New York law-enforcement agencies have begun collecting their one-third portion of a near

$21 million settlement from a national pallet-recycling company that employed 6,000 illegal

aliens in 26 states.

The investigation, which began upstate, was based on a truck driver’s tip and led to the April 2006

raids at more than 40 IFCO system plants. At least 1,100 people were arrested on immigration

charges. The company settled this federal case in 2008.

THE RIOTS IN TUNISIA: YOUTH REVOLUTION.

Riots have chased out this African nation’s president, leaving the region politically unstable.

74-year-old Ben Ali, a former interior minister, grabbed power 23 years ago in a coup and human rights groups in Tunisia and abroad have criticized the lack of liberty and freedom ever since.

Tunisia was a French protectorate until independence on March 20, 1956. Today it has about

10.4 million people and has seen steady economic growth, but many ordinary young Tunisians

can’t find jobs and feel they have few prospects for the future.

The protests started in mid-December in an inland town after a young man set himself on fire

to protest job shortages and low wages. As words of the self-sacrifice spread, so did riots. Social networks like facebook and twitter spread words of the unrest, which takes away the tight media control by the government. These events are resonating so widely because the main problems of Tunisia are common to just about every country in the region: a growing population of young people who are at once educated and ambitious, unemployed and frustrated, muzzled and resentful.

In a speech, just a day before the Tunisian president fell, the United States Secretary of State Hillary

Clinton told an audience in Qatar that “a growing majority of the region are under 30, and in some countries like Yemen, the population is expected to double in the next three decades. People have grown tired of corrupt institutions and stagnant political order.” The riots have ravaged the nation’s reputation as a stable Muslim nation. The United States has expressed concern. Also European governments warned travelers about going to Tunisia, whose safe, stable image and Mediterranean beaches draw millions of mainly European travelers and make tourism the mainstay of the small, North African nation’s economy. German government issued a statement warning of the danger of kidnapping and attacks in Tunisia.

The riots in Tunisia tells the whole world, how young people are hungry for change, using the internet to bring down bad and corrupt governments. This is also a very strong warning to other sit-tight leaders in Africa and the Arab world. They should know that gone are the days when the flow of information and knowledge is controlled, with the intention of keeping their people in the dark and ignorant. People are now better connected; communication is fast and easy with the popularity of social networking sites.

Olakunle O. Bolarinwa,

Is a Nightline Family Member Of The Voice Of America {VOA}.

E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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