Directed by Laura Angelica Simon • Documentary • 2003 • 55 minutes

Despite her former prestige in her homeland, Barine Wiwa-Lawani is unable to escape the same working plight as Israel and Ngozi. She juggles three part-time jobs at hotels as a cook’s assistant: “…work I would have done twenty years ago. But what can I do? I must feed my family.” Ricardo Rodriguez and José Garcia arrive in Great Falls, Montana, a small white working-class community that is home to the Dodgers’ single-A minor league team. We meet Ole and Marie Steinmac, the “host parents” with whom they’ll live. Despite the language gap, the Steinmacs and the rest of their community embrace the Latino players with open arms. On the field, Ricardo, as expected, performs very well, quickly ascending to the status of the team’s ace pitcher. José is not so fortunate. He hurts his arm and misses most of the season. Off the field, things take a turn for the worse when one of José and Ricardo’s teammates, Ramón, is arrested and charged with sexual assault by a local woman. While some in the community want to believe Ramón is innocent, for others, the incident confirms stereotypes about Latino men. José and Ricardo feel the different way some locals look at them now. Says Ricardo, “I just want to leave this place.” Naima Saadeh arrives in Chicago with Hatem and her mother, Umajahed, who has come for the wedding. They are greeted by scores of eager relatives—Naima’s older sister and her children live just down the block from Hatem’s family. After a traditional henna party, large wedding and honeymoon, Naima and Hatem begin their lives together, very much in love. At the same time, Hatem lands a job at a local Arab community group, his first real job since leaving college. With the advent of the second Intifada in September of 2000, Hatem becomes...