Radio Consciencia.Immokalee, Florida Immokalee is a census-designated place (CDP) in Collier County, Florida, United States. The population was 177,0948. The name was submitted by settlers to the Postmaster General in 1895, suggested by the woman who would become the first Immokalee postmistress in 1898, Mary Burrell. On a balmy winter weekend in southwestern Florida, scores of community media activists descended on the small farming town of Immokalee to build a radio station. Not just any radio station--a radio station owned and operated by farm workers. With low wages and high expenses (a bed in a shared room in a dingy dingy used as a description of fleece wool; the wool is lacking in brightness. trailer runs $200 a month or more), farm workers in Immokalee make barely enough to survive. Changing this situation is tough. Most of the workers don't speak English, and the immigration immigration, entrance of a person (an alien) into a new country for the purpose of establishing permanent residence. Motives for immigration, like those for migration generally, are often economic, although religious or political factors may be very important. status for many of them is shaky. They're hesitant to speak out--even in the face of abusive labor conditions that make the front page of the Miami Herald. That's where the new radio station fits in. The plan is to broadcast in Spanish, Creole, and various indigenous languages--no English. The goal is to provide a channel of communication to bring a disparate workforce together to demand change. The Coalition of Immokalee Workers The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) is "a community-based worker organization" whose members are "largely Latino, Haitian, and Mayan Indian immigrants working in low-wage jobs throughout the state of Florida. operates the station. This Florida-based group of immigrant farm workers from Mexico, Central America Central America, narrow, southernmost region (c.202,200 sq mi/523,698 sq km) of North America, linked to South America at Colombia. It separates the Caribbean from the Pacific. , and the Caribbean has been organizing since 1993 to raise the standard of living for people on the bottom rung of the food production--chain the pickers. On Sunday, December 7, at 7:00 p.m., Radio Consciencia began broadcasting. For information on the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, the website is www.ciw-online.org. For more information about future radio barnraisings, contact Prometheus Radio Project The Prometheus Radio Project is a non-profit advocacy and community organizing group committed building an inclusive and representative media landscape in the United States and around the world. at www.prometheusradio.org. |
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