On May 23, government officials from the Republic of the Marshall Islands traveled 6,000 miles to commemorate their country’s Constitution Day in Dubuque. The Iowa city has gathered to mark the Marshallese holiday since 2005. “Today is more than a national celebration,” Isaac Zackhras, Vice Speaker of the Marshall Islands’ parliament told the crowd in […]
refugees
Posted inFood & Drink
With Merle Hay’s food court set for closure, the owner of Vietnam Cafe is fighting for a life beyond the mall
For over 15 years, Brenda Tran’s cafe has served Vietnamese and Chinese staples to the Merle Hay patron. But as developers plan to close the food court, Tran now awaits an inevitable 60-day notice to vacate the premises — and an uncertain future. “If I give up,” she said, “I feel like I’m betraying myself.”
Posted inCommunity/News
Eight ways to provide assistance to Ukrainians
Yale University historian Timothy Snyder is an expert on Ukrainian history, and following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “people have been asking me what to do,” he wrote on his Substack site “Thinking about…” on Thursday. “You can show solidarity,” Synder wrote. “You can give an organization a little bit of your money. It will not […]
Posted inCommunity/News
The Refugee & Immigration Association will celebrate World Refugee Day at Liberty High School on Saturday
On Saturday, people will have the chance to get to learn about the refugee community in Johnson and Linn Counties, as the Refugee & Immigrant Association celebrates World Refugee Day at Liberty High School in North Liberty.
Posted inUncategorized
Democracy in Crisis: Fearing deportation, Haitians flee the U.S. for Canada
Francois LeFranc, 45, lingers over breakfast in the dining room of the NAV Centre, an Ontario hotel and conference center on the banks of the St. Lawrence Seaway. Dressed in a t-shirt and jeans, he displays only one sign that he had been detained by the Canadian immigration authorities five days earlier: a plastic, hospital-style turquoise bracelet he wears with his I.D. number on it.
Posted inCommunity/News
Author faces ‘ghosts’ of family separated by World War Two
Among the Living and the Dead: A Tale of Exile and Homecoming on the War Roads of Europe, the recently published book by University of Iowa Assistant Professor Inara Verzemnieks, explores her family’s diverging journeys as war descended on their Latvian home — resulting in trauma and loss that would reverberate through the generations.
Posted inCommunity/News
Nearly 200 protested at Eastern Iowa Airport in solidarity with immigrants and refugees
Nearly 200 protesters gathered at the Eastern Iowa Airport in Cedar Rapids on Sunday in the wake of an executive order issued Friday by President Donald Trump barring citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen and Sudan from entering the U.S. for 90 days. The order also denied entry to all refugees for 120 days, except those […]
