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Supporting the Olympics
Angry with the media and those urging a boycott of the upcoming Olympics in Beijing, many Chinese in New York have taken to the streets to support the Chinese government and protest any efforts to use the games to press China on its human rights record and presence in Tibet.
Check out stories on education and the economy as well articles on building closings affecting Bangladeshi businesses, the reaction of Chinatown residents to the possible rezoning of the Lower East Side and more from the Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Bangladeshi and Polish language press via our partner, Voices That Must Be Heard.
With neither political party eager to take on the hot issue of immigration changes in an election year, reports continue to highlight problems associated with our existing system, particularly the treatment of some 30,000 people detained for violating immigration rules.
Many of these people, who do not have the protections accorded U.S. citizens accused of a crime, find themselves in facilities operated by private companies. "Detention contracts have helped turn once-ailing private prison companies into a multibillion-dollar growth industry with record revenues, healthy stock prices and ambitious expansion plans," the San Diego Times-Union reported.
Relying on such facilities saves the government money, but critics assail overcrowding and other poor conditions. After filing a Freedom of Information Act request, the New York Times learned that, according to the federal government, 66 people died in immigration custody from January 2004 to November 2007. The paper's Nina Bernstein reported on allegations of appallingly bad medical care that may have contributed to the deaths and on the difficulties families have had learning their relatives were sick or dead. The article spotlighted the death of Boubacar Bah, a 52-year-old tailor from Guinea who had lived and worked in New York City, making elaborate and expensive gowns, before he was sent to a privately run New Jersey detention facility.
Apparently in response to the article, a U.S. representative from California has introduced a bill that would set mandatory standards of health care for detained immigrants and require that all deaths be reported to the Justice Department and Congress.
The shortage of food in parts of the world has prompted some immigrants from New York -- particularly those from Mali and Senegal -- to send boxes of rice, sugar and tomato paste to families back home, the Sun reported. While there's not a shortage here, food-- along with energy and other goods -- has become more expensive in New York, posing a hardship for some immigrants. This month we look at the economic situation, along with the paucity of Hispanics in key positions, discrimination against Sikhs, an improvement in healthcare and other stories from the Spanish, Korean, Indian, Russian and Polish Press via our partner, Voices That Must Be Heard.
The Economic Crunch
Visits to Greenpoint Soup Kitchen Increases Sharply from Nowy Dziennik/Polish Daily News
A Greenpoint soup kitchen, where visitors can get a bag of groceries and a warm meal, is becoming more and more popular. With seniors, the homeless and families with children finding it harder to make ends meet, the kitchen now serves five times as many patrons as it did when it opened in October.
Chinese Food Prices Rise from World Journal
Increasing fuel prices and the strength of China's currency could push the cost of food imported from China up by about 50 percent over the coming weeks.
Taxi Drivers Caught in Economic Squeeze from Latin Week NY
The combination of skyrocketing oil prices, fewer passengers because of the economic downturn and intense city scrutiny has prompted some taxi drivers to look for another line of work.
Even the Price of Hangers is Going Up from Korea Times New York
The Korean Dry Cleaners' Association is irate about a U.S. government decision on imported wire hangers that, the cleaners charge, has pushed up the price of the hangers -- "an unavoidable expenditure for the dry cleaning business" -- and created big problems for the small businesses.
Other Stories
Housing Commission: Only One Latino from El Diario/La Prensa
A new City Council commission on affordable housing has 24 members, but only one is Latino.
Latinos Rare on Sunday News Shows from El Diario/La Prensa
Hispanic journalists hardly ever turn up on the Sunday English-language news and political analysis programs. Instead the white and black on-air personalities declare how "the Hispanics" will be affected -- and frequently they get it wrong.
New York's Sikhs Face Bias from Indian Express
A new report based on surveys of more than 1,000 Sikh New Yorkers reveals the extent to which the Sikh community confronts prejudice. For example, the report found that 41 percent of the city's Sikhs have been called by derogatory names or slurs and half the Sikh students have been harassed in school because of their religion or national origin.
Hospitals Go Multi-Lingual from Novoye Russkoye Slovo
New York's hospitals have made huge progress in the past two years in providing interpreters to patients who do not speak English.
Korean Parents May Sue Education Department from Korea Times New York
The New York City Department of Education's decision to cancel the Elite preschool program in a number of community school districts has so angered some Korean parents that they are considering filing a class action suit.
Protest Targets Treatment of Domestic Workers from World Journal
A recent protest outside a residential building in Chelsea focused on a family that allegedly failed to pay its nanny the minimum wage and physically abused her. Domestic Workers United, which organized the action, said such treatment of domestic workers -- many of them new immigrants -- is all too common.





