Language lessons
In the US, Irma Rivera, who was fired because she spoke Spanish to a co-worker on the job in violation of a jewelry store policy, was awarded $500,000 by a jury in the first case to challenge an employer’s English-only policy. The number of complaints to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission from people claiming such policies are discriminatory has doubled in the past two years. And a number of other court actions are under way – including the case of truck driver Rogelio Campos. He was given a ticket under a section of federal transportation law that prohibits drivers from operating commercial vehicles if they do not have an adequate command of English. ‘The funny thing here is that he was able to take a test for his commercial license in Spanish, but he is required to speak English,’ says Fernando Mateo, a Dominican immigrant who employs Campos. He has prompted Campos to take English classes, telling him people should speak the language of the land where they live. ‘You are a nobody in this country if you can’t speak English,’ Mateo says, ‘but I don’t feel that, constitutionally, anyone should be given a ticket because they can’t speak the language.’
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Voices from the margins:
Multimedia: video, podcasts, and more.
- Poetry Slam in Zimbabwe
- The House of Hunger poetry slam held in Zimbabwe in 2006, and organised by the Pamberi Trust, showcased young artists performing inspirational work on issues from corporate power to child soldiers. The video features four of the poets.
Published by Pambazuka News.
- Iranian women speak out
- 3 March 2007, London. Women's rights activists marched through the English capital last week to celebrate International Women's Day with a protest against the misogyny of the Islamic regime in Iran and the threat of invasion by the US. Hear the voices of Iranian feminists Azar and Leila Parnian and the sounds of the demonstration as it passed through the heart of the city. Click here to learn more about the campaign.
Produced by Heidi Bachram.
- Raised Voices audio:
- Benny from West Papua on Corporate Power
- Vinayan from India on agriculture
New Internationalist (NI) workers' co-operative exists to report on issues of world poverty and inequality; to focus attention on the unjust relationship between the powerful and the powerless worldwide; to debate and campaign for the radical changes necessary to meet the basic needs of all; and to bring to life the people, the ideas and the action in the fight for global justice.
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