Midwest farm town, transformed by immigration, thrives

This story proves how hard immigrants work to better themselves and make a living for their families. And how well they can do it in all parts of the country, not just in big cities.    - - Donna Poisl

By Mary Wisniewski and Christine Stebbins

BEARDSTOWN, IL, June 20 (Reuters) - Two years ago, Bozi Kiekie taught English at a university in the Congo. Although he liked his work, he wasn't earning enough to make a good life for
his family.

So Kiekie, 44, entered a lottery for one of 55,000 annual visas to enter the United States. When he won a so-called diversity visa, he came to Illinois, where he found a job cutting out hog tongues at the meatpacking plant in Beardstown, a small river town about 200 miles southwest of Chicago.

"Leaving a teaching position and pulling tongues - that's a big gap," said Kiekie, who talks with his wife and three young children by Skype or phone every day.
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