceived emergencies, New Delhi appears savvier about the consequences of such powers than Washington. Such an inference can be drawn from the level and intensity of debate engendered in the two countries the level and intensity of the debate engendered in the two countries by Indias Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance (POTO) and the Americas anti-terror legislations. While the dialogue in India is more vociferous and the ideological divide sharper, the debate in the US is muted and the ideological lines are blurred. Experts on India and rights activists note that the debates over the assumption of extra powers by New Delhi and Washington, supposedly in the face of growing terrorism, are very similar. This is a sensitive issue in both countries. The debate in India is very much the same as here, said one India expert in the US, who did not wish to be identified. But in the US, such kind of powers were used long ago, during the Second World War, he pointed out. In India, where similar laws, like the now-repealed Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Actbetter known by its acronym TADA, have been on the statute books in the recent past. The intellectual left and right in the US have come together to voice opposition to the USA PATRIOT Act (passed by Congress) and the military tribunals to try alleged terrorists (on its way to the books). Rights activists say that the Sept. 11 tragedy has provided an opportunity, and even an excuse, for governments around the world to enact authoritarian legislation. Smirta Narula, Asia coordinator at Human Rights Watch in New Yorkwhich has appealed the introduction of POTO in Parliament for ratificationsaid the reactions to Sept. 11 could be separated into two categories. Some countries are using 9/11 to revise and revamp oppressive legislation. China and Uzbekistan are very good examples of that. In Indias case, it one of using this as an opportunity and the heightened national security concerns to push through POTO, Narula maintained. POTO, despite the safeguards that the BJP has said are included, has provisions that make it as bad, or worse, than TADA, Narula contended. We are very, very concerned about many of the provisions. One provision allows for preventative detention of up to 3 months without any evidence or charges. While it is still less than the six months allowed under the previous TADA, it is still unacceptable to detain someone for so long without charges, Narula emphasized. There is also a clause in POTO that makes abetting a terrorist punishable, without spelling out the requisite intent. So, it includes even someone who may have abetted without knowing. The India expert, who spoke on condition of anonymity, agreed that the laws in both countries provide additional leeway to arrest people without the writ of habeas corpus. He pointed to the popular support for the measures put on the books after Sept. 11. The debate here is more among the intellectuals. Its the intellectual far left and far right that are opposing this. The latest poll by the Wall Street Journal and NBC shows that 81 percent of Americans support the Bush administrations handling ofthe terrorist threat within the country. But in India, the expert said, political parties were more immediate and vocal about their opposition to the anti-terror ordinance because of the experiences with such laws as TADA. In the US, the memory of it is too far away, he said. But you have people with similar arguments in both countries appealing against it. Narula said that other aspects of POTO were a cause for concern. For example, bearing arms in a notified area is automatically considered terrorist activity. She also noted that journalists in India have attacked POTO as infringing on their rights because it places burdens on them to reveal any information they may get in the course of their professional work. We do see a pattern here with the US legislation. India has had a long term national security concern, though in the US, it is a relatively new ball game, she said. In India, there is a concern that POTO may be used to target minorities the way TADA was used in the past. Under TADA, though more than 75,000 arrests took place, only something like 1 percent were convicted, she added. Many of those targeted were Sikhs, Dalits, etc. The majority of the arrests were in Uttar Pradesh, which does not have a real terrorism problem. So POTO may do the same. Looking at what was happening under USs antiterrorism regulations, Narula said, The similarities between the two are there. There is a global pattern to enact legislation to curb liberties in the name of anti-terrorism. In the US, broad discretion has been given to law enforcement agencies to detain and even to define terrorism and terrorist activities, Human Rights Watch has said. We are very concerned about the military tribunals. The point we try to make on that is that US itself has been in a position of criticizing similar tribunals around the world, and is now taking steps to establish these kinds of tribunals in its own country, Narula pointed out. Attorney General John Ashcroft had already given some information about the detainees, and revealed their nationalities, but nothing else. But we do know that many of them are of South Asian or Middle Eastern descent, even though charges may have to do with immigration. So the fear is that they may be singled out by their national origin, and that they may not have access to due judicial process without more information about them, Narula said. The USA PATRIOT Act has just recently been passed, whereas India has a long history of antiterrorist laws, she said. But we clearly have many concerns about foreign detainees in the US. According to Narula, the relative muteness of voices against the new anti-terror legislation in the US is not so much out of fear, but rather because people keep looking at what is politically correct and not politically correct. VTMBH Article: Line Breaks 1 VTMBH Article: Date 2001-12-14 VTMBH Article: Thumb VTMBH Article: Article File VTMBH Article: Hit Count 107 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Terror Debate Seen as more vibrant in India than US 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. article Original Name The original name of this item. The level and intensity of debate engendered in the two countries the level and intensity of the deb Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2001-12-14 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource "Voices That Must Be Heard" Articles Description An account of the resource The Independent Press Association (IPA) translates articles from the ethnic press (when necessary) and distributes them via web and fax newsletter to mainstream and ethnic press, government offices, nonprofits, and interested individuals. Voices That Must be Heard was designed by the Independent Press Association staff in New York City in response to the horrifying events of September 11. After Sept. 11th, Voices focused on the South Asian, Arab and Middle Eastern communities in New York. Since February 2002, the project has expanded, selecting articles from the broad range of ethnic and community newspapers throughout the city. Here, the Archive has preserved the Voices collection from its inception until November 2002. VTMBH Article VTMBH Article: Edition 12 VTMBH Article: Article Order VTMBH Article: Title National Guard frisks those attending Eid prayers at Jersey City armory VTMBH Article: Author Mohsin Zaheer VTMBH Article: Publication Sada-e-Pakistan NY VTMBH Article: Original Language Urdu VTMBH Article: Translator Rehan Ansari. VTMBH Article: Section briefs VTMBH Article: Blurb VTMBH Article: Keywords VTMBH Article: Body <i>Women frisked as well, by male soldiers; indignant, many leave without offering prayers</i> For years, prayers on the occasion of Abraham's sacrifice (Eid-ul-Adha) have been offered at the Jersey City armory. This year, because of security measures, the prayer space was restricted to a basement with a small entrance. The National Guard frisked all attendees, delaying the prayers by one hour. Many recoiled at the thought of being frisked and led into a dungeon, and left without saying their prayers. Muslims of Pakistani, Indian and African origin have prayed at the armory on Eid-ul-Adha for several years. Members of the congregation say that in the past, officials, including the police, have extended all courtesies. This time, frisking was not the only thing that dismayed those in attendance. Organizers of the prayers, including a South Asian maulvi [religious leader], had not told them beforehand that the prayers would be in the basement of a building housing the National Guard. A spokesperson for a Pakistani community organization said that those who organize prayers for the community must be more sensitive in these times. VTMBH Article: Line Breaks 1 VTMBH Article: Date 2002-03-07 VTMBH Article: Thumb VTMBH Article: Article File v12b3.doc VTMBH Article: Hit Count 91 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource National Guard frisks those attending Eid prayers at Jersey City armory 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. article Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-03-07 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource "Voices That Must Be Heard" Articles Description An account of the resource The Independent Press Association (IPA) translates articles from the ethnic press (when necessary) and distributes them via web and fax newsletter to mainstream and ethnic press, government offices, nonprofits, and interested individuals. Voices That Must be Heard was designed by the Independent Press Association staff in New York City in response to the horrifying events of September 11. After Sept. 11th, Voices focused on the South Asian, Arab and Middle Eastern communities in New York. Since February 2002, the project has expanded, selecting articles from the broad range of ethnic and community newspapers throughout the city. Here, the Archive has preserved the Voices collection from its inception until November 2002. VTMBH Article VTMBH Article: Edition 44 VTMBH Article: Article Order 2 VTMBH Article: Title When will we stop worshipping at the feet of capital? VTMBH Article: Author Oriya Maqbool Khan VTMBH Article: Publication The Watan America VTMBH Article: Original Language Urdu VTMBH Article: Translator Rehan Ansari VTMBH Article: Section briefs VTMBH Article: Blurb VTMBH Article: Keywords VTMBH Article: Body In Bolivia, people are drinking water unfit for livestock. Privatization of Bolivian public utilities began in 1990, and by 1999, drinking water became too expensive for many people. There are more examples of alarming privatization of public utilities in the 1990s in both rich and poor countries. After the deregulation of power in California in 1996, an electric bill of $50 rose to $120. In Britain, sewage and water services bills increased 450 percent after privatization. In Turkey, the state fishing corporation used to employ 250,000; it fired 150,000 people after privatization. Perhaps the contest between capitalism and the poor persons daily bread is an ancient one. However, humanity has come to expect that the state will provide basic services. The idea of the welfare state has appeared in theory and practice all over the world, say in post-war Europe and America, as well as an Islamic ideal that occasionally existed in Muslim regimes. These days, though, governments around the world are pulling out of providing public services. Somehow, arguments for privatizing public utilities or downsizing are seen as arguments that favor human progress! I asked a friend in a senior position at an international lending institution about these issues and he said that states burden themselves with providing services, and that the subsequent market inefficiencies will not foster progress. I asked him whether he cared that masses of people cannot afford higher utility prices, or what they are to do without jobs. But he again talked of inefficiencies, as if his eyes and ears were uncomprehending. What will become of a world where experts, economists and social scientists cannot think outside terms set by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund? VTMBH Article: Line Breaks 1 VTMBH Article: Date 2002-11-03 VTMBH Article: Thumb VTMBH Article: Article File VTMBH Article: Hit Count 68 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource When will we stop worshipping at the feet of capital? 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. article Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-11-03 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource "Voices That Must Be Heard" Articles Description An account of the resource The Independent Press Association (IPA) translates articles from the ethnic press (when necessary) and distributes them via web and fax newsletter to mainstream and ethnic press, government offices, nonprofits, and interested individuals. Voices That Must be Heard was designed by the Independent Press Association staff in New York City in response to the horrifying events of September 11. After Sept. 11th, Voices focused on the South Asian, Arab and Middle Eastern communities in New York. Since February 2002, the project has expanded, selecting articles from the broad range of ethnic and community newspapers throughout the city. Here, the Archive has preserved the Voices collection from its inception until November 2002. VTMBH Article VTMBH Article: Edition 34 VTMBH Article: Article Order 2 VTMBH Article: Title People of Pakistani origin living across the United States feel isolated, and fear arrest and deportation VTMBH Article: Author M. R. Farrukh, Aliya Khan, Javed Kausar, Rana Afza VTMBH Article: Publication Pakistan Post VTMBH Article: Original Language Urdu VTMBH Article: Translator Rehan Ansari VTMBH Article: Section briefs VTMBH Article: Blurb VTMBH Article: Keywords VTMBH Article: Body On the anniversary of September 11th, Pakistan Post surveyed Pakistanis from different walks of life, in different states, seeking comments on being a Pakistani-American today. Many said that the Pakistani community should not hope that the Pakistani government would advocate on the communitys behalf with the Bush administration. Moreover, many said that the community should organize and take its case to the American public, intellectuals and the U.S. government. Other common comments included alienation from this society for the first time; disappointment in the Bush Administration's and the public's abandonment of the principles of democracy; and a deafening silence from all community leaders, particularly religious leaders, who always called for voting Republican. In the year since September 11th, American Pakistanis say, overwhelmingly, that their community is facing an identity crisis. They say that their civil rights issues are similar to those of African Americans in the era before the Civil Rights Movement. Not only are all Pakistani-Americans against terrorism, and none of those arrested has been convicted of such, but their country of origin, Pakistan, is the key ally in the international war against terrorism. Yet, the Bush administration is discriminating against them. How have the events of September 11th affected your lives? is the title of the survey, conducted by the Pakistan Post. One respondent said, Americans should be ashamed at how they are treating people who are allied with them in this cause. It is the blue-collar worker, the unskilled worker, the new immigrant, all members of the working class in the Pakistani community who are being arrested, held for indefinite periods and then deported. Muslims in general are being badmouthed in the media. Those surveyed were very critical of General Pervez Musharraf. Obviously his unstinting support of Bush is self-serving, and it reveals his anti-democratic nature. He has said nothing to Bush about not making American Pakistanis victims of the war on terror. Dr. Arif Muslim, vice president of Pakistani American Association of North America (PAANA) said that all Pakistanis living in the United States are against terrorism, and it is terrible that they are being discriminated against by the administration. Arif Butt, of the Pakistan League of America, said, The events of September 11th were a terrible crime in which tragic numbers of innocents lost their lives. However, innocent Pakistanis are being made to pay a price. Dr. Hussain Shahzeb, of New Jersey, said, September 11th seems to be affecting the Pakistani community more than any other. Discrimination is rising, and Muslims are being looked upon with suspicion. From Houston, Ashraf Abbas said, Pakistanis are with the United States in their war, but somehow the message is not getting through to the administration. The Pakistani community must make greater efforts at communication. A well-known Urdu journalist in New York, Fareedullah Husseini, said, Muslims in America are feeling a sense of unreality, as if there has been a lapse in the rhythm of their everyday life. We were living with confidence here in the United States and now we are not. In Chicago, poet and activist Ifti Nasim says that he is amazed at the administration's targeting of Pakistanis. Shaukat Hayat, a contractor in the construction business in New Jersey, complained of racial discrimination and said that Muslims are facing an identity crisis. Chaudhry Akbar, a limousine driver in Brooklyn, says that he has not felt this alienated in 25 years of living in the United States. We will have to work hard and honorably to prove ourselves to the public, he said. Dilawar Cheema, a cab driver in Washington, D.C., talked of facing discrimination in his work taking fares to the airport. He also said Islam is a religion of peace. An owner of an electronic goods store on Coney Island Avenue, Zulfiqar Ahmed Qiyani, said, The freedom that was the beauty of living in America for me now appears lost. Ahsan Bobby, a human rights activist in New York, says that his American dream has ended. Here too it feels like martial law. He feels brokenhearted after the intense shakedown of the Pakistani community in Brooklyn and Queens by the authorities, a drive which did not lead to a single terrorist conviction. Thousands of Pakistanis livelihoods and living have been affected. Jabbar Malik, chief executive of the Pakistan Association, asked, Why are Pakistanis being targeted out of millions of other illegal immigrants? Farid Khan, resident of Jackson Heights in Queens, said, I used to be in awe of the buildings of Manhattan, I used to look out for them everyday. Now I feel spied upon! Izaz Akhtar of Jamaica-Hillside wishes he had never come to the US. But it is difficult to go back after having spent so many years here, he said. Farzana Jamil of Long Island said, I am afraid for my children as never before. She fears hate crimes, and she is fearful of discrimination in schools and colleges. Aliya Jamaal of Brooklyn said, It is shameful that this country, which champions human rights in the world, should behave this way towards innocents who live within its own borders. Razia Iqbal of Jamaica says that she wishes September 11th was a nightmare she could wake up from. VTMBH Article: Line Breaks 1 VTMBH Article: Date 2002-09-11 VTMBH Article: Thumb VTMBH Article: Article File VTMBH Article: Hit Count 112 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource People of Pakistani origin living across the United States feel isolated, and fear arrest and deport 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. article Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-09-11 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource "Voices That Must Be Heard" Articles Description An account of the resource The Independent Press Association (IPA) translates articles from the ethnic press (when necessary) and distributes them via web and fax newsletter to mainstream and ethnic press, government offices, nonprofits, and interested individuals. Voices That Must be Heard was designed by the Independent Press Association staff in New York City in response to the horrifying events of September 11. After Sept. 11th, Voices focused on the South Asian, Arab and Middle Eastern communities in New York. Since February 2002, the project has expanded, selecting articles from the broad range of ethnic and community newspapers throughout the city. Here, the Archive has preserved the Voices collection from its inception until November 2002. VTMBH Article VTMBH Article: Edition 6 VTMBH Article: Article Order 3 VTMBH Article: Title NY Protest against detention of immigrants. VTMBH Article: Author Priya Malhotra VTMBH Article: Publication News India-Times VTMBH Article: Original Language English VTMBH Article: Translator VTMBH Article: Section news VTMBH Article: Blurb On Martin Luther King Jr.s birthday, Desis Rising Up and Moving, the Coalition for the Human Rights of Immigrants, the Prison Moratorium Project and others rallied against the detentions, calling them the worst kind of racial profiling. VTMBH Article: Keywords VTMBH Article: Body Uzma Naheed said she never could imagine being treated like this in America. Standing in front of a crowd of over 100 people at New Yorks Union Square, the Pakistan-born Naheed looked anguished, but was strikingly confident as she narrated her story during a protest of the detention of immigrants after last years terrorist attack. Desis Rising Up and Moving (DRUM), a community organization, claims that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) have detained over 1,200 immigrants, mainly of South Asian and Arab origin, since September 11. So, on Jan. 21, the birthday of the father of the civil rights movementMartin Luther King, Jr.DRUM, the Coalition for the Human Rights of Immigrants, the Prison Moratorium Project and others rallied against the detentions, calling them the worst kind of racial profiling. Naheed said that on October 3, 2001, FBI and INS officials searched her home in New Jersey and threatened to arrest her. When she asked why, they allegedly told her it was because her brother, who had been arrested a few days earlier, and she lived in the same house. As Naheed had recently had a baby, her truck driver husband, Anser Mehmood, told them to arrest him instead. The federal officials took him away, allegedly saying he would be home in three or four days, Naheed claimed. More than three months later, Mehmood, who has lived in the United States for ten years, has still not returned home. Naheed insisted that she does not even know the charges against him. She did, however, admit that the family had overstayed its visasan offense for which people were not actively apprehended before Sept.11, according to Neil Weinrib, a New York-based immigration attorney. He added that after Sept. 11, some people were being detained without charges. After the terror attacks last year, the US government cracked down on immigrants, detaining those it believed potential terrorists or linked to terrorists. A passing suspicion, however, is often all it takes to hold an immigrant. Civil rights activists have argued that judgments are frequently based on racial profiling, adding that there is no public information about the detainees. Of the total number of detainees, DRUM estimates that over 500 are of Pakistani origin. At the Union Square subway station, protesters held up placards that said, Were all Immigrants, End Detentions Now and Dont Deport My Daddy. At the following news conference, DRUM Director Monami Maulik said most detainees were being held for immigration violations like overstaying their visas, which would have been ignored prior to Sept. 11. DRUM has called for the release of all detainees being held for immigration breaches. The group, whose workers have been periodically visiting the detainees, has asked for a complete list of those held and demanded that the detainees have full access to legal information and representation. Activists at the rally said many detainees were without legal counsel. We need lawyers to do pro bono and low-cost work for the INS detainees, said MacDonald Scott, a legal worker with the National Lawyers Guild. The INS is not compelled to ensure legal assistance for detainees, according to Weinrib. Kerry Gill, INS spokesperson of the Newark, NJ branch, however, told News India Times, When people come into our custody, we provide lists of free legal service providers. From Union Square the protesters went to Passaic County Jail in New Jersey, which has the largest number detainees. About 250 are currently in the Passaic County Jail and about half of them are Muslim, said Passaic County Sheriff Jerry Speziale outside the facility, where security had been beefed up in anticipation of the protest. VTMBH Article: Line Breaks 1 VTMBH Article: Date 2002-02-02 VTMBH Article: Thumb VTMBH Article: Article File VTMBH Article: Hit Count 61 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource NY Protest against detention of immigrants. 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. article Original Name The original name of this item. On Martin Luther King Jr.s birthday, Desis Rising Up and Moving, the Coalition for the Human Rights Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-02-02 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource "Voices That Must Be Heard" Articles Description An account of the resource The Independent Press Association (IPA) translates articles from the ethnic press (when necessary) and distributes them via web and fax newsletter to mainstream and ethnic press, government offices, nonprofits, and interested individuals. Voices That Must be Heard was designed by the Independent Press Association staff in New York City in response to the horrifying events of September 11. After Sept. 11th, Voices focused on the South Asian, Arab and Middle Eastern communities in New York. Since February 2002, the project has expanded, selecting articles from the broad range of ethnic and community newspapers throughout the city. Here, the Archive has preserved the Voices collection from its inception until November 2002. VTMBH Article VTMBH Article: Edition 45 VTMBH Article: Article Order 2 VTMBH Article: Title Haiti; masculine or feminine? VTMBH Article: Author Françis Saint-Hubert, MD VTMBH Article: Publication Haiti en Marche VTMBH Article: Original Language French VTMBH Article: Translator David Ronis VTMBH Article: Section edits VTMBH Article: Blurb Haitians have always thought of their country as a kind of foster mother, and thus derived the gender of the name Haiti. However, French reference books insist on defining Haiti as masculine, imposing arbitrary decisions from colonial times on Haitians. That our approach is more emotional than rational does not diminish its importance or validity. Nor should it demand less of your respect. VTMBH Article: Keywords VTMBH Article: Body To the Editors of Le Petit Robert de Noms Propres (The Petit Robert Dictionary of Proper Nouns) The Robert Dictionaries 107, Avenue Parmentier 75001 Paris France Dear Sirs: French reference works in general, and your dictionaries in particular, indicate that Haiti is of the masculine gender. First, this is surprising to a Haitian and, upon reflection, it is profoundly intriguing. We write Haiti chérie (feminine) and we sing Oh! Ma belle Haiti (feminine). As far back as I can see, we have always referred to our country in the feminine form, as you do to your country. For us, doubtless more so than in France, the thought process is clear: sentiment prevails over grammatical rules. Haitians have always thought of their country as a kind of foster mother, and thus derived the gender of the name Haiti, which they adopted from the Indians. That our approach is more emotional than rational diminishes neither the importance nor validity of the conclusion. Nor should it demand less of your respect. In order to illustrate this, Ive chosen the following examples from our literature: Antoine Dupré, <i>Hymn to Liberty,</i> date unknown, reported by Hérard Dusmesle in <i>Travels in the North of Haiti,</i> 1824 Haiti, <b> ma chérie,</b> Receive my last farewell Which the love of country Sets our forefathers aflame. (Pompilus, Pradel, <i>Pages from Haitian Literature,</i> State Printing Office, 1951, p.24) Paul Lochard, <i>Our Forefathers,</i> 1878 But you, my Haiti, <b>my mother!</b> O my country, Guard the memories of our wounded fathers!… And the defeated slave made steady And ancient Haiti restored proud and free. (Gouraige, Ghislain, <i>Best Haitian Romantic Poetry,</i> Port-au-Prince, La Phalange Publishing, 1982, p.49) Massillon Coicou, <i>Haiti,</i> 1892 Disappointed, informed, <b>she</b> (Haiti) is the lonely foundation; And, as if to cradle <b>her</b> ills that nothing could make fall asleep, Flowers fill <b>her</b> with their exquisite scent Rivaling love with golden stars. --------------------------- In vain, <b>she</b> invokes the glory of <b>her</b> forefathers To weaken their executioners; in vain <b>she</b> tells them <b>Her</b> mission is to help the black race Emerge from the shadows, humble Haiti. (Ibid, Gouraige, p. 90) Louis-Joseph Janvier, <i>The Haitian republic and its servants,</i> 1883 … I thank you, noble France, for allowing me to take up my pen today in defense of my country under attack… by those who will not believe that one can take away neither the sun nor the sublime French revolution nor Haiti, <b>daughter</b> of one and <b>goddaughter</b> of the other. (Ibid, Gouraige, p. 47) The above examples leave no doubt that for Haitians, Haiti is a feminine noun. It is also appropriate to ask, Sirs, why the great French language references around the world do not acknowledge this widespread usage and even contradict it so decisively. To clarify, there isnt one rule for determining the gender of country names. Outside of the obvious cases (although we say La Côte dIvoire we also say Le Costa Rica), there is no logical explanation for the difference between Le Dahomey and La Guinée. One rule, laid down by the great Belgian grammarian Maurice Grevisse, states that, in general, names of towns (and countries by extension) are masculine when they end in a syllable without a silent e. Nevertheless, Grevisse stresses that this rule has many exceptions. In the case of Haiti, its etymology determines neither its spelling nor gender, leaving its history and usage to be spoken for by Haitians themselves. Apparently, French references have chosen to scorn this criteria and instead impose arbitrary decisions from colonial times on Haitians, as well as the rest of the world. For the colonists, the road wasnt as straight. They changed the name of the island, first to Hispaniola and later to Saint Domingue (for reasons altogether foreign to the natives, but what did it mattertheir days were numbered). Without the events of the Jan. 1, 1804, the word Haiti would only have been an historical curiosity, certainly a graceful nickname, but one only of sentimental interest (like Quisqueya for the Dominican Republic). On that day, the slaves declared their independence from France. They restored the old Indian name to their country, which they instinctively feminized, retaining the French spelling. Thus they expressed their spontaneous sentiments towards their new country, which they saw as mother/provider, without the burden of grammatical considerations, which they probably otherwise ignored. The French opposed this decision on two levels. Although France eventually recognized Haitis independence in 1826, in return for indemnity (they continued to call it Saint Domingue until then), the name kept its masculine form dictated by French spelling rules. They were not going to bend, even a little bit, the great principles of the language of Voltaire in order to accommodate the naive wishes of a group of Negroes who wanted to be independent. As surprising as this may seem today, this same position, espoused by those who write dictionaries, still prevails. Sirs, I cannot help but see the monumental lack of respect towards Haitians and a total contempt for their feelings for their country. This particular usage is not a state secret, judging from the many examples, and it is hard to imagine that in 200 years no French lexicographer has noticed it. It certainly has not escaped the notice of curates, bishops, diplomats and French university professors who have lived in Haiti and written about our literature, our history and our morals. Thinking hard about this, one realizes that the persistence to keep Haiti masculine more resembles a haughty rejection than an inadvertent action. In colonizing our land, you seem to have denied us our own right to determine the gender of the name of our country. Yet, you recognize the same right among your fellow citizens with regard to their own towns (as well as other peoples). The French language acknowledges Le Mexique and Le Mozambique alongside La Belgique and La Jamaique. In reality, and you doubtless know this, similar exceptions, like well-known irregular verbs, rather enrich a language and bring a human element to a grammatical process, which otherwise would only be a mechanical application of rules. In the age of the computer, it is delightful for Haitians to note that, in letting their hearts speak for 200 years, their ancestors have perhaps contributed a little to the humanization of the language of their masters. In order for this symbol to be of value, with all due respect to your editors, please remember that our dear Haiti is a mother, whom, for better or worse, we are bound to love, but certainly one that even the greatest reference works of the French language must respect for who she is. Yours truly, Françis Saint-Hubert, MD 5 Marie Court Elmont, NY 11003 Email address: Magdhala Francillon@yahoo.com VTMBH Article: Line Breaks 1 VTMBH Article: Date 2002-11-20 VTMBH Article: Thumb VTMBH Article: Article File VTMBH Article: Hit Count 73 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Haiti; masculine or feminine? 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. article Original Name The original name of this item. Haitians have always thought of their country as a kind of foster mother, and thus derived the gende Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-11-20 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource "Voices That Must Be Heard" Articles Description An account of the resource The Independent Press Association (IPA) translates articles from the ethnic press (when necessary) and distributes them via web and fax newsletter to mainstream and ethnic press, government offices, nonprofits, and interested individuals. Voices That Must be Heard was designed by the Independent Press Association staff in New York City in response to the horrifying events of September 11. After Sept. 11th, Voices focused on the South Asian, Arab and Middle Eastern communities in New York. Since February 2002, the project has expanded, selecting articles from the broad range of ethnic and community newspapers throughout the city. Here, the Archive has preserved the Voices collection from its inception until November 2002. VTMBH Article VTMBH Article: Edition 41 VTMBH Article: Article Order 3 VTMBH Article: Title Communal violence is said to have hurt economy of Gujarat VTMBH Article: Author Hasmukh Barot VTMBH Article: Publication Desi Talk VTMBH Article: Original Language English VTMBH Article: Translator VTMBH Article: Section briefs VTMBH Article: Blurb VTMBH Article: Keywords VTMBH Article: Body Gujarat state Congress Party President Shankersinh Vaghela has urged nonresident Indians, especially those from Gujurat, to help violence-ravaged Gujarat. Vaghela is on a weeks tour of the United States to highlight the conditions in Gujarat and invite investment to the state. Recently addressing a gathering of about 500 at the Royal Alberts Palace in Fords, New Jersey, the former state chief minister said, I request all the ladies and gentlemen of Indian origin, and especially those who hail from Gujarat, not to desist from investing in Gujarat. Our state is in dire straits at present. Violence has broken the backbone of its economy. And I hope people here understand this fact. Vaghela said the carnage at Godhra, where 58 died in the torching of a train, the retaliatory riots that followed, the terror attack on the Akshardham temple in Gandhinagar, and the September 11th attack on the World Trade Center, all had a lot in common. These incidents have their origins in fascist ideology, he said. Being an Indian and from the state of Gujarat, you must have empathized with your compatriots when thousands were butchered and burned alive at the altar of communalism in Gujarat, he added. There might be an argument about why we (Congress) did not condemn the Godhra carnage and why we castigated the violence thereafter. I state that the Congress condemns every incident of violence equally. I was deeply pained when I heard about the Godhra carnage and my grief had no bounds as I heard the horrid tales of violence thereafter, he said. Gujarat was in the grip of communal violence earlier this year following the torching of a train and the killing of 58 passengers, mostly volunteers of hardline Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), at Godhra. The retaliatory violence that went on for some three months claimed the lives of at least 1,000 people, mostly Muslims. Vaghela said if the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies like the VHP and the Bajrang Dal link Islam with terrorism, then the post-Godhra violence, too, was nothing less than terrorism. Vaghela contended that the caretaker BJP government in Gujarat was responsible for Gujarats financial woes. Today, foreign investors will think twice about considering Gujarat for their investments, Vaghela said. The delegation led by Vaghela includes All India Congress Committee General Secretary Naresh Raval, former Deputy Chief Minister of Gujarat Narhari Amin, Girish Dani, Vipul Chowdhary, Himanshu Vyas and Suresh Patel. Before the event, organized by Overseas Friends of Gujarat, delegation members stood in silence to pay homage to those killed in the communal violence in Gujarat. VTMBH Article: Line Breaks 1 VTMBH Article: Date 2002-11-01 VTMBH Article: Thumb VTMBH Article: Article File VTMBH Article: Hit Count 87 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Communal violence is said to have hurt economy of Gujarat 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. article Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-11-01 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource "Voices That Must Be Heard" Articles Description An account of the resource The Independent Press Association (IPA) translates articles from the ethnic press (when necessary) and distributes them via web and fax newsletter to mainstream and ethnic press, government offices, nonprofits, and interested individuals. Voices That Must be Heard was designed by the Independent Press Association staff in New York City in response to the horrifying events of September 11. After Sept. 11th, Voices focused on the South Asian, Arab and Middle Eastern communities in New York. Since February 2002, the project has expanded, selecting articles from the broad range of ethnic and community newspapers throughout the city. Here, the Archive has preserved the Voices collection from its inception until November 2002. VTMBH Article VTMBH Article: Edition 17 VTMBH Article: Article Order 2 VTMBH Article: Title Authorities express surprise at the numbers of Pakistanis calling the INS on each other VTMBH Article: Author M. R. Farrukh VTMBH Article: Publication Pakistan Post VTMBH Article: Original Language Urdu VTMBH Article: Translator Rehan Ansari VTMBH Article: Section edits VTMBH Article: Blurb Like hundreds of those arrested, Ahmed Imtiaz was found to have no links with the atrocity of September 11th. He recently found out why he was arrested: taking advantage of the post-September 11th atmosphere, a former friend told the authorities that Imtiaz was engaged in suspicious activities. VTMBH Article: Keywords VTMBH Article: Body Ahmed Imtiaz is one those hundreds of thousands of people who come to the United States dreaming about a happy and prosperous life. Before September 11th, irrespective of his legal status, he was spending a quiet life earning an honorable living for his household. Two months after September 11th, he was picked up from his home in New Jersey. His apartment was raided by the FBI, the INS and a squad of special forces. At around 2:30 a.m. his wife, three kids and himself were awakened by a continuous ringing of the door bell. When he got out and saw the officials he panicked. He had previously never encountered a police officer at his door. The sight of the officers of three agencies belonging to the most powerful country in the world on his doorstep completely unnerved him. The officers took him to his bedroom and searched his home for two hours. He swore upon his innocence, pleaded with them. They arrested him. Like hundreds of those arrested Imtiaz was found to have no links with the atrocity of September 11th. Freed of terrorism charges he was transferred from FBI detention to the INS center. There are people in the INS center detained for seven months now, without charges, because the law allows that. Imtiaz found himself charged under immigration law. He was found to be in violation of a deportation order from five years ago. Hundreds of thousands of people, under deportation orders, continue to live in this country and make a living. Some deportation cases last four years. I know of several which have been resolved in favor of the individual. Some manage to achieve legal status through the process. Imtiaz was breaking the law by living in the country but it was not a crime severe enough for imprisonment for five months. Three months into his confinement he was allowed to see his family and friends, and a lawyer! Imtiaz is now facing deportation. He has only a few more days in this county. He has recently found out why he was arrested. A few years ago an argument with a friend over a trivial matter became an open sore between them. They stopped talking and Imtiaz forgot about the matter over time. Taking advantage of the post- September 11th atmosphere, the former friend told the authorities that Imtiaz was engaged in suspicious activities. The authorities were on a war footing and acted so. Mrs. Imtiaz has said that she and her family are not devastated by the fact that the family is moving to Pakistan. They have a home there and are reconciled to making do with less. They are shocked by this unconscionable act. Senators and FBI officials commented on the fact that it is people within the Pakistani communities who are telling on each other and that is leading to many arrests. A few days ago a high ranking official of the FBI said in a conversation, at the end of a reception organized by Muslim groups in his honor, that they dont know who is who in the communities, so in many cases they often act on allegations people make against each other. The world has changed for Pakistanis and other Muslims living in the US after September 11th. If we do not act on our conscience, as Muslims are enjoined to do, then what has happened to Imtiaz may happen ever closer to home. VTMBH Article: Line Breaks 1 VTMBH Article: Date 2002-04-17 VTMBH Article: Thumb VTMBH Article: Article File VTMBH Article: Hit Count 150 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Authorities express surprise at the numbers of Pakistanis calling the INS on each other 911DA Item Elements describing a September 11 Digital Archive item. Status The process status of this item. approved Consent Whether September 11 Digital Archive has permission to possess this item. unknown Posting Whether the contributor gave permission to post this item. yes Copyright Whether the contributor holds copyright to this item. yes Source The source of this item. born-digital Media Type The media type of this item. article Original Name The original name of this item. Like hundreds of those arrested, Ahmed Imtiaz was found to have no links with the atrocity of Septem Created by Author Whether the author created this item. yes Described by Author Whether the description of this item was submitted by the author. no Date Entered The date this item was entered into the archive. 2002-04-17