On the edge of Postville visitors are greeted by a sign advertising the Iowa town as the birthplace of 1946 Nobel Peace Prize winner John Mott. This weekend, the town will play host to a more recent winner of the prize, the Guatemalan indigenous leader Rigoberta Menchu.
Menchu is coming to the rural corner of Iowa Saturday to show solidarity with people affected by a massive federal immigration raid that took place at the nation's largest kosher slaughterhouse, run by Agriprocessors. Many of the workers who were arrested had come to the United States illegally from indigenous areas of Guatemala. In particular, Menchu will be meeting with women who were arrested and released back to Postville to take care of their children.
"It's just to give them encouragement and hope," said Paul Ouderkirk, the priest at Postville's St. Bridget's Catholic Church. "This has gone on so long and the women are starting to get more and more depressed."
Menchu is being hosted by St. Bridget's, which has been the primary organization offering support to the women. The church and other local institutions are paying for Menchu's trip.
Full Story: http://www.forward.com/articles/14529/
