Being disappeared right off the streets of America

Where are these people?:

Paxpdx of Street Prophets:

Back in early June, I posted about a raid on a North Portland produce plant that resulted in the arrest of 167 workers. Many were parents of young children, and indeed, up to fifty kids at a local elementary school were stranded at the end of the day, with no one coming to pick them up. A few toddlers were stranded with their caregivers as well, and when the caregivers called to find out more about the parents' fates, state workers offered to come and pick up the children. Fearing for the kids' safety and not knowing whether the state workers could be trusted, the caregivers refused to give their addresses and held onto the kids until other arrangements could be made.

That was the first few days. Even here in the neighborhoods most directly affected, it's hard to come by news of what's happening with these families, with these workers, with the US citizen children who were left in the lurch. If you don't have contacts within the community, it's almost as if it never happened.

Except over 100 people have disappeared.

As we lurched toward the summer Friday afternoon news dead zone, President Bush slipped out a bit of news - there's more where that came from, and it may be headed your way.

So since it may be your neighbors and their families who are picked up next, I thought I'd share a little about where things stand now, and offer a couple of suggestions, too.

Paxpdx numbers the steps, cautions what it will entail, how to help, what to expect from this government.

And again. WHERE ARE THESE PEOPLE?



And just what is the Bush administration doing with them?