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Nekessa Opoti, Writer
Nekessa Opoti (nekessa@kenyaimagine.com) is a freelance writer and the publisher of kenyaimagine.com, a Kenyan online magazine and newspaper.
Protesters occupy Klobuchar's office
A group of about 40 protesters on Tuesday afternoon took over Senator Amy Klobuchar’s Minneapolis office, demanding that the Senator take a stand against the recent Israeli attacks on Gaza. After two hours, they got a meeting with Senator Klobuchar. MORE »
Recession stories: "I thought I'd end up being the bag lady"
Imagine, if you will, that elderly retiree couple across the street. They have worked their whole lives, and now live in their dream home by the lake, with their pets and each other for company. One day, the husband begins to suffer dementia; with that the hospital bills come in. His wife becomes his caretaker, and is shocked when she receives a hospital bill of $80,000 just for the assessment of his condition. She is not an imaginary person. Corinne Livesay is a senior citizen who, not too long ago, owned a home in White Bear Lake. MORE »
Interpreting the pain of Postville immigration raid
When a group of federally certified interpreters were asked to travel to Waterloo, Iowa from different parts of the country to conduct an unknown mission for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), they had no idea that they would be engaged in one of the most pivotal moments in modern-day immigration battles. MORE »
Holiday gifting
It’s official. The US economy is in recession. Over the past twelve months, thousands of Americans have lost their homes, and even more men and women have lost their jobs. With such a grim outlook, it is evident that many Americans will not have “happy holidays”; and many families on low wages will have to work harder during the holidays to bring something home for the holidays. Community organizations in the Twin Cities can be channeled to reach many of these people in need. MORE »
Somali voters at Brian Coyle Center: Claims, clans, controversies
A mixture of first-time voters, translators, competing community leaders, political issues in Somalia, and clan-based allegiances in the Minnesota Somali community boiled over at the Brian Coyle Center on Election Day.
The controversy began November 5, when Omar Jamal held a press conference in which he asserted that translators were telling Somali elderly men and women to vote for Democratic Senate candidate Al Franken. Jamal, a self-proclaimed leader of the Somali community, is executive director of the Somali Justice Advocacy Center in St. Paul. On Election Day, translators had told me that Mohamud Wardere, a staffer in Republican Senator Norm Coleman’s office, was influencing voters. MORE »
