Nadia Morales focuses on a template for a jersey behind the counter of Frida, located inside Chichihualco supermarket. A row of plush toys occupy the front shelves of Frida, a popular item among kids that visit the shop. Nadia Morales applies a name to a jersey at her shop, Frida, located inside Chichihualco Supermarket. Turning left as you enter Chichihualco Supermarket used to lead you to a small alcove filled with boxes and window displays. Now, one is greeted with plush toys, party decorations, gifts and Nadia Morales, hard at work on her newest creation. “It’s just a little shop you can come to if you want a last-minute gift or any personalized gift,” Morales said. Morales, a crafter and former fifth-grade teacher, is right at home in Chichihualco. Her parents started the store when she was young, so she grew up around the retail environment. When she saw an empty storage area in the store, she had an idea. “When I saw that nobody was using this part of the store, I thought ‘What can I offer that nobody in town offers or that I know our specific customers wouldn’t know where to find?’” Morales said. She realized that there was a gap in the gift market in Schuyler, more specifically custom gifts like cups and shirts. “I know to go to Facebook and find somebody in Columbus or maybe I know a friend that has a Cricut (die-cutting machine) and knows how to do those things, but the older Hispanic generations, they don’t know those things exist or where to look,” Morales said. That need led to Morales’ shop, which she has named “Frida.” To help get her name out into the community, she raffled off a TV early on with tickets advertising her business at Chichihualco and made water bottles for the girls basketball team at Schuyler Central High School. Through the use of vinyl sheets, an eye for design and a die-cutting machine, Morales can make almost anything a little bit more personal, with a name, slogan or logo. Right now, she’s trying to pick up as many customers as possible in the current space that will follow her when she moves into her own. “I think I started here because, one, my parents owned the building so it was easier, and two, I’d get my customers to come see me and eventually when I move out, get my own customers,” Morales said. Morales still helps out at the store when needed and teaches an English course for Schuyler Community Schools’ Family Literacy Program. That said, she noted she does enjoy the flexibility with her new schedule. Throughout the process of starting her own business, Morales has gotten some help and advice from Audra Jedlicka, executive director of the Schuyler Area Chamber of Commerce. “The custom and personalized stuff is a hot commodity right now, it’s real trendy so we’re excited for that opportunity here and she is real open to growth. She can personalize most anything in her shop,” Jedlicka said. Jedlicka added that the gift shop side of the business is also a much-needed retail space in Schuyler. With what she’s seen of Morales and her business, Jedlicka said she believes things will go well. “I just love her energy and excitement. She understands it’s a lot of work after she got it all set up and spends a lot of hours on it,” Jedlicka said. “She’s done a lot of hustle and she’s a wonderful person. She’ll be able to establish very well based on who she is and what she brings to the plate.” Morales is still in the process of getting her online presence set up. For now, she said, the best way to get ahold of her is through Chichihualco Supermarket on Facebook or by visiting her shop in person, to the left of the front doors. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. Account processing issue - the email address may already exist Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in. Invalid password or account does not exist Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password. An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account. who slept in front of Mexico’s National Palace finally got an answer from the government about their plight — but it wasn’t quite what they were hoping for the group has been displaced by deadly violence from armed criminal gangs associated with opium poppy cultivation in the southwestern Guerrero State Some fled Leonardo Bravo county in the La Sierra region and others fled from the town of Tlaltempanapa in the La Montaña region “We decided to come to Mexico City to request a meeting with the president.” “We decided to come to Mexico City to request a meeting with the president,” said Marisela Cástulo Guzmán Guzmán said that she has waited nearly four months for the government to take action on her region’s housing and security needs The displaced —  including 80 children — occupied the space outside Mexico’s federal seat of power for 39 days hoping for a meeting with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (known by his initials AMLO) an agreement was finally reached: The Mexican government said it will coordinate security for displaced families by posting state and federal security forces in parts of the region where armed groups have infiltrated The group has been asked to return to the city of Chichihualco where the government will provide food and health services as well as money for rent and utilities once residents’ hometowns have been secured some families had fled to Chichihualco and took shelter in the old auditorium Other families camped out inside a covered basketball court in the town of Copalillo The group packed up and headed back to Guerrero State but their journey — and the fear of continued violence in Guerrero State — is far from over The agreement is “the first step,” said Neftalí Granados a spokesperson for the undersecretary of human rights A government working group has been established to monitor the living conditions of the displaced and to design a strategy for returning them to their hometowns Granados emphasized that the AMLO administration has inherited the problem of violence and forced displacement from previous governments “since the terrible declaration of the war on drug traffic” by President Felipe Calderón in 2006 President López Obrador had promised to restore safety to Guerrero before taking office on Dec including the deployment of resources to remove the armed groups and guarantee a peaceful return to homes or another safe relocation promised again in early March that his department was working on a plan to ensure a safe return to La Sierra and La Montaña But in AMLO’s first 100 days in office, not much had changed for the displaced, so the group trekked to Mexico City and camped out in the Zócalo to demand answers to the chronic displacement and deadly violence that has plagued their region for over a decade The Mexican state lacks institutional and legislative tools to respond adequately to forced displacement Bringing security to conflicted regions is going to be “a long and complex process.” Granados said his department expected the displaced to remain in Chichihualco receive humanitarian and legal support and have their health and education needs assessed for at least a month before returning to their homes speaking from an auditorium in Chichihualco where many displaced will receive temporary shelter Benitez is looking forward to returning to his hometown in La Sierra He said he expects to be waiting in Chichihualco for some months … We all voted for Andrés Manuel and he has shown us that he will help us.” “We are all happy [with the announcement],” he said “We all voted for Andrés Manuel and he has shown us that he will help us.” Most of the families in Guerrero State work as small plot farmers Armed groups in the regions of La Sierra and La Montaña have completely disrupted their lives and show no signs of slowing down many of which are linked to organized drug cartels seek to control valuable territory for growing opium poppy and marijuana as well as control of transport routes for mined gold Armed groups sometimes pose as “community police” but instead invade had joined the Mexico City encampment in solidarity because she is also displaced Nancy’s name has been changed because she fears for her safety a group claiming to help her town near Leonardo Bravo establish a self-defense and community police group opened fire at a town meeting Their real purpose was to fight for territory to process opium gum for the heroin trade “This group held a meeting saying they wanted to build a community organization when the people arrived for the meeting — they killed them.” The shootout began at the meeting and spilled onto the streets, leaving seven dead Nancy lost her son and her brother to the armed ambushers In other cases, the armed groups clearly identify as drug cartels. For example, Los Ardillos, or “The Squirrels,” has completely taken over the town of Tlaltempanapa in La Sierra, forcing families to flee. They pressure small farmers to grow marijuana for the illicit drug trade Since their arrival to Chichihualco at the end of March, federal government personnel have assessed the humanitarian needs of the displaced families. The majority of the families have found rental accommodation in the town, with financial support from the government This month, AMLO has also announced further plans for a National Guard, aimed at improving security across the country said he could not see a return home for at least six months the displaced face long days without work and income trying to pass the time under Chichihualco’s blazing sun “The government has provided us with the humanitarian support … We’ve heard the National Guard is being established… but when is it going to come to Guerrero?” “We’ve heard the National Guard is being established … but when is it going to come to Guerrero?” Many of the displaced say there has been no real, ongoing safety from deadly violence in either La Sierra or La Montaña since at least 2013 “More than 10 people were killed in one day in Chilapa [in La Montaña] in January,” Hurtado said, referring to an armed confrontation that occurred between Los Ardillos and a community self-defense group on Jan in attempting to bring security to Guerrero the AMLO administration “has a huge task.” “The previous administrations did nothing,” he said Official government figures released recently showed that Mexico has just undergone the most violent first quarter of the year in recent history. A total of 8,493 people were killed, a 9.6% increase from the same period in 2018 In response, AMLO promised that, through an improvement in the welfare provided to citizens, the creation of the National Guard and the eradication of corruption, the country will see a reduction in insecurity in six month’s time Whether or not the president can deliver on such bold commitments remains to be seen the displaced of Guerrero State will wait in Chichihualco dreaming of a peaceful return to their villages and farms delivered to your inbox every weekday morning Thanks to our sponsor PRX is a 501(c)(3) organization recognized by the IRS: #263347402 votes to keep its anti-immigration ordinance — at a possible cost of millions Bryan Lopez casting his vote at Brady’s Meats Tensions in a long-running debate over immigration threatened to boil over in Fremont as voters went to the polls for a special election that would decide whether the city repealed key portions of its controversial Ordinance 5165 which requires renters to prove their citizenship in order to acquire occupancy licenses and makes it a crime for landlords to rent to undocumented immigrants Poll workers at the Precinct 3C voting station — which had been relocated to the frozen-foods section of Brady’s Meats & Foods just before the election because it was the only wheelchair-accessible building on Fremont’s poor south side — told me they had been forced to ask several people to leave upon discovering that she was disqualified from voting because her home was technically outside city limits pointed at Hispanic voters waiting to cast ballots and demanded to know But by the time the polls were set to close the wind had picked up outside and temperatures plummeted cooling tempers and reducing the flow of voters to a trickle who guts cattle on the kill floor at Cargill Meat Solutions in nearby Schuyler filled out his ballot at a table next to refrigerator cases filled with ice cream but he wasn’t optimistic that a majority would join him in voting to strike down the ordinance “I hope they’re making an educated decision His worry echoed concerns raised by ordinance opponents who have long argued that anti-immigration fervor led Fremont voters to approve a measure that does considerable financial damage to the city and addresses none of its underlying problems Before the 2010 ballot measure that approved the ordinance many people didn’t know that the Hormel Foods plant which attracts undocumented workers to the Fremont area both fall outside the city limits and would therefore be exempt from the employment and housing provisions in the ordinance Nor did people know that the city would have to lay off employees and raise taxes to build a $1.5 million legal-defense fund Anti-ordinance billboard near the overpass into Fremont © Mary Anne Andrei assistant director of the Fair Housing Center of Iowa and Nebraska warned the city council last October that there was a high risk that enforcement of the ordinance would be viewed as a violation of the Fair Housing Act Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) could deny future Community Development Block Grant funding — and even demand repayment of millions of dollars in federal grants paid out to the city for downtown revitalization after the ordinance passed in June 2010 “I’m here to tell you that you need to act,” Butz told the city council You’ve got to do something to counteract the effect of the ordinance on the Hispanic population of this city.” After a series of contentious meetings to consider the matter the city council voted to give the people of Fremont a chance to reconsider the ordinance Mayor Scott Getzschman and several council members voiced their hope that Fremont’s citizens would vote to repeal the housing portion of the ordinance early results showed that not only had voters upheld the ordinance Blake Harper was disappointed by the outcome but not surprised but he grew up in Fremont and owns a handful of duplexes there he signed on to become the named plaintiff in a joint lawsuit against the City of Fremont brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) but I’m not shocked that Fremont has enough closet bigots to carry the vote,” Harper told me soon after the election results were posted the pro-ordinance group Our Votes Should Count held a loud celebration at the Gathering Place complete with an impassioned address by State Senator Charlie Janssen (R.) There were cheers and applause as the final tally — 60 percent opposed to the repeal 40 percent in favor — was held up on poster-board signs Janssen slipped into the icy quiet outside to field a few phone calls from reporters “It is pretty rocking inside,” he told one “They’re enjoying an evening that culminated several years of hard work.” was arguing that this vote should never have happened he and his fellow petitioner Jerry Hart had gone door-to-door gathering the necessary signatures to put the measure on the ballot and its language has stood up in the courts after ordinance supporters won an unexpected victory in the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals despite rulings in other district courts against similar provisions passed by Farmers Branch Wiegert and others had expected to see the law enacted and enforced the defeat stung all the more given how much support they had rallied The group Fremont YES had raised $71,000 for yard signs and advertising compared with just $8,000 brought in by ordinance supporters Mayor Getzschman appeared in a pro-repeal TV commercial The editors of the Fremont Tribune endorsed the Yes vote The owner of a billboard at the far end of the overpass crossing the Union Pacific tracks — the most visible spot in town — donated the space to Fremont YES “we didn’t move the needle at all.” And emboldened ordinance supporters are vowing to ride their momentum into efforts to recall Getzschman and the council members who brought the repeal to the ballot Harper speculated that Fremont’s problems would only grow now as more young people moved to Omaha and Lincoln and more immigrants arrived in Fremont to work “As long as Hormel is processing 1,300 hogs per hour,” he said “there will continue to be high demand for low-wage This is a demand that cannot be filled by the local workforce and cannot be stymied by silly ordinances.” I asked Harper what his next move would be “You want to buy some duplexes in Fremont?” was just returning home from a twelve-hour shift at Midwest Manufacturing in Valley about ten miles down the highway from Fremont the couple started looking for an apartment and after Chavez talked to Harper at length “It’s two bedrooms — so he has his own room,” Jacquart said Jacquart has been completing a degree at Metropolitan Community College in Omaha who recently graduated from Midland College said he is hoping to pursue a masters in business management in the fall and figured that an advanced degree would help his chances of becoming a plant manager one day “We can get out of here and get our own place Chavez was born in the Mexican mountain town of Chichihualco and came to the United States when he was still a toddler his mother bought a trailer in Regency II and went to work on the line at Hormel but he took issue with the way that the trailer park had become a stand-in for Fremont’s ills “If you come here and don’t have documents and only Hormel is going to hire you But people are people.” He said he’d had a happy childhood holding down a 3.75 grade point average in high school and receiving academic and soccer scholarships to Midland Fremont’s affirmation of the ordinance was unlikely to stop the influx of immigrants willing to make the journey from Mexico and work jobs at Hormel in order to give their kids a better life once they’d received their educations and were ready to work and start families would get as far away from Fremont as possible Jameson was finally quieting down and ready for bed and Chavez had to be back up and on the road to work by 5 A.M Timeless stories from our 175-year archive handpicked to speak to the news of the day “An unexpectedly excellent magazine that stands out amid a homogenized media landscape.” —the New York Times