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The labor movement came out in support of Barack Obama and helped secure a decisive victory for Democrats throughout the country. What kind of economic policies would they like to see the Obama administration pursue? Bruce Raynor, President of Unite Here, discusses the Employee Free Choice Act, U.S. trade policy, and what early Obama appointments can tell us.

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Here are the hard facts – since the beginning of our war in Iraq – 1 in 5 Iraqis have fled their homes, 2 million have left the country and another 21/2 million are internally displaced. By the summer of 2007, some 60,000 Iraqis were fleeing Iraq each month. 500,000 to 750,000 fled to Jordon; 1.5 and 2 million to Syria. Several hundred thousand have made their way to Egypt, the Gulf States, Iran, Turkey, and Yemen. Yet only 14,000 Iraqis have been allowed into the US.

Our next guest, Mohamed is an Iraqi refugee. He fled his home in 2006 for Jordon and then Syria. He spent the next two years barely surviving and living in squalor and filth.

By chance he met Jennifer Utz, an American videojournalist who was in the Middle East to report on the refugee crisis. Jennifer writes, “Sitting by and simply watching his life unravel didn’t seem right to me. Many journalists I know have gone through similar situations. You form a special connection to one of your subjects, and you decide to help them — sometimes sending money for food, school or clothing. I wanted to bring Mohamed to the United States.”

Jennifer fought tirelessly to help Mohamed to come to the US. She was finally successful and they are now roommates living in Brooklyn, New York.

Jennifer Utz is a videojournalist who has been covering the Iraqi refugee crisis since the fall of 2006 – one of the first US-based journalists to highlight the extent of the crisis. She has spent a collective eight months embedded with Iraqi refugees in the Middle East. She recently launched the website "Iraqi Refugee Stories," and is directing a film about Mohamed.