Torn Apart by War, Kept Apart by the Patriot Act

by: Steve Lannen, Lexington Herald-Leader Losi Grodya and her son, Oliver, fled from her native Democratic Republic of Congo to the United States nearly six years ago. Her daughters, kidnapped and raped by rebel forces in Congo, have been denied entrance into the United States on grounds that they provided material support to a terrorist organization. (Photo: Pablo Alcala / Lexington Herald-Leader) Losi Grodya works two jobs, has a driver's license, is working on a community college degree and is readying to take her U.S. citizenship exam. Despite all she has accomplished since settling in Lexington as a refugee from her native Democratic Republic of Congo nearly six years ago, she feels helpless when she talks on the phone with her daughters. Their home has been a Rwandan refugee camp for the past four years. "They ask me... [read full story]