Some 20 women in Islamic hijab worried by rising anti-Muslim rhetoric in the United States watched on a recent night as their self-defense instructor showed them how to punch a would-be attacker karate-style. Mana Rabiee reports.
A compilation of Mana Rabiee’s TV news features produced for the VOA’s Washington bureau including multilingual reporter stand-ups and anchor two-ways.
The shooting deaths of 20 children in Newtown ignited a heated debate in Congress over the nation’s gun laws. As advocates and politicians on both sides wrangle over whether or not to tighten gun control measures, families of shooting victims speak about the emotional cost of gun violence in America.
Across the United States, outreach workers who deal with migrant farmworkers say growers systematically intimidate them off their property in order to keep them away from the poor farmworkers the activists hope to help.
Mana Rabiee produced and shot a feature documentary in Iran that chronicles the summer vacation of children who volunteer with the government militia – the Basij. The film combines live-action with animated sequences based on audio interviews with the children, and was funded by international film festivals.
For 25 foreign-born U.S. service members, this Fourth of July was one holiday they are unlikely to ever forget. They joined President Obama at the White House for a ceremony that honored their service by granting them United States citizenship.
It’s below freezing in Washington D.C. and the city’s “hypothermia alert” has been activated. City agencies, charities and churches have opened their doors to anyone seeking shelter for the night — to help prevent D.C.’s homeless from freezing to death.
People charged with crimes in the U.S. have a constitutional right to an attorney if they can not afford one on their own. Legal advocates for the poor now want that right expanded to low-income people caught in non-criminal – or civil – cases.
As protests in Syria continue, Syrian-American dissidents in the U.S. are increasingly faced with a troubling dilemma: Do they pursue their activism from afar even if it places their relatives and loved ones in Syria at greater risk?
The Obama Administration is considering a special protection status for Syrian nationals in the U.S. that would allow them to remain in the country — until it’s safe for them to return home.
American students have typically studied French or Spanish as a second language for decades. But knowledge of Arabic or Farsi is now considered “critical” to U.S. national security and more Americans are learning these languages today than ever before.
In a poor district of Tehran, a young man who volunteers for Iran’s Basij – or government militia – organizes a night of fellowship and prayer among his devout neighbors. It’s one way for pious teens in Iran to spend the weekend in prayer while still enjoying a good party.